Back in 1982 Foster Yeoman used BR to operate its trains - providing traincrew, locomotives and wagons - the locomotives provided for the heavy stone trains were generally Class 56s. The Yeoman management were dissatisfied with the Class 56 performance and reliability, so in 1983 took the decision, in a complete break from history, to order four locomotives from General Motors attracted by a guarantee that the Class 59s would be more reliable than the Class 56s. The first locomotive was unveiled in 1985, and the rest of the locomotives followed soon after. Rival stone miners ARC followed suit with an order for four locomotives in 1989.

The third operator to invest in American technology was in 1993 when power generation company National Power took the decision to take operation of its trains in-house with the acquisition of a fleet of its own locomotives and wagons. The locos were also of the Class 59 type, but differed from the earlier batches by having a higher top speed of 75mph. Delivered in XXXX, the six locomotives were based at a newly built depot within the Ferrybridge Power Station complex.

In the 1990s due to a downturn in UK stone traffic, Foster Yeoman sent 59003 to work in Germany in a partnership with Deutsche Bahn. The loco has since changed ownership - being sold to open access operator Heavy Haul Power - making it unlikely to Britain again.

Following the purchase of all UK mainland freight operations by Wisconsin Central in 1996 leading to the creation of English Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS), the fleet of National Power locomotives and wagons were sold to the company in XXXX. Initially having little impact on the sphere of operation of the Class 59/2 subclass, following arrival of the Class 66s, they were displaced from the coal traffic circuits in the Aire Valley and were sent to London to handle stone traffic.

Maintained by Mendip Rail at Merehead, and used in a common fleet with the Class 59/0 and 59/1 subclasses, the locomotives can be seen working construction trains throughout the South East of England. 2010, and the desire by DB Schenker (DBS) to remove the Class 60s from traffic, saw DBS-owned Class 59/2s trialled on a number of different traffic flows to assess their suitability. Trialled on oil traffic from Robeston in South Wales and Lindsey Oil Refinery in the North East along with the coal traffic between Liverpool Docks and Fiddlers Ferry Power Station, only the latter has become a regular diagram for the subclass supplementing - rather than replacing - the Class 60 fleet.