Class 58 Profile

As the first Class 56 locomotives wre entering service, proposals were being made for a new heavy freight locomotive. It was obvious from the initial running of the Class 56, that many features could be improved and as it was only an interim design, a new class was only to be expected. BREL initiated a feasibility study in 1977, to investigate the potential of a heavy Type 5 locomotive which would suit the changing requirements of BR and could open up export markets.

The new design came to be known as the Class 58 and differed radically from its predecessor. The design made use of a simple load bearing underframe constructed from girders. The frame supported all operating equipment and the two cabs, a modular form of construction being adopted for all items of equipment. A bonnet or hood style of superstructure surrounded the modules on the frame with bulkheads keeping the modules isolated from each other. The cabs at each end of the locomotive were an improvement on earlier designs, for once an attempt had been made to consider the driver. As a structure the cab is a bolt on unit and can be replaced as a complete entity. While aspects of the design were novel as far as BR were concerned, the engine and electrical equipment were basically the same as those used on the Class 56, although many of the leakage problems of the Ruston 16RK3CT engine had not yet become serious. The actual engine fitted to the 58s was the later 12RK3ACT, being shorter and more powerful than its predecessor. Despite it having less cylinders than the earlier engine, its stated output was greater due to more efficient turbocharging. One problem with the engine, was the difficulty in starting it when cold and it became accepted practise to keep engines idling for long periods. The CP3 bogie used is a mild steel frabricated unit employing box sections, although steel castings were used for transomes. Secondary springing between frame and bogie, was by means of flexicoil springs located directly on the sole bars.

Most of the locomotives were initially based at Toton depot and use in the Midlands on coal merry-go-round trains for which a slow speed control is provided at one of three pre-selected speeds - 0.8, 1.6 and 4.3kph. However, their arrival coincided with the worst of the recession that the UK was feeling, coupled with cutbacks in the coal industry. They have been known to haul the odd passenger train from the West Midlands to places as far apart as Bristol and Crewe. They have often been called on to assist failed trains including HST sets, and weekend engineering operations gave rise to their use on diverted WCML traffic.

Since the BR freight business was bought by English Welsh & Scottish Railway Company, their area of working has expanded and they can now be seen as far apart as Kent, Cornwall and Cumbria.

BUILT: 1983-87 by British Rail Engineering Ltd Doncaster Works
Total Built 50.

ENGINE: Ruxton-Paxman 3,300hp.

NUMBER SERIES: Between 58001-58050.

PREVIOUS NUMBERS: NIL.

TRANSMISSION: 6 Brush Traction Motors.

MAX SPEED: 80mph.

TRACTIVE EFFORT: 61,800lb.

WEIGHT: 129 tonnes.

WHEEL ARRANGEMENT: Co-Co 3'8" dia.

FLEET STRENGTH: 50 (10 November 1998)