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British Rail Class 58
The British Rail Class 58 is a class of Co-Co diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight. The narrow body with cabs at either end led to them being given the nickname "Bone" by rail enthusiasts.
Their design represented a major departure from British conventions of construction; amongst the innovations was the adoption of the American practice of modularisation. The first locomotive of the class was delivered to British Rail during early 1983 and entered service that same year. Despite expectations of a lengthy service life, during 2002, EWS decided to withdraw all examples of the type after only 19 years in service. Subsequently, 32 were hired abroad – four to the Netherlands, eight to Spain and twenty to France. A few examples have also been scrapped or have entered preservation.
During the mid-1970s, British Rail operated several different diesel locomotives that had been categorised as Type 5, these being a relatively high-powered locomotive suited to heavy freight trains, the newest of which being the British Rail Class 56. Initial experiences with the latter had proved the type to be somewhat unreliable in service, a factor which had led to dissatisfaction amongst several of British Rail's freight customers. Officials within British Rail also observed that the international market for a competitive freight locomotive could be quite lucrative, and thus there were pressures to enter the export market with a suitable design. Furthermore, British Rail had forecast that the domestic rail freight sector was set to grow, and that the prospects for such growth only improved if more capable locomotives, particularly in terms of reliability, were available to service such trains.
Accordingly, by the late 1970s, there was considerable pressure within British Rail for the development of a new, low-cost, easily maintainable freight locomotive. Thus, despite multiple follow-on orders for Class 56 being placed during the mid-1970s, British Rail also authorised a feasibility study into the development of a new freight locomotive by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) for the export market. Export potential was an important consideration; pre-production drawings of the Class 58s referred to the type as "Standard Export Locomotives". BREL engineers were involved in the effort from the conceptual stage of development, bringing design and production planning into close alignment. In the concept phase, the locomotive incorporated features such as modularisation and recently developed manufacturing techniques to lower both manufacturing and maintenance costs.
Once the design for the new locomotive had been approved by the British Railways Board, the contract to build the type was awarded to BREL's Doncaster Works. Material ordering for the new Class 58 commenced during 1979. To accommodate the manufacturing programme, BREL embarked on a major multi-million pound upgrade of 'E2' shop, which is where final assembly of the Class 58 would be performed. 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.
During January 1982, British Rail felt sufficiently confident in the project's progress to place an order for an initial batch of 35 locomotives. During 1984, the construction of a further 15 Class 58s was also authorised.
The British Rail Class 58 is a diesel-electric locomotive primarily intended for heavy freight operations. Structurally, it consists of a strong underframe designed to bear all the static loads imposed by the equipment in addition to the dynamic forces exerted during its service life; it was designed to have a zero possibility of fatigue failure across its anticipated lifespan of thirty-five years as well as to satisfy end-load requirements stipulated by the International Union of Railways (UIC). All major apparatus and associated equipment on board use modular construction, which enabled the type to be fitted out on the shop floor away from the final assembly area, minimising workplace congestion as well as overall assembly time. Much of the wiring was pre-loomed to also reduce the assembly time required.
The cab is a complete unit, having been designed to be fitted out with all systems as a complete module. The cab is resiliently mounted and is designed to satisfy the UIC requirements for both crashworthiness and strength; the Class 58 is allegedly the first design to meet the crashworthiness requirements. Much of this strength comes from a substantial hollow-rolled beam section running beneath the front windows, which is braced to floor level by two sections running diagonally down the inside of the cab's side-walls. The rear bulkhead is also a strong structural element, designed to prevent the cab's collapse in the event of derailment as well as to serve as an anchoring point for lifting/righting the vehicle. Access to the cab is via a single central door set in the rear bulkhead, opening into a cross-corridor aft of the cab; there is no means of direct external access. The cab was so well received that its design later served as the basis for subsequent British Rail locomotives.
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British Rail Class 58 AI simulator
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British Rail Class 58
The British Rail Class 58 is a class of Co-Co diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight. The narrow body with cabs at either end led to them being given the nickname "Bone" by rail enthusiasts.
Their design represented a major departure from British conventions of construction; amongst the innovations was the adoption of the American practice of modularisation. The first locomotive of the class was delivered to British Rail during early 1983 and entered service that same year. Despite expectations of a lengthy service life, during 2002, EWS decided to withdraw all examples of the type after only 19 years in service. Subsequently, 32 were hired abroad – four to the Netherlands, eight to Spain and twenty to France. A few examples have also been scrapped or have entered preservation.
During the mid-1970s, British Rail operated several different diesel locomotives that had been categorised as Type 5, these being a relatively high-powered locomotive suited to heavy freight trains, the newest of which being the British Rail Class 56. Initial experiences with the latter had proved the type to be somewhat unreliable in service, a factor which had led to dissatisfaction amongst several of British Rail's freight customers. Officials within British Rail also observed that the international market for a competitive freight locomotive could be quite lucrative, and thus there were pressures to enter the export market with a suitable design. Furthermore, British Rail had forecast that the domestic rail freight sector was set to grow, and that the prospects for such growth only improved if more capable locomotives, particularly in terms of reliability, were available to service such trains.
Accordingly, by the late 1970s, there was considerable pressure within British Rail for the development of a new, low-cost, easily maintainable freight locomotive. Thus, despite multiple follow-on orders for Class 56 being placed during the mid-1970s, British Rail also authorised a feasibility study into the development of a new freight locomotive by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) for the export market. Export potential was an important consideration; pre-production drawings of the Class 58s referred to the type as "Standard Export Locomotives". BREL engineers were involved in the effort from the conceptual stage of development, bringing design and production planning into close alignment. In the concept phase, the locomotive incorporated features such as modularisation and recently developed manufacturing techniques to lower both manufacturing and maintenance costs.
Once the design for the new locomotive had been approved by the British Railways Board, the contract to build the type was awarded to BREL's Doncaster Works. Material ordering for the new Class 58 commenced during 1979. To accommodate the manufacturing programme, BREL embarked on a major multi-million pound upgrade of 'E2' shop, which is where final assembly of the Class 58 would be performed. 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.
During January 1982, British Rail felt sufficiently confident in the project's progress to place an order for an initial batch of 35 locomotives. During 1984, the construction of a further 15 Class 58s was also authorised.
The British Rail Class 58 is a diesel-electric locomotive primarily intended for heavy freight operations. Structurally, it consists of a strong underframe designed to bear all the static loads imposed by the equipment in addition to the dynamic forces exerted during its service life; it was designed to have a zero possibility of fatigue failure across its anticipated lifespan of thirty-five years as well as to satisfy end-load requirements stipulated by the International Union of Railways (UIC). All major apparatus and associated equipment on board use modular construction, which enabled the type to be fitted out on the shop floor away from the final assembly area, minimising workplace congestion as well as overall assembly time. Much of the wiring was pre-loomed to also reduce the assembly time required.
The cab is a complete unit, having been designed to be fitted out with all systems as a complete module. The cab is resiliently mounted and is designed to satisfy the UIC requirements for both crashworthiness and strength; the Class 58 is allegedly the first design to meet the crashworthiness requirements. Much of this strength comes from a substantial hollow-rolled beam section running beneath the front windows, which is braced to floor level by two sections running diagonally down the inside of the cab's side-walls. The rear bulkhead is also a strong structural element, designed to prevent the cab's collapse in the event of derailment as well as to serve as an anchoring point for lifting/righting the vehicle. Access to the cab is via a single central door set in the rear bulkhead, opening into a cross-corridor aft of the cab; there is no means of direct external access. The cab was so well received that its design later served as the basis for subsequent British Rail locomotives.