British Rail Class 58

British Rail Class 58
58001 at Doncaster Works
Power type	Diesel-electric
Builder	BREL, Doncaster Works
Build date	1983-1987
Total produced	50
Configuration	Co-Co
UIC classification	Co'Co'
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Wheel diameter	1120mm
Minimum curve	4 Chains (80.46 m)
Wheelbase	bogie: 4.18m bogie centres: 14.85m
Length	19.13 m (62 ft 9 in)
Width	2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)
Height	3.91 m (12 ft 10 in)
Locomotive weight	130 tonnes (127.9 long tons; 143.3 short tons)
Fuel capacity	4,480 litres (990 imp gal; 1,180 US gal)
Prime mover	Ruston Paxman 12RK3ACT , 254 mm bore, 305 mm stoke
Alternator	Brush BA1101B
Traction motors	Brush TM73-62
Multiple working	◆ Red Diamond
Top speed	80 mph (129 km/h)
Power output	Engine: 3,300 hp (2,460 kW) At Rail: 2,387 hp (1,780 kW)
Tractive effort	Maximum: 60,000 lbf (267 kN)
Locomotive brakeforce	60 tonnes
Train brakes	Air
Career	British Rail EWS / DB Schenker
Number	58001-58050
Nicknames	Bone
Axle load class	Route availability 7

The British Rail Class 58 is a class of Co-Co diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight. Introduced in 1983, they followed American practice of modularisation. From new they were painted in grey Railfreight Sector livery, instead of BR blue. EWS withdrew them in 2002 after 20 years in service, and 30 were subsequently hired abroad – four to the Netherlands, eight to Spain and twenty to France.

History

In the late 1970s, British Rail wanted to develop a new, low-cost, easily maintainable freight locomotive that would handle the predicted rail freight growth during the 1980s. The Class 56 had a troublesome entry into service, and BR was also keen to enter the export market. Pre-production drawings of the Class 58s referred to them as "Standard Export Locomotives".

Once a design for the new Class 58 had been approved by the British Rail Board, the contract to build the locomotives was awarded to British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) in Doncaster where work started on a major multi-million pound upgrade of ‘E2’ shop where the locomotives would be manufactured. BREL dropped traditional locomotive construction methods in favour of an entirely new approach – an innovative modular design. This offered savings on construction and maintenance compared to previous locomotive builds. The load-bearing underframe was fitted with exchangeable modules - number 1 cab, radiator, power unit, turbocharger, electrical equipment and number 2 cab. If required, each module could be easily removed from the underframe and replaced.

The narrow body with cabs at either end led to them being given the nickname "Bone" by rail enthusiasts, but the design also made an American-style single cab version possible.

Service

The first locomotive, 58001, was handed over to British Rail at Doncaster Works on 9 December 1982 and delivery of the remainder of the locomotives followed over the next two years. 58050 was temporarily fitted with a Sepex wheelslip control system, but upon completion experimental testing the equipment was removed before the locomotive entered traffic with BR in 1987. SEPEX was central to the design of the Class 60. No export orders were received and so the jigs at Doncaster were dismantled and 58050 became not only the last Class 58 to be built, but the last diesel locomotive to be built at ‘The Plant’.

Since they were introduced in the early 1980s, the 58s saw service on a variety of freight duties. Despite claims made at the time, their performance was actually inferior to Class 56s on many types of freight train due to their increased tendency to wheelslip, largely as a result of bogie design. Although originally allocated to coal traffic, their arrival coincided with the miners' strike, and British Rail apparently only tolerated the construction of so many because the components were already on order. As a result, the 58s could also be seen working other types of freight traffic. With the advent of privatisation in the 1990s, Class 58s greatly extended the geographical scope of their operations and were used on general freight traffic until withdrawal.

In their day, Class 58s were powerful and capable freight locomotives, although not without their flaws. However, by the turn of the century they compared unfavourably with the new generation of locomotives and were quickly supplanted by Class 66s. In comparison, Class 58s were expensive to maintain and operate, and delivered much lower availability.

Withdrawal

During the late 1990s, it was almost certain that the entire Class 58 fleet would see in the next millennium as working locomotives. Despite being quoted as EWS’ most reliable and consistent Type 5s, it was announced in 1999 that a large number of Class 58s were going to be placed into long term storage: 58017 was the first to be stored, quickly followed by 58022.

Since then, the remainder of the Class 58s were stored at various points around Britain. This was hastened by the introduction of 250 Class 66s. The last few Class 58 locomotives were withdrawn in September 2001 after working the last charter train, the “Bone Idol” from King's Cross to Skegness and return.

Seven Class 58s were put on the DB Schenker April 2010 disposals list. This is the first time stored Class 58s have been put up for sale. One of these, 58016, has entered preservation at Barrow Hill with the CL58G.

Service in Continental Europe

EWS announced in 2000 that five Class 58s were to be sent to the Netherlands on hire to Dutch container train operator ACTS. Since then, some members of the Class 58s fleet have also been sent to Spain (on hire to Spanish infrastructure operator GIF) and more recently, a large number of Class 58s (alongside Class 56s) operated in France for Fertis, TSO and Seco Rail.

In May 2007, all of the locomotives from the French contract have been returned to the UK and placed back into storage. The Spanish locomotives remain active however now under the ownership of Transfesa . The locomotives that were returned to the UK were sent back abroad to France from May-October 2009 on hire to operators TSO and ETF. The Dutch locomotives were prepared for further use in France before being transported to France in July 2009.

Preservation

On 28 June 2010, DB Schenker confirmed that the Class 58 Locomotive Group's bid for 58016 had been accepted and thus the locomotive would become the first preserved example of its type. Shortly afterwards, on 7 July, the group announced they had also acquired another locomotive, 58045, as a spares donor. A subsequent posting on the group's website said that the stripping of 045 had proceeded apace and all parts recovered were to be initially stored until the restoration of 016 commences proper.

58021 in Mainline Freight livery (2000)   Spanish infrastructure operator GIF's livery (2003)   ACTS 5812 in the Netherlands (2008)   LGV Rhin-Rhône construction train in France (2010)

Models

In 1982 Hornby Railways released 00 gauge model of a Class 58, with variants produced over the next two decades. Heljan released a OO model in 2008. In 2011 Dapol is released a model in N scale.

External links

• Class 58 Loco Group