The Brush/Mirrlees class 60 may well turn out to be the swansong of British mainline diesel locomotives. They have led relatively interesting lives; the story about their specification, the awardiing of the contract to Brush, when the smart money was on GEC/EMD, their early teething troubles and protracted delivery are all chronicled in Modern Railways and make fascinating reading. More recently the work by DBS to overhaul and refurbish a clutch for the remaining heavy haul traffic should ensure that the class will still be in service for the next few years, maybe even in 2018 when they celebrate their 30th birthday. I think they are very impressive, I recall, when I first saw one on an MGR at Oxford, the ease with which it restarted its heavy train, in particular the lack of nose from its Mirrlees prime mover.