Virgin Train's Class 57/3 Diesel Locomotive - Moore's Trains

Virgin Train's Class 57/3 Diesel Locomotive 'Zombie'

British Trains
My name is Craig Moore and I enjoy seeing trains thunder past, be they old restored steam engines to modern electric or diesel superfast intercity express trains. Many people have a fascination with trains from the child playing with his Thomas the Tank Engine Hornby railway set to the train spotting enthusiast. Britain is blessed with conservation groups who restore, maintain, preserve and run old steam engines, track, stations, points and signal boxes. They take the same care in restoring the passenger carriages as they do the wagons and trucks.

Virgin Train's Class 57/3 Diesel Locomotive 'Zombie'
Virgin Trains use the Class 57/3 Diesel Locomotive. It has a top speed of 95 mph (153 km/h). They are re-build diesel trains. The reason they looked dated is that they are based on the chassis of the 1964 Class 47 Diesel Locomotive. They were completely rewired and recondition engines installed by the company Brush Traction between 2002 and 2004. They have the nicknames of ‘Zombies’ or ‘bodysnatchers’ as they have come back from the dead. Virgin Trains have 16 Class 57/3 Diesel Locomotives that work alongside with the Class 390 Pendolino tilting trains.

Virgin train Class 57/3 Diesel locomotives were employed on the Virgin services route from Crewe to Holyhead. These diesels are also used to pull Virgin Train's electric trains like the Class 390 Pendolino tilting trains when engineering works force services to be diverted on non electrified track.

Some are employed on broken down train rescue details. The decision was taken to fit Dellner couplings to the Virgin fleet of Class 57/3 Diesel Locomotives to allow faster coupling. The Dellner coupling on the Virgin fleet allows easy connection to Class 390 Pendolinos in regular service, and also Class 221 Virgin Voyager units in case of failure, breakdown or emergency. Some one with a sense of humour who liked watching the Gerry Anderson Childrens TV series Thunderbirds International Rescue decide to name these Class 57/3 Diesel Locomotives ‘Thunderbirds’.

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