Whats even more mysterious is why we stopped building new locomotives in the UK ... After Brush Traction was closed by American owners Wabtec last year the skills have been lost forever ...
Three factors - price, reliability and commissioning. The last Brush diesel loco (Class 60) came in roughly about the same time as the Class 66s from GM were being considered. They were the same price in dollars as the Brush loco was in GBP, worked straight out of the box and had a simple, but very reliable 2-stroke diesel. Traction was much better too with the AC motors. The Brush loco had a very sophisticated anti-slip system necessary for heavy haul with DC motors, but getting it working properly was a pain. They are not the only ones that suffered from US dominance. Most European diesel loco builders (particularly for freight) struggled to overcome the reputation for relative poor reliability. Without the domestic market, many more would have failed.
The drivers hate the class 66s, I hear, but it was the bean counters, not them, that drove the procurement.
On the electric side, I'm going to blame British Rail. The last two Brush electric locos were the Channel Tunnel shuttle locos, which were a bit special, and the Class 92, which was a classic case of BR meddling procurement. The spec suffered badly from scope creep and became a 'do everything but not particurlarly well or reliably' job. And then electric loco procurement disappeared in the UK with no effective electrification strategy meaning that all freight operators went for diesel power as it could go anywhere. Whether you blame it on privitisation of freight operators for not buying the locos, or the state government for not supporting electrification I guess depends on your politics, but Brush as a viable loco builder died when the last shuttle loco left Loughborough.
