Clayton Equipment has delivered a third new shunting locomotive to Sellafield Ltd in West Cumbria, completing the nuclear company’s switch from diesel to electric and hybrid traction.
The two-axle CBD40 battery locomotive was completed in just four months at Clayton’s factory in Staffordshire and joins a pair of larger CBD80 diesel/battery hybrid machines delivered in 2021/22. It has been acquired for lighter duties on Sellafield’s 11-mile internal railway network, including lines with tight curves where the CBD80s cannot work.
The locomotives are helping Sellafield to reduce its carbon emissions and improve reliability over the ageing industrial diesel locomotives previously employed around the facility. Although the CBD80s have small diesel engines, battery power is usually sufficient for the short distance duties they operate.
Mark McSherry, Sellafield Ltd railways operations manager, said: “We started replacing the older fleet almost three years ago. Drivers much prefer the newer machines to the older diesels as they have better manoeuvrability and additional comforts.”
Shunter/driver Keiren McCue added: “We have a close working relationship with the team at Clayton and have been involved in every stage of the process from the design and build, to test driving and coordinating the delivery.”
For an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Sellafield’s internal railway network, see Ben Jones’ feature from January 2024.
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