English, Welsh and Scottish Railway Ltd (EWS) is the largest British rail freight company. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

EWS was established by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central Ltd in 1996. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Canadian National bought Wisconsin Central in 2001, and held approximately 30% of the company. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.

On 28 June 2007 it was announced at a press conference held by Deutsche Bahn AG (DB), EWS and Spanish rail forwarder Transfesa that DB was to acquire all the shares in EWS as soon as contracts were signed. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Deutsche Bahn AG ( DB AG, DBAG or DB) is the German national Railway company ^[1] EWS would be part of DB's international rail freight subsidiary, Railion, but would not be rebranded. Railion is a European (mainly German) railway cargo carrier. The name was probably intended to be a play on the English words "rely on" though ^[2]

History

The first stage of the creation of EWS occurred at 0500 on Saturday 9 December 1995 when it was announced that Rail Express Systems had been sold to a consortium led by Wisconsin Central for £25. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Rail Express Systems was the sector of British Rail responsible for transport of mail and parcels traffic which included the Travelling Post Office trains 7 million and renamed North & South Railways Ltd. Included in the sale were 164 locomotives, 677 vans, depots at Crewe, Bristol Barton Hill, Cambridge and Euston Downside (London), and 800 staff. North & South Railways confirmed that it was bidding for all three of the former BR trainload freight companies: Trans-Rail, Mainline Freight and Load-Haul. For the New Zealand former company see Tranz Rail. Trans-Rail was a trainload railfreight operator based in South West England Wales the North West and Mainline Freight was a trainload railfreight operator based in South-East England. Load-Haul was a railfreight operator based in the north-east of the United Kingdom.

The UK Government had hoped to sell the three trainload freight companies as separate businesses to encourage competition. Few bidders were interested in individual companies because of the threat of competition from the other two, but the outright purchase of all three was an attractive proposition.

By December 1995, there were just two bidders in the running for the trainload companies:

• Wisconsin Central
• FirstFreight - Load-Haul’s management backed by Denver-based rail haulier OmniTRAX

In early 1996 it was announced that Wisconsin Central/North & South Railways was the preferred bidder, and on 24 February 1996 the contract was signed. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Load-Haul was a railfreight operator based in the north-east of the United Kingdom. The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States OmniTRAX is an American transportation services company based in Denver Colorado, operated as a subsidiary of The Broe Group Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Later that day the formal handover from BRB chairman John Welsby to Wisconsin Central President Ed Burkhardt took place at a ceremony at London’s Marylebone station. Marylebone station or London Marylebone station is a National Rail and London Underground station in central London, England. Burkhardt announced several plans for the following two years:

Four Class 60s; 60040, 60065 Spirit of Jaguar, 60022 and an unidentified classmate at Peak Forest on 16 January 2005. The British Rail Class 60 is a class of Co-Co Diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight work Peak Forest is a small village on the main road ( A623) from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in England. Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

66106 at Doncaster on the 3rd November 2007

• Order 250 new heavy freight locomotives - EWS bought 250 Class 66 locomotives
• Condemn most of the Class 37s and ‘ageing and unreliable’ Class 47s
• Withdraw all the remaining Trainload Class 20s and Class 33s
• Close “a very great many” diesel depots
• Merge the three freight companies with Rail Express Systems
• Reinstate stored Class 08s if increased business warranted it
• Rename the new company ‘London, Central & Scottish Railway’, or similar

£225. The Class 66 locomotive is a development of the Class 59 and used both on British and European railway networks—where it is marketed as EMD Series 66. The British Rail Class 37 is a Diesel locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the Class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation The British Rail Class 47 (Originally Brush Type 4) is a class of British railway Diesel locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction The British Rail Class 20, otherwise known as an English Electric Type 1, is a class of diesel electric Locomotive. The British Rail Class 33 also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton is a class of Bo-Bo Diesel locomotives ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern The British Rail Class 08 is a class of Diesel locomotive designed for shunting 15 million was paid for the three trainload freight businesses, which carried 88. 7 million tonnes of freight the previous year with a turnover of £559 million. Some critics said that the figure paid was less than the 10% of their replacement value, estimated at an astonishing £3 billion, as they were the only profitable national freight businesses in Europe. Subsequently, Wisconsin Central/North & South Railways purchased Railfreight Distribution and National Power's railfreight operation. Railfreight Distribution was a subsector of British Rail responsible for non-trainload freight operations as well as Freightliner and Intermodal services National Power Plc was formerly an Energy company based in the United Kingdom.

EWS’ identity

Class 37/4 no. 37411 "The Scottish Railway Preservation Society" at Carlisle on 27 August 2004 on hire to Arriva Trains Northern for services over the Settle-Carlisle line. Carlisle (pronounced CARLYLE(emphasis on the first syllable is a City in northern England the largest settlement in Cumbria. Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Arriva Trains Northern was a train operating company that operated passenger trains in Yorkshire and the North East of England History The S&C had its origins in railway politics the expansion-minded Midland Railway company was locked in dispute with the rival London and North Western Railway

The EWS livery is an in-house UK development of the Wisconsin Central corporate colours. Engineers at Toton were told to investigate how the WC corporate colours of maroon and gold (originally taken from the Soo Line) could be applied to smaller British locomotive designs. The overall concept was satisfactory, but there was difficulty in meeting the Chief Executive’s request that the words "Wisconsin Central" and the company's logo be emblazoned in red capitals on the gold band.

The specification that was outlined for the new EWS livery was:

• Maroon - bodysides, roofs and ends. Maroon is a dark Brownish Red Color. The first recorded use of Maroon as a color name in English was in 1789. To get the correct WC shade of maroon, a sample ‘plate’ was flown from the USA to the UK and colours mixed to match it. When the Class 66s and 67s were being built, WC sent another sample ‘plate’ to General Motors to mix, and it is said that this shade is slightly lighter than the British mix. General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States.
• Black - underframes and bufferbeams. Black is the Color of objects that do not emit or Reflect Light in any part of the Visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of
• Gold - most locomotives have a 600-mm gold band, but Class 37s, 58s and 73s look better with a 550-mm band due to their ‘odd’ shapes. Gold, also called golden, is a Yellowish orange Color which is a representation of the color of the element
• Yellow - standard UK cab-end warning panels, and a reflective tape along the bottom of the body side, a safety feature taken from WC practice arising from the need in the USA for locomotives to be visible at night to motorists approaching unprotected level crossings. Yellow is the Color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M (long and medium wavelength Cone cells of the Retina about equally

All lettering was also in maroon applied over the gold, including:

• EW&S in Arial Bold typeface in maroon on the gold band. Arial, sometimes marketed as Arial MT, is a Sans-serif Typeface and Computer font packaged with Microsoft Windows, other In Typography, a typeface is a set of one or more Fonts designed with stylistic unity each comprising a coordinated set of Glyphs A typeface usually comprises The ampersand was later dropped. An ampersand ( &) also commonly called an " 'and' sign," is a Logogram representing the conjunction "and" The typeface was later changed to Gill Sans, used by the LNER from the late 1920s and by BR until the 1960s. Gill Sans is a humanist Sans-serif Typeface designed by Eric Gill in 1927 and released 1928
• Locomotive number in the same style.
• Class number and locomotive number grouped as a single five-figure number, not spaced out as BR had insisted.

A later development was that the company name and locomotive numbers were at opposite ends of the band on each side, i. e. on one side, the EWS was on the left and the loco number on the right, while on the other side the reverse applied. The first locomotive to carry EWS livery was 37057 when it emerged from Toton in April 1996. Some Class 37s, 56s and 60s ran in traffic in undercoat when their overhauls were completed before the EWS livery was finalised. Due to the huge costs involved in painting locomotives, the new livery was to be applied to EWS locos after main works attention or overhauls, and there are still locomotives in EWS ownership that carry the ‘sectorisation’ era Loadhaul, Mainline Freight and Trans-Rail liveries. Load-Haul was a railfreight operator based in the north-east of the United Kingdom. Mainline Freight was a trainload railfreight operator based in South-East England. For the New Zealand former company see Tranz Rail. Trans-Rail was a trainload railfreight operator based in South West England Wales the North West and

Logo

To develop its new logo, EWS partnered with RAIL magazine which, through a special "Freight in the 1990s" supplement issued with RAIL 273 in early 1996, invited its readers to submit ideas for the new company logo. RAIL is a UK Magazine on the subject of current Rail transport in Great Britain. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Over 1,200 entries were submitted and each idea was judged by Ed Burkhardt, who chose Tom Connell's design depicting an English lion, a Welsh dragon and a Scottish stag – the three national elements of the EWS operation. The logo, which was said to give a sensation of speed, was to be used on locomotives, wagons, depot signs, publicity material and stationery. EWS originally planned to take a winning idea as the basis for a final logo to be produced by an agency, but only one minor alteration was made, slightly closing the stag's mouth.

Connell was invited to Toton depot on Tuesday January 14, 1997 to unveil the new EWS logo on the cab side of 58037. Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar This was the first locomotive to carry the logo, which also had the company name beneath it in Gill Sans typeface. After unveiling the logo in the presence of Toton Depot Engineer, Dave Smith, Connell was presented with a prototype 3D cast relief aluminium plaque of his logo by EWS Communications Manager Richard Holmes. As part of his prize Connell was allowed a cab ride of his choice. He chose 60037 hauling the 0940 Burngullow to Irvine tanks on May 15, 1997. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Originally it was intended to use a cast logo on each locomotive. However, with a fleet of around 650 locomotives, each requiring two plaques, this was ruled out on cost grounds. Instead, reflective yellow vinyl transfers are used.

Present operations

66108 at Didcot station

EWS primarily operates freight services, hauling everything from coal to sleepers, track and ballast for railway engineering work. Didcot is a Town in the Thames Valley, in the English county of Oxfordshire (although formerly in Berkshire) It operates throughout Great Britain, and carries items such as cars, chemicals, consumer goods, steel, railway engineering supplies, coal, aggregates, and timber, and also delivers trains arriving in the UK from continental Europe via the Channel Tunnel. The Channel Tunnel (Le tunnel sous la Manche also known as the Chunnel, is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in England with

Some operators use EWS locomotives for hauling passenger services, such as Arriva Trains Wales on the Rhymney Line during peak times during the week and at weekends. Arriva Trains Wales (Trenau Arriva Cymru is a train operating company that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches History The name comes from the fact that the original line followed was part of the Rhymney Railway 's system EWS hauls the Caledonian Sleeper services between London Euston and major Scottish cities, on behalf of First ScotRail. The Caledonian Sleeper is a sleeper Train service operated by First ScotRail and one of only two remaining sleeper services running on the railways Euston station (official name London Euston) is a major Railway station to the north of central London in the London Borough of Camden First ScotRail is the Brand under which FirstGroup runs its Railway franchise to operate all domestic Passenger services within

EWS also operates the Royal Train and previously operated the Travelling Post Office and other mail services for Royal Mail. A Royal Train is a set of carriages dedicated for the use of the Head of state of a Monarchy or other members of that particular royal family A Travelling Post Office (TPO is a type of Mail train where the post is sorted en-route Royal Mail is the national postal service of the United Kingdom. This contract was not renewed by Royal Mail in early 2004, and a reduced mail train service is now operated under contract by FirstGBRf. FirstGBRf is a British freight Train operating company. Formerly called GB Railfreight, it became part of FirstGroup when EWS also carries mail and parcels for the UK subsidiary of German parcels carrier DHL. DHL (originally standing for Dalsey Hillblom and Lynn) is a Deutsche Post World Net company of Germany that provides international mail

On 26 October 2005, the French Minister of Transport announced that EWS International had been granted a safety certificate and would become the third rail freight operator in France. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A new company, Euro Cargo Rail, would be formed to market the new services on routes in northern France, such as Calais to Tourcoing and Dunkerque. Euro Cargo Rail is a French based operator of freight trains and subsidiary company of UK rail freight operator EWS, the company operates rail freight services on Calais (kaˈlɛ in English often kæˈleɪ traditional English pronunciation /ˈkælɨs/ Kales is a town in northern France. Tourcoing is a city and commune in the Nord department and Nord-Pas de Calais region of France. Dunkirk ( French: Dunkerque, dœ̃kɛʀk or; Dutch:; is a harbour city and a commune in the northernmost part of France, in the

Traction and rolling stock

The EWS Company Train

EWS-66181 hauling tanker wagons

EWS has a large fleet of both diesel and electric traction, from old British Rail models to the very latest Brush Traction and General Motors models. See also Rail transport in Great Britain, National Rail, Network Rail This article is about the defunct entity "British Railways" Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of Railway Locomotives based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, United Kingdom situated General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. Some of these locomotives were inherited from British Rail, and others have been purchased by EWS as part of a fleet renewal programme.

The British Rail practice of having locomotive pools for dedicated traffic was phased out in favour of a national ‘go-anywhere, do-anything’ fleet. In an interview given in 1996, Jim Fisk, EWS’ Engineering Director, said: "The long term plan is to get rid of the Class 20s, 31s and 33s as soon as possible, with the core EWS fleet comprising of 250 Class 66s; 100 Class 60s; 50 Class 58s; 50 Class 56s and 100 Class 37s as well as a fleet of 08 shunters. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) There will be no planned reductions in the fleet of electric locomotives". At the same time, Fisk explained there would be a "reserve" fleet of around 130 locomotives stored serviceable in a ready-to-run condition, to be used at just a moment’s notice.

The plans have altered slightly, with four Class 37s now being regularly used by EWS (37405/406/410/417), no Class 56s or 58s, and the number of Class 60s varying around the year between 70 and 20. The British Rail Class 37 is a Diesel locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the Class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation The British Rail Class 56 is a type of Diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight work The British Rail Class 58 is a class of Co-Co Diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight The British Rail Class 60 is a class of Co-Co Diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight work While the withdrawal of the non-standard single example of Class 87/1 made sound commercial sense (particularly as it had suffered a major failure), what was not predicted by Fisk was the withdrawal of all the Class 73s and Class 86s operated by the company - many of the 86s were withdrawn following the loss of Royal Mail traffic in 2004. The British Rail Class 87 is a type of Electric locomotive built from 1973-75 by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL. The British Rail Class 73 Electro-diesel locomotives are very unusual in that they can operate from a 750 V DC third-rail supply but also have a diesel The British Rail Class 86 was the standard Electric locomotive built during the 1960s developed as a result of testing with the earlier Classes 81, While the Class 92 fleet remains relatively stable, inroads have been made into the Class 90 fleet in recent years, with several examples being stored at Crewe. The Class 92 is a dual- Voltage British railway Locomotive which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V The British Rail Class 90 Electric locomotives were built by BREL at Crewe from 1987-1990 The congestion and shortage of available pathways on major electrified routes, especially on the East and West Coast Main Lines, have forced freight onto non-electrified sections of track such as dedicated freight lines and local routes, leaving EWS with no option but to use diesel traction at the expense of existing electric locomotives.

Diesel traction

67017 Arrow at Plymouth station on 29 August 2003 in EWS maroon and gold livery. Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London. Events 708 - Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708) Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

• Class 08 Diesel-shunter
• Class 09 Diesel-shunter
• Class 31 Diesel (now withdrawn)
• Class 33 Diesel (now withdrawn)
• Class 37 Diesel
• Class 47 Diesel (now withdrawn)
• Class 56 Diesel (now withdrawn)
• Class 58 Diesel (now withdrawn)
• Class 59 Diesel
• Class 60 Diesel
• Class 66 Diesel
• Class 67 Diesel

</gallery>

Electric traction

• Class 73 Electro-diesel (now withdrawn)
• Class 86 Electric (now withdrawn)
• Class 87 Electric (now withdrawn)
• Class 90 Electric
• Class 92 Electric

Current Fleet

• Class 08 Shunters = Various
• Class 09 Shunters = 001-023/101-107/201-205

• Class 37 = Various
• Class 59 = 201-206
• Class 60 = 001-100/500(ex 016)
• Class 66 = 001-250(UK:189, France:67)
• Class 67 = 001-030
• Class 90 = Various
• Class 92 = Various

Class 66s in France

Allocated to WBEN Pool

66010/66022/66026/66028/66029/66032/66033/66036/66038/66042/66045/66049/66052/66062/66064/66071/66072/66073/66123/66179/66190/66191/66195/66202/66203/66205/66208/ 66209/66210/66211/66212/66214/66215/66216/66217/66218/66219/66220/66222/66223/66224/66225/66226/66228/66229/66231/66233/66234/66235/66236/66239/66240/66241/66242/ 66243/66244/66245/66246/66247/66249

WBEN Pool = 61 Class 66s

(Updated in May 2008)

Workings

Class 08- used for shunting and minor freight work. The British Rail Class 73 Electro-diesel locomotives are very unusual in that they can operate from a 750 V DC third-rail supply but also have a diesel The British Rail Class 86 was the standard Electric locomotive built during the 1960s developed as a result of testing with the earlier Classes 81, The British Rail Class 87 is a type of Electric locomotive built from 1973-75 by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL. The British Rail Class 90 Electric locomotives were built by BREL at Crewe from 1987-1990 The Class 92 is a dual- Voltage British railway Locomotive which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V They are mostly seen in EWS train yards and sometimes seen on rural freight lines. Limited to 15mph.

Class 37- scattered mostly around the North West of England on the West Coast Main Line. Most have been withdrawn and stored/sold, although a small fleet is to be retained for specific duties. Limited to 80mph.

Class 59- used for aggregate transportation from quarries in the West Country. Some Class 59s have been seen on railtours around Yorkshire. Limited to 75mph.

Class 60- used for slow coal transport like to Fiddler's Ferry in Widnes, Cheshire. They are also seen on some heavy haul coal services. Limited to 60mph.

Class 66- used for almost all workings. They are used on most heavy haul workings and certain railtours. Limited to 75mph.

Class 67- EWS's fastest locomotives, at max speeds of 125mph, but limited to 80mph. These locos are solely operated by EWS. Currently they are primarily used on First ScotRail's three Caledonian Sleeper services north of Edinburgh, although in spring 2008 the new 'Wrexham & Shropshire' company plan on using Class 67 locomotives with three Mark 3 coaches and a DVT to haul these new services from London Marylebone to Wrexham General. Marylebone station or London Marylebone station is a National Rail and London Underground station in central London, England. Wrexham General railway station (Wrecsam Cyffredinol is the main Railway station serving Wrexham, north-east Wales. These locomotives run the Royal Train. They also are used for freight and the new weed-killing programme. They have a high axle-load, and are subject to severe speed restrictions on many overbridges, on lines that they were never intended to run over.

Class 90- EWS's most powerful electric locomotive and has a max speed of 110mph, but limited to 75mph. They are used all over the country for freight work on electrified rails due to being the first of EWS's AC overhead locomotives. They are also used for railtours on the West and East Coast Main Lines.

Class 92- the youngest AC electric locomotive in the EWS fleet. They are very capable of hauling heavy loads and reliable. One has been seen pulling a coal train consisting of 2 Class 66s, a Class 60 and a Class 67. This locomotive can be used on 25 kV AC overhead lines and also DC 3rd rail lines due to its dual voltage system. Limited to 90mph (75mph on freight trains).

See also

• Rail transport in Great Britain
• History of rail transport in Great Britain
• EWS Company Train

External links

• EWS website

Further reading

• Sutton, Philip (2007 August). The Railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world This article is part of the History of rail transport by country series The EWS Company Train ( CoT) is a one-off charter train used in the United Kingdom "Burkhardt on EWS". Rail Express 135: 32-7.  

Notes