Class 58's in France cut up

[JMH77]

Apologies if I'm a bit late and this has already been discussed but this video just popped up on YouTube of the stored class 58 locos in France. A very sad sight.

 

[Snow1964]

Good locos, but from another era
Would be 36-40 years old

 

[Darandio]

The video comments always provide a bit of light relief on weekend mornings like this. What a load of hyper emotional nonsense.

 

[ic31420]

I can see they was worried about possible asbestos!

 

[randyrippley]

So are the 66s there next to be scrapped?

 

[Royston Vasey]

Les Philistins!!!

 

[Snow1964]

I can see they was worried about possible asbestos!

Was asbestos used in 1980s built trains

Thought there was a 1987 deadline to be rid of it, so wouldn't have deliberately added it after decided on the deadline

 

[31160]

Does that mean 58050 has been recycled or not? I'm pretty sure that's where it was,I thought it was designated for national collection

 

[43096]

Does that mean 58050 has been recycled or not? I'm pretty sure that's where it was,I thought it was designated for national collection

58050 is in Spain, not France, and still exists.

 

[Wyrleybart]

Does that mean 58050 has been recycled or not? I'm pretty sure that's where it was,I thought it was designated for national collection

Wasn't that one in Spain with three others ?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

To think one of the few in the UK is being butchered to make a facsimile of one of the LMS prototypes...

 

[AndrewE]

Was asbestos used in 1980s built trains

of course not... but they were relatively heavy locos, so I guess they have a good scrap value, especially as a lot of it is in the underframe/chassis.

 

[delt1c]

Good locos, but from another era
Would be 36-40 years old

Good locos ? Not by the reports of the time , very liable to slipping unlike the 56’s

 

[Wyrleybart]

The video comments always provide a bit of light relief on weekend mornings like this. What a load of hyper emotional nonsense.

58s were inferior to class 56s in most respects and that is why EWS binned, then exported them. Whilst working on the hire contracts in France and Spain they had the benefit of being out and back from the same maintenance location, unlike EWS diverse locatrions in the UK.

I certainly won't miss em, but it would be good if a single example can be made runable for posterity

To think one of the few in the UK is being butchered to make a facsimile of one of the LMS prototypes...

That is irrelevant really. The IDS bought a redundant 58, took what they needed from it and disposed of the rest. It hasn't affected the outcome of the remainers in England because the "preserved" ones are still broke anyway, with apparently little support for them apart from line in the book merchants and their red pens

 

[61653 HTAFC]

That is irrelevant really. The IDS bought a redundant 58, took what they needed from it and disposed of the rest. It hasn't affected the outcome of the remainers in England because the "preserved" ones are still broke anyway, with apparently little support for them apart from line in the book merchants and their red pens

But if there were only a handful of 37s left, and a load of them had just been destroyed by the "cheese-eating surrender monkeys", there probably wouldn't be so much support for the Baby Deltic project.

 

[fgwrich]

58050 is in Spain, not France, and still exists.

Though as we’ve seen numerous times of late, listing something for the National Collection doesn’t mean it will happen, eg 77382 (442401), 313201 etc…

 

[Ianigsy]

The 58s were conceived as a stopgap, but within 10 years of them being built, the trainload coal traffic that they were built for was in terminal decline.

In preservation terms, it would probably be more important to have 60100, as the last main line diesel locomotive built in Britain to date.

 

[Wyrleybart]

But if there were only a handful of 37s left, and a load of them had just been destroyed by the "cheese-eating surrender monkeys", there probably wouldn't be so much support for the Baby Deltic project.

But there aren't and haven't been.
Besides which there are extant 37s which are unlikely to ever run again, in exactly the same scenario as the 58s. Straight off the top of my head 37042 37152 37188 and 37679 are just four.

Not sure that slurring the French supports the argument too much because AIUI it is DB who have planned the destruction of the 58s. But hey

 

[Dunfanaghy Rd]

Good locos ? Not by the reports of the time , very liable to slipping unlike the 56’s

Indeed. The first one I encountered was bringing a train of Seacows into Woking Yard. It's a good job the wagon brakes worked, or the whole lot would have slid onto Platform 1 (wouldn't have been the first time that happened BTW).
Pat

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

What a load of hyper emotional nonsense.

Quite.

 

[87electric]

But there aren't and haven't been.
Besides which there are extant 37s which are unlikely to ever run again, in exactly the same scenario as the 58s. Straight off the top of my head 37042 37152 37188 and 37679 are just four.

Not sure that slurring the French supports the argument too much because AIUI it is DB who have planned the destruction of the 58s. But hey

37188 certainly won’t run again. It was cut up in 2019.

 

[DGH 1]

Personally, I'm not bothered what some people think, I love the class 58's and miss travelling to monk Fryston and Worksop and other great locations to see them, yes they weren't perfect but what trains are. From seeing the mock-up model and reading about them in the Railnews when I was a youngster, they're the only 'modern' locomotive that I like as much as 50s and 60s classic traction.
Yes I know I'm sentimental, it's what helps me to live in this mad world.

 

[lyndhurst25]

The 58s were conceived as a stopgap, but within 10 years of them being built, the trainload coal traffic that they were built for was in terminal decline.

In preservation terms, it would probably be more important to have 60100, as the last main line diesel locomotive built in Britain to date.

I think that BREL hoped that the 58s would win further domestic and export orders. It’s modular construction would allow the loco to be easily modified to suit different requirements. I remember drawings of single cab and electric versions.

Class 56s were still being built at Doncaster, but production was moved, again, to Crewe to make the room to build the 58s (like the Triumph TR7, the 56s were built in three different plants over their production run). With hindsight BR should just have ordered another batch of 56s.

I remember the mock-up 58 cab on display at Doncaster station and when 58001 was wheeled out of the works for the first time. It would be nice if 58050 could be brought back to Doncaster and put on display somewhere in the town (city!), but the slab sides would be a massive graffiti magnet.

 

[Class15]

Personally, I'm not bothered what some people think, I love the class 58's and miss travelling to monk Fryston and Worksop and other great locations to see them, yes they weren't perfect but what trains are. From seeing the mock-up model and reading about them in the Railnews when I was a youngster, they're the only 'modern' locomotive that I like as much as 50s and 60s classic traction.
Yes I know I'm sentimental, it's what helps me to live in this mad world.

Quite. Their withdrawal after 10-15 years was ridiculous.

 

[Alanko]

The video comments always provide a bit of light relief on weekend mornings like this. What a load of hyper emotional nonsense.

Such a waste, good locos with years of service left in them, etc ad nauseam.

I've read, consistently, that they were incredibly light on their feet. This seems like a pretty major failing.

 

[TreacleMiller]

The video comments always provide a bit of light relief on weekend mornings like this. What a load of hyper emotional nonsense.

Indeed.

It's as though a field of puppies was accidentally assaulted by a combine.

 

[Class15]

The video comments always provide a bit of light relief on weekend mornings like this. What a load of hyper emotional nonsense.

No. Have some respect please. Just because you don’t like the 58s some people like them (including me).

 

[Alanko]

No. Have some respect please. Just because you don’t like the 58s some people like them (including me).

Where does respect come into it? Some machines that weren't especially effective at the job they were designed for have been scrapped; the only realistic outcome for them, and a totally understandable one.


Are we meant to have a period of mourning every time something is cut up these days?

 

[D365]

Are we meant to have a period of mourning every time something is cut up these days?

Yes. Next question

 

[Class15]

Where does respect come into it? Some machines that weren't especially effective at the job they were designed for have been scrapped; the only realistic outcome for them, and a totally understandable one.


Are we meant to have a period of mourning every time something is cut up these days?

Respect of other people’s opinions. Calling comments on YouTube videos that have sentiment “rubbish” is extremely disrespectful, which I’m relatively sure is against the forum rules. You think they weren’t good locos, so what? Some people think the 37s weren’t good locos, yet they survived 60 years. Other people think they were good locos. I’m not condemning their scrapping, I’m annoyed at the people that have no respect for others who’s childhood locos may have been 58s.