Neo Lox DE 672 passes Oberhausen, Abzweig Mathilde on 22 May 2026. Picture by Rolf Alberts

Neo Lox currently has a remarkable Class 66 in operation: DE 672. The silver base livery has remained, but Neo Lox logos are present on its fronts and sides now. Also note that the headlights have been modified to LEDs.

Picture: Heavy Haul Rail.

The year 2026 is a special one because it marks 40 years since the Class 59 was introduced in the UK. Heavy Haul Rail celebrates this special milestone by repainting the very first Class 59, 59001, into a special retro livery inspired on the original livery of the loco, combined with Heavy Haul Rail Limited branding. The loco was painted by Arlington Fleet Services in Eastleigh.

CZ LOKO has completed the delivery of 30 EffiShunter 1000M locomotives to ZSSK Cargo. On May 5th, loco 742 680-2 succesfully passed its safety exam at the depot in Bratislava. With this milestone, all 30 locomotives ordered by ZSSK Cargo are in operation. The locos were ordered in two batches (20+10) and are modernized CKD Class 742 locomotives. 14 out of 30 locos are equipped with ETCS.

After the Sale-and-Leaseback deal between DB Cargo AG and Beacon for the fleet of 60 JT42CWRM-100 locos, Beacon logos are now appearing on the locos involved. An example of this is loco DB Cargo 077 010-2 which can be seen running solo at Oberhausen in the picture above, made by Rolf Alberts on 29 April 2026. Note that it still sports its Euro Cargo Rail logos too.

A convoy of four locomotives for Italian customers was sent underway by CZ LOKO in late-March, consisting of EffiShunter 1000 744 187-6 for HUPAC and type 741.7 locos 741 784-3 for GCF and 741 785-0 and 786-8 for Salcef. The locos arrived in Italy on 30 March 2026.

Picture: Heavy Haul Rail.

Heavy Haul Rail 66537 now has the deep green and lime Heavy Haul Rail brand, which was launched when the company formed on 29 January 2026 following the separation from Freightliner Ltd. Gradually, former Freightliner locomotives are getting their Freightliner logos removed and replaced with Heavy Haul Rail logos.

Picture: DB Cargo UK.

DB Cargo UK has named Class 66 locomotive 66186 in honour of Antony Slater, the founder of the Plasmor Group, one of the UK's largest independent manufacturers of concrete products. Plasmor started using rail to transport products in 1986, when new sidings were built to connect the factory to the adjacent East Coast Main Line at Great Heck, where the naming ceremony took place on 10 March 2026.

DB Cargo UK has been an important part of Plasmor's supply chain for the past 40 years and was recently awarded a new five-year contract which will see the company continue to provide rail freight services until the end of 2031.