Thanks a bunch for posting this. Very few people realize the importance of those first 4 Class 59 units and how they eventually revolutionized motive power British Rail. The EMD Engineering ten really had a terrible time "jumping through all the hoops" that the British Rail folks from Derby kept coming up with. For example, Mr. John Yeoman would have like to have dynamic brake on the Class 59s, but since dynamic brake had NEVER been successful previously in England, the Derby Technical Center managers would NOT allow dynamic brake on the Class 59 units. probably worked out for the best, since there wasn't space available for the DB grids and blower anyway.
The stories I could tell about that delivery, and all the "resistance" from the Derby Technical Center personnel, would really surprise everyone.
Regarding the lack of dynamic brakes, my understanding was that because of the very large exhaust muffler there wasn't any room for the dynamic brake grids.
Stuart
