On lease from Eversholt Rail, Freightliner 66563 passes King's Sutton with an intermodal train on August 18th, 2022. Picture by Henk Zwoferink.

Beacon has grown it leasing business even further by completing the acquisition of Eversholt Rail. The move sees the Beacon business grow substantially once again in both the freight and passenger segments.

Adam Cunliffe, CEO of Beacon, commented: "This acquisition represents a powerful step forward for our business and for the customers we serve. By bringing Eversholt Rail into Beacon, we are creating a stronger, more capable organisation equipped to support the long?term growth of sustainable rail transport across Europe. I'm enormously proud of what both teams have achieved to reach this point and excited about what we will deliver together."

DB Cargo 077 033-4 passes Oberhausen, Abzweig Mathilde with a heavy train on August 16th, 2024. Picture by Rolf Alberts.

All 60 JT42CWRM locos of DB Cargo AG were sold to Beacon Rail Leasing through a sale and leaseback agreement effective 01.12.2025. The locos in question were originally ordered for and delivered to Euro Cargo Rail from France, which now operates as DB Cargo France. In several batches, the locos were sold to DB Cargo AG. The deal significantly increases the number of JT42CWR(M) locos in the Beacon Rail fleet.

Picture: DB Cargo UK.

On January 19th, 2026, DB Cargo UK announced the sale of 25 Class 66 locomotives to Romanian railfreight operator Grup Ferroviar Roman. The locos are surplus to requirement in the UK and were therefore offered for sale by the British company.

DB Cargo UK shared an image showing the first loco (66014) in a blue livery at its Toton depot in Nottinghamshire. All locos will be brought up to operational standards if required and painted in blue before leaving the UK. 66014 is expected to leave the UK before the end of the month. The final deliveries are scheduled to take place by mid-2028.

Many thanks to you, dear readers and contributors, for your support and input in 2025. Happy New Year and cheers to 2026!

In the last month of 2025, CTV 2016 750-3 could be seen running for Czech operator Metrans Rail in Germany covering 'Elbtal Umleiter' duties. Normally, the loco operates in Romania only, so the short trip abroad was a remarkable sight.

Another EffiShunter 1000 locomotive was delivered by CZ LOKO to a Czech customer. In fact, it is a quite special customer this time, namely the army of the Czech Republic. Loco 744 210-6 was completed by the manufacturer's Jihlava works in December 2025.

Trainpoint Norway owns five EffiShunter 1000 locomotives, which are all on hire to Railcare: 744 144-7, 157-9, 158-7, 159-5 and 160-3. Now, an order four another 5 locomotives has been made public, with deliveries already underway. Locos 744 193-4 and 194-2 have already been seen.