British Rail Class 28
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The British Rail Class 28 (Metropolitan-Vickers Type 2) diesel locomotives, or 'Metrovicks' as they were popularly known, were built as part of the British Railways Modernisation plan. With low-speed Crossley 8-cylinder HST V8 two stroke engines, they represented an experiment in two stroke versus four stroke engines for diesel-electric traction.
The engines had exhaust-pulse pressure-charging and developed 1,200 horsepower (895 kW) at 625 rpm. There were no valves, and inlet and exhaust were via ports in the cylinder walls. The same engine was originally fitted in the Irish A Class.
Almost from the beginning the Metrovick's engines were problematic. They suffered chronic failures and by 1961 the entire class was handed back to the manufacturer for remedial work on the engines and to cure problems with cab windows falling out while running. The engines were also extremely noisy and prone to unacceptable levels of exhaust fumes.
The locomotives had a highly unusual Co-Bo wheel arrangement (a 6-wheel bogie at one end, a 4-wheel arrangement at the other). This affected their route availability and complicated maintenance.
All 20 were initially allocated to the Midland Division of BR's London Midland Region, where they were often used in pairs on the overnight London-Glasgow "Condor" express freight service. Later they were transferred to the Barrow-in-Furness area prior to withdrawal after only 11 years' at work and in service.
Despite the locomotives being otherwise reliable the Crossley engines were still giving problems and British Rail considered replacing the engines, as was done with the Class 31 diesels. Instead, almost the entire class was scrapped in 1969. A single locomotive, D5705, survived by historical accident as a technical services engine and then a train heating unit, before being preserved in 1980. It is currently on the East Lancashire Railway.
Contents |
[edit] Technical details
| BR Class 28 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Numbers | D5700-D5719 | |
| Builder | Metropolitan Vickers | |
| Introduced | 1959 | |
| Wheel Arrangement | Co-Bo | |
| Weight | 97 t | |
| Height | 12 ft 1 1/2 in | |
| Width | 8 ft 6 in | |
| Length | 56 ft 7 1/2 in | |
| Wheel Dia. | 3 ft 3 1/2 in | |
| Wheel Base | 42 ft 7 in | |
| Minimum radius | 3 1/2 chains | |
| Maximum speed | 75 mph | |
| Engine output | 1,200 hp | |
| Max. tractive effort | 50,000 lbf | |
| Power at rail | ||
| Brake type | Air locomotive brake Vacuum train brakes fitted |
|
| Brake force | ||
| Route availability | ? | |
| Fuel Tank | 510 imperial gallons | |
| Heating type | Steam | |
[edit] In fiction
The Class 28 was the basis for BoCo, a character in The Railway Series of children's books by Rev. W. Awdry and the spin-off TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.
[edit] Models
The Class 28 has been made as a 00 gauge model in several forms, including a ready-to-run version by Hornby Dublo and a kit by Silver Fox Models.
[edit] External links
- Co-Bo World
- Silver Fox Models (Class 28) – includes brief history of class and photo of model in rail blue livery
