[Beeyar Wunby]

Interesting stuff, thanks Phillip.

Entertainingly enough - it looks like here in the UK we will be doing exactly the opposite and bringing our filthy old heritage diesel locos back into mainstream use.

From January next year, a new even tougher worldwide requirement for NON-ROAD MOBILE MACHINERY (funny, we call them trains round here !!!!) is so punitive that only the Class 68s are clean enough, whilst being small enough to fit the UK gauge.

66s for UK use can't be made 'clean enough' for the new regs, so from next year we can't buy any more of them. This is mainly because our gauge is so tiny that they can't fit the extra scrubbing kit inside the 66 body.

But 'grandfather rights' means we can use the locos we already have, so since there is a growing traction unit shortage for freight it is widely expected that lots of filthy old heritage traction will return to the mainline. John Smith (MD of GBRF) has already said that he will be looking into the possibility of hiring traction from preserved lines.

Personally I can't get enough of 37s, 55s etc so I'll be happy to see them back earning a living. But sadly it's not cleaning up the environment any.... and yet another example of how daft Legislators' interference has the opposite effect to that intended.

As my old dad used to say..."The world's gone mad."