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class 58

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Phoenix

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question to all about class 58's as we know nearly all are in store including those that will be back in the next few week's but the question is will they see mainline work again and any idea's and possiblitie's are welcome :o
 
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P156KWJ

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I know that a lot of 58s are wasting away at EWS's Toton depot in Notts, but some have trees growing out of them so it seems unlikely :lol:
 

Demps

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I love bones, i dont see why they dont have a following, non are in preservation exept from EWS ex heritage fleet loco.

As for your question, i'm non the wiser! and would like to know myself.

You say the ones that are returning... those from the continent (mental blank forgot which country) so they will be going straight into store?
 

Meld

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Those that need to know - KNOW!!!
Can't see them being returned to mainline use as a class of 50 they are non standard (like anything that is lower than Class66) - The class 60s are classed as non standard and theres 100 of the still on the rails (not necessarily in working order) and surely it would be more advantageous to run the more powerful 60s instead.
 

33056

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AFAIK all the 58s that were in France are back here and the ones in Spain are not returning in the forseeable future. However, the three in Holland are meant to be finishing over there later this year, Mercia Charters are planning to run a farewell tour in June.
 

driver9000

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EWS have stated that the Dutch ones are coming home, although they have no use for the class 58 in the UK.

Shame really, great loco.
 

Phoenix

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what i dont get is why havent they beren put up for sale seen as though EWS has no problem in scrapping a large amount of it's 37's.
 

Respite

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58's hmmm, although I quite liked them they were never a great loco to be fair. They were just a tad to IKEA (i.e bolted together cheaply). Back in 1991 (signalman at Madley Jcn) I had more problems with class 58's failing than I did with the class 20's. Still it would be nice to see them back again, although I would rather see 56's back out in force.
 

Phoenix

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yeah i see your point ghostcav but as i do like 56's we need to think about there reliability also i mean apprently two of the three fastline 56's are out for repairs and 56301 had recently spent some time in brush for repair's.
what's class 20 reliability like???
 

Kneedown

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They couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding, would slip in the Sahara desert and the stove took hours to warm up, but i always liked working them, much more than the usual pairs of "Toton Deltic's" (20's, knacker bashers, choppers, call em what you will!) that we had most of the time. 58's were warm, comfy, had a nice bouncy seat and sounded good if you got one with howling rad fans! :D

I liked 56's more though, especially the Romanian ones. Not as user friendly as the BREL built, but a lot quicker off the mark! Not a lot else sounds better than a 56 at full blast. Lost count of the number of times i froze to death with the cab window open listening to the Ruston throbbing away and the turbo screaming! <D
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
58's hmmm, although I quite liked them they were never a great loco to be fair. They were just a tad to IKEA (i.e bolted together cheaply).

The common fault was the dashboard falling off as you were going along! The size of the washers holding it on gradually increased as the years went by. Some drivers also had a perchant for nicking the plastic screw top of the brake handle, leaving you with just a threaded, thin metal rod to brake with.

A thread pattern on your left thumb, and hole in your right thumb (from the overly stiff sand button) was a sure sign to others that you'd had a 58 that day! :D

I remember a hilarious episode when working the Ratcliffe - Fletton fly ash one day. The loading hopper at Ratcliffe was caked white, top to bottom from years of fly ash residue. 9 times out of 10 you'd have a 56 on this job, but one day i had a 58. The loader, in his freshly washed, neatly pressed blue overalls started to call me through the loading hopper. As the loco drew level with him the unloader valve vented... "PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"..... I looked back to see a cloud of white fly ash dust filling the loading hopper, and a, now white from head to toe, loader waving his arms about trying to see where he was! Well i p'd myself so much my guts hurt for hours! :razz:
 

Demps

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They couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding, would slip in the Sahara desert and the stove took hours to warm up, but i always liked working them, much more than the usual pairs of "Toton Deltic's" (20's, knacker bashers, choppers, call em what you will!) that we had most of the time. 58's were warm, comfy, had a nice bouncy seat and sounded good if you got one with howling rad fans! :D

I liked 56's more though, especially the Romanian ones. Not as user friendly as the BREL built, but a lot quicker off the mark! Not a lot else sounds better than a 56 at full blast. Lost count of the number of times i froze to death with the cab window open listening to the Ruston throbbing away and the turbo screaming! <D
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


The common fault was the dashboard falling off as you were going along! The size of the washers holding it on gradually increased as the years went by. Some drivers also had a perchant for nicking the plastic screw top of the brake handle, leaving you with just a threaded, thin metal rod to brake with.

A thread pattern on your left thumb, and hole in your right thumb (from the overly stiff sand button) was a sure sign to others that you'd had a 58 that day! :D

I remember a hilarious episode when working the Ratcliffe - Fletton fly ash one day. The loading hopper at Ratcliffe was caked white, top to bottom from years of fly ash residue. 9 times out of 10 you'd have a 56 on this job, but one day i had a 58. The loader, in his freshly washed, neatly pressed blue overalls started to call me through the loading hopper. As the loco drew level with him the unloader valve vented... "PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"..... I looked back to see a cloud of white fly ash dust filling the loading hopper, and a, now white from head to toe, loader waving his arms about trying to see where he was! Well i p'd myself so much my guts hurt for hours! :razz:


Now this is the stuff i like to hear! awesome stories, makes me want to rush back in time, to that special period.
 

Respite

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I liked 56's more though, especially the Romanian ones. Not as user friendly as the BREL built, but a lot quicker off the mark! Not a lot else sounds better than a 56 at full blast. Lost count of the number of times i froze to death with the cab window open listening to the Ruston throbbing away and the turbo screaming! <D


I seem to remember from my stints at driving 56's that if you drove them as per driver manual they were quite slow off the mark, but if you ignored the manual & cracked the throttle right open for a few seconds, shut it off completly & then wacked it back open full they shot off like sh*t through a goose. Something to do with confusing the fuel rail feed or something.

Most 58's I remember failing on shifnal bank were due to oil pipes bursting! This one day in 1991, 58001 had failed on shifnal bank, burst oil pipe & the Euston - Shrewsbury IC service following (47500 no less). The 58 driver advised his loco was a complete failure so I arranged assistance using the intercity service behind. Not just the loco mind but the whole 8 coach & DVT set complete with passengers! Well it took a while but 47500 shifted 58001, 30 loaded MGR hoppers & it's own train & pushed the lot onto the goods loop at madley. Then a bit of setting back onto the main & off towards Shrewsbury with it's IC service. I wouldnt like to try that kind of move in this H&S enviroment, or the fact we only have 158's & 170's down there now!:grin:
About two hours later a couple of peds turned up from bescot to assist the train that we had already sorted out, god knows what good they would of been!:roll: Good job we had already sorted it out really as the leading 31 failed at Madley then & had to be dragged back to bescot along with the 58.

Indeed happy days.

Actually just remembered, 47500 caught fire at shrewsbury station a month or so after that rescue. Never was the same after. :(
 

Kneedown

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Another day, in Ratcliffe again as it happens, but this time on the coal side, the 58 i was on was just poking its cab out of the unloading hopper, when the engine suddenly shut down.
I should point out that it was an instruction to have all cab doors shut while passing through the hopper, as the automated unloading equipment, which shoots out arms when a light beam detects the gap between wagons, could be confused into shooting the arms out (known as the daleks) and damaging the loco. (The arms engage with levers on the HAA/HDA wagon, dropping the doors and unloading the coal)
All loco's we drove had an occasional tendency for cab doors to come open spontaneously, normally as a result of a weakened lock mechanism, and it was but a seconds job to just reach across and slam it shut again. The trouble on a 58 was that you often didn't know when a cab door had come open due to the fact that it was in a seperate vestibule behind you and out of sight!
Anyway, the engine shut down, so i looked back along the train and saw the unloading hopper full of steam, with water coolant gushing out of the loco.
It turns out that the daleks had shot out as i was going along, gone straight through the solebar plate (which was only thin) and ripped out all the coolant pipes from front to back. We were going nowhere!
Obviously got assisted back to Toton, and briefly earned the nickname "Dr Who" for being attacked by the Daleks! Not to be confused with another Nott's Driver who goes by the same name, and earned it many years before i did! :D
 

37402

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I seem to remember from my stints at driving 56's that if you drove them as per driver manual they were quite slow off the mark, but if you ignored the manual & cracked the throttle right open for a few seconds, shut it off completly & then wacked it back open full they shot off like sh*t through a goose. Something to do with confusing the fuel rail feed or something.
I haven't met any drivers who drove them as per the manual (except when they were being assessed of course, although if you got a crank doing it then it didn't really matter)...:roll: :grin:

I remember many a time in my younger days standing on Barnetby station on a cold, clear night and just listening to them struggling up the bank. Absolute beasts! 56099 was a particular favourite of mine...

All you get now is a newly painted 60 going back and forth, oh how times change...
 

Demps

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madness! thanks
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
was a particular favourite of mine...

All you get now is a newly painted 60 going back and forth, oh how times change...

Well at least its better than a shed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think 60's sound pretty good!
 

Respite

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56019 was My fav, unusually for an early one it seemed pretty decent. It also lasted all through sectorisation & privatisation in Railfreight red stripe livery right to when booths cut it up a few years ago. :roll::(:(
 
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