BR Class 28 "Metrovick"

Does anyone remember when these were in service on BR?
Photos much appreciated.

 

Remember them well on the Midland Main Line. The class was built for 2 reasons - (a) to prove the worthiness of the 2-stroke engine and (b) to prove the benefit of a Co-Bo configuration as a means of keeping the axle-weight low to meet the Civil Engineer's limits.

They had 2 main duties - a Manchester Central - St Pancras diagram normally worked in pairs; IIRC the southbound service passed Kettering around 12:15 and northbound called at Kettering around 17:45. The other circuit was the daily CONDOR [CONtainer Door to doOR] service between (London) Hendon and (Glasgow) Gushetfaulds via the Midland Main Line / Derby / Leeds / S&C / Carlisle / and Dumfries (?) - again worked by [pairs. IIRC they were also tested on services to Moorgate but this proved unsuccessful and Class 116 railcars were used instead.

In service they proved a dismal failure and were transferred to Workington during the early 1960s once sufficient Class 25s (for freight) and 45s (for passenger) services became available - mainly to be near to Beyer Peacock (their builder) for maintenance purposes. From Workington they worked mixed freight and passenger services within the Furness area and passenger services to Manchester.

For further information see Wikipedia at ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_28

 

They were built by Metropolitan-Vickers, not Beyer Peacock. Also I don’t think they were built to prove the Co-Bo arrangement. IIRC that arrangement came about because they were two heavy at one end for a conventional Bo-Bo arrangement while staying within axle load limits.

 

Methinks not !

If memory serves correct the build was a joint venture between Beyer Peacock and Metropolitan-Vickers (see reference to Bowesfield Works @

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowesfield_Works

and due to company internal disorganisation the site at Stockton on Tees didn't last long or build many locomotives for BR.

Whilst I agree that the arrangement came about because of the heavy weight at one end I think this is a "chicken and egg" situation in that was it a case of designing it that way (i.e. as a Co-Bo) or was it imposed by the axle weight restrictions ?

A further note of history is that the refurbishment programme was undertaken at Dukinfield [Manchester] but the engine problems became so bad that a contract was drafted with English Electric to replace them with the 12SVT engine. The failure of the Class 30 Mirrlees engines and the consequent decision to re-engine the 263 locos of this class overtook the decision to re-engine the Class 28 and the locos staggered on until withdrawal.

A minor correction was that the locos were initially allocated to Barrow on transfer to Furness but examples were subsequently re-allocated to Workington, Carlisle Upperby and Carlisle Kingmoor.

 

This type only had an engine power output of 1,200 hp. They weighed 97 tons which gives a power to weight ratio of 12.37 hp/ton and though I realise that these machines were built as a part of the 1955 Modernisation Plan Pilot Scheme does seem to be somewhat on the low side. The weight would have been beneficial in terms of them being able to make use of the 50,000 lbf tractive effort figure but the need for them to be used in pairs on the Condor express freight working is revealing.

Two years after the building of the class 28 the class 37 appeared which had a power to weight ratio of 17.5 hp/ton which was much in the same field as as the Type 2 class 25 which was built a year later in 1961. What a difference a few years made.

The haste to appear 'Modern' was rather wasteful - rather like anything else that is driven more by political rather than practical considerations. And nothing changes in that regard.

At least there is a surviving example of the class 28 in D5705 the restoration of which progresses on the ELR in the hands of the Class 15 Preservation Society. You cannot preserve everything and the less than successful are still a part of the story.

But that power to weight ratio I find to be very frustrating.

 

And (if like me) you're interested in the restoration of the one surviving class 28, please visit these pages:

Class 15 Preservation Society | D5705 Progress Reports (d8233.org.uk)

(5) D5705 Metro-Vick | Facebook (this is a private members group, so you need to request access)

 

It would help me understand the restoration if someone gave a thumbnail overview of what is going on, and how far they have got.
The last report is now 9 months old.

 

Joint factory venture or not, their construction is still attributed to Metro-Vick. Also the claim that moving them to the NW was to “bring them nearer to their manufacturing base” doesn’t really hold water as the factory closed in 1961. if they were going to be moved to bring them nearer to the manufacturing base, assuming the works had remained open, then that move would’ve been to the north-east. From what I’ve read the move was to get them out of harm’s way and put them on a relatively lightly trafficked route where they couldn’t get up to much mischief

 

An opinion reinforced by Anthony Sayer's recent and well illustrated book on this failed design.

 

Since I have not read this book I do not feel qualified to comment but my understanding was the move was in part due to getting them near to the manufacturers' site for maintenance in the same way that the Class 21s were transferred to Scotland to bring them nearer to the manufacturer for ease of maintenance / get them out of the way of the Easter Region as new Brush Type 2s were introduced to service.

 

Click on the 'Progress' button and it takes you to this month.
Pat
Belay that. Different engine! Doh!

 

The Facebook page is frequently updated .The loco is worked on atleast two days a week .The generator has been overhauled this year.The PU has been stripped and is about to go away for a survey as to required work to return to operational condition .

 

Spend some money and learn from a well researched book of facts .

 

Were they the first main line diesels into St Pancras? I can recall seeing them on the Man Central train @Fred Kerr refers to. But I think I can also recall some class 24s, possibly on the Tilbury boat trains, all before the Peaks turned up.

 

Thank you, that helps a lot.
Unfortunately I do not do Facebook (and won't do in the future)

 

No as 10000 / 1 and Fell loco 10100 had also worked Manchester services when based at Derby in the early 1950s. In terms of diesel locomotives ordered as part of the Pilot Scheme they were the first examples of main line diesels to visit St Pancras. In the case of Peaks the Class 44s first visited around late 1959/early 1960 when they were allocated to Derby for around 4 months whilst the Class 45s first appeared around late 1960 / early 1961. Of its Type 2 designs Cricklewood received its first Class 24s [D5084 - 93] between June 1960 and January 1961 and its Class 27s [D5379-5415] from April 1962 onwards; the intended duties of the latter class included the Tilbury Boat Trains.

 

Being on a fixed income my ability to buy (increasingly) expensive books is extremely limited hence my dependence on information sources such as personal experience from over 60 years (lineside) observations and Wikipaedia. Perhaps when you reach my age you may be better able to "spend some money" once your living costs have been met !

 

In which case I suggest the library interloan service may be useful - I know my father relies heavily on it for his preferred specialist reading, where academic publishers are even more expensive than enthusiast publishers.

What’s interesting about this book, I’ve referred to a couple of times about WR diesel policy, and debated at length on another thread about T******n, is that it shows how in depth research in the records has a habit of shedding new light on conventional wisdom.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The inter library loan service is very useful for borrowing very scarce publications.
If they cannot get a title it will be purchased (current titles obviously), or that has been my experience in the past but with cut backs that might no longer hold. Or, they can source from the British Library - but that costs.
I think I am right in saying for any book published in Britain, one is kept by the B.L.
I once needed a booklet on the Ransome and Rapier Draglines that worked the iron stone fields of Northampton. Thought the task impossible but one was sourced from the B. L.