The Last of its kind. Class 28 Metrovick Co Bo Diesel Locomotive.

[@mickb6285]

Respect to the volunteers working on the class 28 and many similar preservation projects through out the country. They don't get the recognition they deserve.

[@dansweet6793]

If your a Thomas fan we call this BOCO. As a American I have to say the British do a great job in preserving railroad history. That ontop of great humor that brought us things like Monty Python, that show with Rick Mayell and Father Ted, the British are also responsible for the greatest fictional agent besides Ethan Hunt, the great 007 James Bond. Keep up the great work U.K

[@keithsanders6554]

I remember being on Manchester Central station when two Co-Bos arrived with the down Palatine. I managed to get someone to show me round which included gping from front cab, through the engine room to rear cab then through the connection to the second loco, through the engine room and out through the rear cab of the second loco. So, yes the corridor connections were in use. Having just come 200+ miles fro St Pancras the engine rooms were very hot and with very little room to walk through. I have a few photos of them working in the early 1960s.

[@tardismole]

Holding a bowl under me chin to catch the drool. I love old engines. Proper jelly here. Amazing work these people put in.

[@triffidgrower]

Brilliant. 50 years ago, here in Oz, I worked with the men, former drivers, then Inspectors, who wrote the loco. drivers operating manuals for the NSWGR. They graduated from steam, to diesel, and then to administration. They understood the design and application of every loco. component, such as depicted in this clip. I have witnessed their opinions and advice sometimes proving correct over that of the engineers who designed the locomotives. In hindsight I'm staggered by the knowledge and instinct that those men amassed, having begun their careers shovelling coal. Thanks for this one...👍

[@andyrichardsvideovlogs8835]

Ah, the Co-Bo. I loved them as a youth. After their move to Barrow in 1965, they spent a lot of time working passenger duties particularly Barrow-Preston and Barrow- Man Vic. They made a fantastic sound and chucked almost as much smoke out as a steam engine. In April 1967, I was out trainspotting when 3 of them went past being towed off for scrap by a steam engine - the ultimate insult. The ConDor headboard survives in the Head of Steam pub on Huddersfield Station. Great video 👍

[@ronm3245]

I understand the "ultimate insult." I once saw a TV show where they were scrapping the ship that I had been stationed on when I was in the US Navy. At one point they were cutting apart my berthing compartment and I saw the actual rack that I had slept on for 3 years.

[@johnjephcote7636]

I seem to remember that a pair always worked the Condor and that these machines were not loved at the time, often suffering failures.

[@ronm3245]

@@tremensdelirious I kept those in the 400Hz generator room.

[@ChrisMemphisBoy]

I think u went transporting around June 1968 instead , the first 3 metrovicks that were towed off for scrap were d5700 d5703 and d5704, all three were sent to a Glasgow scrapyard in Scotland and that was nowhere near April 1967,

[@dominichetherington2287]

No the ultimate payback not insult

[@phillmaf7319]

Wow....I used to help there in the late 70 s . Yoda the shunter , beautiful with better face than my ex Mrs.

[@Zombiehunter2_0]

I like how the video is 28 minutes and 28 second long, and it's about a Class 28. Nice touch.

[@RS-xo7rd]

Nice to see a young bloke involved. I was a young spotter when these came out, and as well as working the Condor, I think they worked a St.Pancras-Bradford express double-headed; if I timed it right and got off the bus home from school, I was able to 'cop' the train. I think they used to add each new loco to this train as they were delivered. As a result, I saw all of them except possibly the last one. On one occasion, I also saw a group of three running light engine towards St. P. Glad one was saved

[@adeeponionbrah]

This appears to be a thorough rebuild of all systems. Thank you for this excellent presentation!

[@yorkie2789]

Many thanks Martin, who doesn't like old locos. Hull History Nerd is a top bloke its well worth checking out his stuff.

[@hullhistorynerd]

You're too kind!

[@laszlofyre845]

In my early days on the railway, I recall old drivers from Trafford Park, Gorton, and Patricroft telling me that the issues with the Crossley engines were that they suffered from insufficiently rigid bedplates and crankcases, which allowed the main assemblies of the engine to move relative to each other, which would make for not only titanic oil leaks, but stresses on bearings and moving surfaces. Especially if cornered hard on bad P-way. It's filled with irony for me this video, for many reasons. Starting with Bury- I was a driver at the new station for it's last 5 1/2 years. And was the last soul to move the 504 stock on the last day. Crossleys- my very first job on leaving school was to start a 5 year fitting apprenticeship at Crossleys, but for various reasons decided to jack it in fairly quickly. Considering what happened to big engineering in this country not long after, a wise move. While doing this course, I was at Openshaw tech college, opposite Crossleys fitting shop, and next to Ashburys sidings, and thus saw where my future was to lie, had I known it. A couple of years later after and a few not very endearing jobs, I ended up working on New Smithfield market, just up the road from Crossleys, on the site of the old Gorton Tank shed and works. I used to see the DC electrics working adjacent during the early morning starts, doing what I later learned, and at times worked, was Trip 18, and seeing the staff train plying its nocturnal trade. A few years after that, I started on the railway, and then saw the market from the other side of the fence! Metro-Vics- they built the class 76 that I loved and miss so much, they were a staple of my early years on the job. After cessation of Woodhead activities, I moved to Bury, so managed to keep in touch with DC electrics on the other remaining oddball electric system. Happy days indeed. Ta for showing us this Cinderella engine, I last saw it as a carriage heater at Bristol in the 70's. The pulse charging thing is a fancy name for a tuned exhaust on a 2 stroke, like putting an expansion chamber on a Yamaha fizzy; the shape being designed so that at a certain critical engine speed, the negative pressure wave would effectively suck the next slug of exhaust gas out of the cylinder better than it could do without the wave. The resonant frequency being the key. It's going to be a blinder when it's up and running again. Cheers'n'beers mate.

[@mickd6942]

I lived by the side of the woodhead line on the wath branch from being five until the line closed i could watch the 76's all day long , I went to see them at reddish and guide bridge after withdrawal and like you i miss them , now I cycle on the route most weekends and think of the times when two 76's 32 coal wagons and two more 76's as bankers would move off on their way over the pennines , my daughter's find it hard to imagine there was a railway there let alone an electric one

[@vsvnrg3263]

crossleys had a terrible reputation in western australia where there was something like 600 mods were made to keep them going. ireland just swapped the motors out for gm emd's, those engines being predecessors for the modern engines in the 66 class locos.

[@bryanearthloop2403]

See also .. the historic MZ two stroke motorbikes....race and roadster. similar expansion chamber but to optimise the power band

[@johnm2012]

Did you actually drive the Class 76s? I'd love to hear about the driving technique if you can remember. Also, I'm curious to know what was inside the body of the machine. As there was no engine, no generator, not even a transformer, was it full of resistors and braking equipment?

[@OscarOSullivan]

Crossleys were also the engines supplied for the CIÉ A and C class engines later 001 and 201 class. Reliability problems until the late 1960’s early 1970’s when they were re engined with GM engines.

[@lindamccaughey6669]

What a beautiful loco that is. I do love all trains but confess a deeper love for the steam train. I absolutely loved this. Thanks so much for taking me along. Please stay safe and take care

[@neilstafford7245]

The brake valves are Davies and Metcalfe (D&M). I worked at D&M at Romiley near Stockport, building and servicing brake systems for BR locos mainly Class 56 and HST's in my time.

[@Ben31337l]

The term Co'-Bo' was part of UIC/ AAR classification of locomtovies by wheel arrangment. The system was come up in germany (UIC classification for locomtovie wheel arrangements). The UK and Association of American Railroads uses a simplified version of the original german version of it.

[@oldtuberig]

That class 03 is a good runner. Sounds awesome!

[@petedemaio168]

Diesel heaven. Wonderful. Thanks for this. One day I'll visit this place, I say that every year, but I will get around to it! A very rare thing. Odd looking though. With its straight front, a bit like a bulldog. Funny thing design, makes a lot of difference, like the slight angle of the windscreen on the class 25 makes it beautiful, in my eyes! I'd better stop now.

[@NickRatnieks]

I can recall that many years ago, this loco was kept on a siding at a BR works and the owner got behind with the rent. At one point BR threated to cut the engine up and sell the scrap to cover the rent in arrears. Thankfully, this loco survived. Hornby Dublo made an OO model of this class of loco.

[@mickd6942]

That owner was the late Colin massingham proprietor of the infamous MTK ( modern traction kits ) well known to older model railway enthusiasts, personally I liked the kits as they allowed you to build engines that weren't available ready to run but they were rough and needed good building skills , it's thanks to him that this loco escaped the cutters torch after it's departmental use was over .

[@aidanmv137cw]

And here is a short clip about the rent dispute. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4m3np1qZcxmgs0

[@bigdmac33]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4m3np1qZcxmgs0.

[@alantraish3368]

Got to have his name on it somewhere then. 👍

[@jimmillward3505]

I never seen james so bored...im not even into trains and i enjoyed it..

[@barryroberts2196]

As a kid I remember seeing the Condor stopped at St. Albans City station in the evening. On most occasions double headed. This was the time when a whole host of diesels were being brought in to replace our wonderful steam locos. Trust the preservation plan goes well.

[@ma_rin_49]

Used to get pulled with one of them on the Belfast Boat Express from Chorley to Manchester Victoria on a Sunday morning and I also managed to see every loco of the class.

[@rachel4300]

Thanks for including the 03. Wonderful sound and sight of the engine running :) Will be wonderful when they get the Class 28 running as well. I do like to see the early diesels even if they weren't great runners. There seem to be an amazing number in preservation.

[@bigdmac33]

A bang-on video. Thanks for doing it. The Co-Bo has always been one of my favourites, ever since Terence Cuneo's 'Condor' painting graced the cover of the Triang Hornby catalogue that I had as a kid. In fact, Cuneo's work inspired me to do a painting of the Gresley A4 Pacific 'Silver Link.' While I could never replicate Cuneo's superb work, still, the painting is a kind of tribute to him.

[@Hairnicks]

Great, thank you Martin, fascinating restoration and rescue.

[@okeefer2000]

"Look is what, what is on display" I love hearing gems like that from you Martin.

[@ffrancrogowski2192]

I remember this particular loco appearing at the long since closed Buxton Midland station goods depot in about 1961. It came and went away after dropping off a couple of vans in a short period of time, and it was by accident that I spotted it. It was the only member of it's class that I ever saw. Looking at the interior of the loco, it's nothing like the interior of a class 31 or 47 - the traction I was trained on when I became a driver. The power handle in the cab is most unusual being a wheel - never seen that before. Great video, and many thanks, Martin. PS you look the man, sat in the driver''s seat!

[@sapper82]

The "Exhaust Pulse Pressure Charging" is an application of the "Kadenacy effect", named after Michel Kadenacy who obtained a French patent for an engine utilizing the effect in 1933. Basically, exhaust of the engine, which works on the two stroke principal, is released to atmosphere whilst it still has a fair amount of energy. As it rushes out to atmosphere it creates a vacuum in the cylinder just as the inlet ports open, drawing in the fresh charge of air. The tuning referred to is where the length of the exhaust system is matched to the speed of the engine where maximum power is wanted. The basic principal is not that difficult to grasp, but getting it to work is rather complex.

[@rjmun580]

Thanks for that!

[@660einzylinder]

As an aside, the principle was brought much nearer to perfection for two stroke motorcycles, by Walter Kaaden at MZ in the DDR. He developed the motorcycle expansion chamber exhaust as we know it and MZ would have won the 1961 World Championship...except that their star rider, Ernst Degner, defected at the Swedish Grand Prix, taking the secrets to Suzuki. By 1961, MZ achieved 200bhp/litre with their 125cc machine.

[@hughjarse4627]

It works at full chat that’s about it

[@john1703]

The operative thing is "two stroke", so there are no poppet vales to seal gas flow, so you need to exploit resonance in the inlet and exhaust pipes, especially the exhaust. You see similar exhaust systems on Field Marshall tractors.

[@jhuc2869]

I think this is a slightly different arrangement in that the exhaust is scavenged by a blower through ports in a given cylinder until a neighbouring cylinder exhausts at which point the pulse from that cylinder creates back pressure in the manifold on the initial cylinder and creates a degree of resistance to the scavenging allowing for a degree of supercharging. Could be wrong but that’s how I’ve read it. Can’t wait to hear it run - sounds like it will be a really mucky bitch - even worse than a class 68!

[@hullhistorynerd]

Cracking video, loved seeing the insides of it all. And it was great to meet you guys, look forward to your visit to Hull!

[@daviddearden6372]

That takes me back sixty years ago trainspotting on the top line at Agecroft Brew. At about five o'clock in the evening you had the Carlisle express coming up the bank from Brindle Heath and the Barrow always pulled By a Co-Bo going the other way. I think the Barrow train might have been a parcels,but I cannot be sure. The Carlisle usually was a mickey (black 5) but if you were lucky it was a Brit.Happy days.

[@stephaniekent8483]

magic, magic. grew up watching them on Merseyside ... big rail fan here in NZ... love the "off to the pub" bit... bless :) x

[@tbroyd]

Great video👍 Really interesting, good to see progress being made with the restoration

[@siccodierdorp6947]

The reason they chose the unusual Co-Bo arrangement had, as I remember well, to do with weight. They wanted it to be as light as possible for obvious reasons, and two-axle bogies are significantly less heavy than three-axle bogies. However, the heavy motor would have put too much axle weight on the rails with a two-axle bogie. So, they chose to put a Co' bogie under the motor part and a Bo' under the other. It therewith still scratched a few tonnes off and that always very important in the loco building industry, especially in those days.

[@IIVQ]

The French X 74500 motor cars have a similar arrangement, consisting of a short (10.2m, containing the engine) and long (16.0m) part, the whole resting on 3 bogies (6 axles) to keep axle weight under 8t.

[@russellgxy2905]

Always found it a bit strange why they didn't opt with a Co-Co, or even an A1A-A1A like the EE Type 2's.

[@IIVQ]

@@russellgxy2905 Co-Bo has 5 driven axles (the "o" stands for independent, the usual arrangement for electric engines but uncommon in steam). A1A-A1A has less driven axles and thus less power tractive power, which is important for freight locomotives. Co-Co would add more weight, which was something they maybe didn't need, as, in a freight loco, you want axle weight to be as high as possible for maximum traction effort - but low enough that the rails will still support you off course. In any rigid frame of 3 or more axles, you need the centre axle(s) to have a little bit of sidewards play which adds complexity so this might have been a reason to do this only once.

[@animaltvi9515]

What does A1A A1A actually mean. . I know what co co and bo bo mean but not A1A . Thanks

[@siccodierdorp6947]

@@animaltvi9515 An A1A bogie is a three-axle bogie with the outer two axels powered and the middle not (is that calles a trailing axle??) just for weight distribution

[@carlwilson1772]

Absolutely brilliant Martin. Love the engineering side of things. Great to see inside the Co Bo. Loved the 03 too. Liked seeing the Wilson preselector gearbox, made by Self Changing Gears. Brilliant film.

[@nigeldewallens1115]

That was magnificent! I used to live near to Dartmouth and on the opposite side was the Kniswear Train service! I went with my niece and her mum and we got on a train that was being pulled by the flying scotsman! I was in seventh heaven! thank you for that lovely vlog on that engine! thank you ever so much! 👋👋👋👋👋👋

[@rodneymcgovern5984]

For the sake of everyone else's sanity, I think it worth pointing out that the railway, on the opposite side from Dartmouth, was and still is the Kingswear terminus of the Dartmouth Steam Railway!

[@nigeldewallens1115]

@@rodneymcgovern5984 for the sake of every ones sanity ! I made a mistake ok! I am sorry and it is 30 plus years since I lived there ok!

[@paulbissitt4754]

Hello Martin, picture this.It,s late 1959/1960 and a very young Spotter had just had his Sunday morning egg and bacon and walked to Old Trafford to collect autographs (Albert Quixall and Nobby Stiles to name just two),then it was round the back to see what was on shed.There were quite a few rusting old steam locos around (Ex LNER D/11,s Mons and Jutland for example) but parked next to them were quite a few Co -Bo,s.I didn't know at the time but they were waiting there turn in the queue for repair at nearby Crossleys at Openshaw.I managed to cop almost all of them this way without ever seeing one of them working.Always had a soft spot for them ever since.Hope to see it up and running before I 'hit the buffers' !!! Cheers for a very interesting video.

[@Deltacon84]

Amazing video. Started watching couldn’t stop to the end. Fantastic I subscribed 😎👍cheers and long live the 28.

[@Steve_Wardley_G6JEF]

Born in 1956 means all this diesel malarkey was going on as we transitioned form steam which I just about remember. Nothing wrong with nerdy videos Martin, I love that exhaust whistle of loco's like 37s, 47s, Deltics etc, reminds me of the long car transporters that passed through Wakefield near my then home. Brilliant stuff from Hull History Nerd too, I watch all his content, glad you bumped into him.

[@adrian.debeauvais5911]

Lovely informative production Martin 👏 Can't wait for this locomotive to be up and running. It breaks my heart to think of all the great British engineering concerns that have gone such as brush traction, met vic , English Electric who produced the mighty deltics .total disgrace they're gone. Not ro mention my own world of machine tools that made em , Herbert's lathes webster and bennett vertical boring machines dean ,smith and grace .we led the world .Now we're a third rate manufacturer dependent on cheap nasty foreign machine tools and steel. Disgusting. Please make these lovely down to earth productions. I get it technically and you appeal to the ordinary layman as well. Great stuff and the gritty northern accent gives it even more credence. Thank goodness for all the enthusiastic people who take time out to preserve our engineering heritage.many un paid volunteers who share a common passion for well engineered British made stuff. Great keep em coming. 👌

[@neilrobinson9806]

Love the vids you and many others are modern historians showing just how much we have lost or given away you choose many regards

[@robertbester]

Thank you very much for the video. I watched the Hull History Nerd one before this and this one was mentioned in his video description.

[@hond654]

Nice surprise at the end by Hull History Nerd!

[@rorybrown9750]

Saw this very loco going through Stafford station in about 1973, It was under its own power and running light. I was train spotting on the platform and clearly remember the unique ( and very loud ) engine noise it made. It was sporting a research department number and I believe it was usually based at Derby. I can also remember seeing a great line of them in a siding at Carlisle sometime in the early sixties, presumably they were in storage or waiting for scrapping.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Very cool this. I'm a overseas member (Netherlands) of the volunteer group but I haven't been to the railway since the covid outbreak. This year it is a very involving house renovation which prevented me attending the gala, but as soon as I have finished the brunt of the exterior work on the house I will start attending weekends again. From what I can see in your video a lot of progress has been made, some of the brake gubbins like small pipes and filters I have been cleaning and painting during my last working weekend were in place now. The group working on the CoBo and also the class 15 is a great bunch of people, we have good times at work and in the pub as well. So thank you for this video, I hope to meet you live sometimes on an event, as I do enjoy your other vids on all the historic stuff you do.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Tom good luck with the project

[@Wedgedoow]

What a very interesting and informative video, I can remember most of the prototype diesels DP2 being a favourite. Keep em coming Martin.

[@rydermike33]

Many thanks for a brilliant video Martin. As mentioned by Nick, I'm old enough to remember the Hornby Doublo 'Condor' train set! So glad one of the CO-BOs have survived. (And you rounded the video off with the wonderful Class 20s, magic.)

[@stewartbennett6837]

Thanks Martin, old enough to see them regularly, running in pairs, on Derby trains from Central, via Marple. From what I remember they had a habit of catching fire.

[@stevem-h3562]

I remember seeing this thing buried away in a very dark corner of Bristol Bath Road depot, some time in the late 1970s wearing a TDB number. Right scraggy old lump, it was..... certainly didnt look as good as it does now. Glad its been kept and preserved.

[@williamrobinson7435]

I have huge admiration for people like Chris and colleagues, keeping history alive for the future, whether it be trains or whatever. Great to see Hull History Nerd.. I'm a big fan of his channel too. Nice one Martin! 🌟👍

[@michaelcauser474]

Thank you David for doing this video. As a kid living in a little village in Kent in the 50s/early 60s I had hardly any contact with the railways until I went to grammar school in when I got to use the EMUs. I have always had a leaning to the oddball machines and the Co-Bo has always had a strong place in my heart even if I never got to see the real one. I still have the Dublo model, along with the class 20, in my collection. I had given up on seeing one in real life, especially as I left England in 1967, but you have given me a reason to visit the UK again.

[@MartinZero]

Cheers Michael

[@alecoldroyd6213]

Another excellent video. Nice to see Chris's Muse T shirt!

[@leroyholm9075]

Martin: Great video, still recovering from the Manchester - Liverpool railway video, awesome. Well done some great questions on the Cobos, looking at my old records I got to see 11 of them in my wayward youth, busting sheds.

[@alantraish3368]

Excellent. Thankfully saved by the DTG guys and a few others( the 42,15 etc) . Cant wait for tge Baby Deltic 23 resurrection at Barrow Hill. Cheers

[@johncarden1112]

I remember the Metrovick Co-Bo D5700 class as they delivered from Derby works. They worked initially in pairs, D5700 and D5701 were working Midland Mainline expresses and the Condor fitted freight. They were one of the various BR initial diesel classes that were not reproduced in numbers. The made a good noise as they had to work hard up the continuous gradient out of St Pancras towards Bedford.

[@TalesOfWar]

Bury Bolton Street station is brilliant for seeing all this heritage rolling stock. There's always something going on. Well worth a visit if you're bored one weekend! The Transport Museum is across the road too.

[@PhilPage227]

Fascinating info Martin, I was there on Saturday and wish I had taken more photos of it.

[@oldmanhuppiedos]

A special locomotive, with a whole history.

[@roberthuron9160]

In the US,Fairbanks-Morse had a series of diesels,known as C-Liners,which had the interesting wheel arrangement of B-A-1-A,which came in both A,and B types,i.e.,cab and booster,they were used by the NYC,LIRR,and several others,put in 20 years of service! The CP,also used them,primarily out West! The engine was a two stroke opposed piston type,originally meant for submarines! Sort of parallels that type 28! To my knowledge,no Fairbanks-Morse was ever preserved,but I can be wrong,I hope!! Thanks for an very interesting walk through,and kudos to that preservation group!! Thank you!! 😇

[@vsvnrg3263]

a few f-m's have been preserved. there may be a couple of them run too. have a look on youtube for them. deltic and other engines by napier, as well as the fairbanks-morse engines may all be based on an old german u-boat engine. f-m engines were still being used in yank subs in at least the 70's.

[@brettjones5041]

good on you . love the old Diesel and steam musclemen .

[@allancawleys.trains9917]

Great video Martin, very interesting and informative..looking forward to the startup of this beast ... Keep them coming ..subscribed to your chanel .take care ..

[@leedavies3629]

Nice one Martin well interesting 🇬🇧✌️

[@johncourtneidge]

Phenomonal effort, all! Well done! Thank-you!

[@totherarf]

Well that was an unusual horn tone! But then again they did have unusual stuff back in the 70's! ;o) I remember working putting high bay light fittings in the Crankshaft section at Gardners (80's)! It is surprising how small an area was responsible for so many Trains (Trafford Park, Gardners and the Steam Engine manufacturers on Green Lane .... all within 1 mile).

[@davidhoughton273]

Hello Martin, A fine film as usual. Terence Cuneo the artist you mentioned painted many engineering subjects, the Queen’s Coronation and WW2 illustrations. From the mid-50’s his artwork would include a small mouse somewhere in the picture. His artwork would appear on the cover of the annual Triang model train brochure and I can remember searching for the mouse on each new issue.

[@alecoldroyd6213]

IIRC the mouse is on the signal gantry on the Condor painting. My favourite one had it as a telegraph insulator!

[@leeclift4666]

Brilliant video Martin thanks for posting. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@Sim0nTrains]

Nice video Martin, I've seen the Class 28 myself at a ELR Gala in 2016 and a quick photo of me in the cab but thanks for showing us a walk around of the locomotive. I got a Tardis feel that it looks small on the outside but bigger on the inside!

[@c5173]

Fabulous Martin. Thank-you. You'll need to go back and update when it's finished.

[@arthurmatthews9321]

The exhaust pulse pressure charging is a form of scavenger pressure charging used in a two stroke engine. Two stroke diesels have to have the intake air forced into the cylinders in order for them to run . You were right when you said it was a type of turbo charging.

[@buzzukfiftythree]

Great video. I didn't realise there any of these unique locos left, so wonderful to see it. Look forward to it being back in service. I always craved to have the Hornby-Dublo model of it as a lad but never did. Incidentally, quite a lot of the locos in Switzerland and elsewhere built around the same time and earlier had wheels in the cab to control speed.

[@johnsheehan2417]

These locos are interesting from an Irish perspective. In 1955 Irish railways (CIE) took delivery of 60 Co-Co 1200 hp locos from Metrovick. They had Crossley engines, and proved to be very unreliable, largely because of engine vibration, which I think was referred to in the video. By 1957, the problems with the Irish A-Class should have been well-known. Basically the class 28s were very similar to the Irish locos, apart from the CO-BO arrangement. From about 1968 onwards the entire class of 60 A-class was re-engined with General Motors power units, and went on to have a much more successful career than seemed possible with the Crossley engines.

[@OscarOSullivan]

Think only the Australians were able to get the Crossley engine to work

[@dirkupnmoor]

Very remarkable loco, I've never heard of an asymmetric axle arrangement like this before.

[@pajotero4219]

I saw an 03 once at Lincoln when on a Kings X - Skegness Deltic tour. Prob around 1980ish.

[@MartinDHayes]

You Gent's are having too much fun!!! Love it! Great video and learning experience! Thank you!!

[@peterflitcroft9756]

Used to see these run past my late uncles house when we used to visit Barrow in Furness in the 1960’s.

[@misskittysmith]

Lovely video, really well put together. You taught me a lot! Thanks

[@scaleop4]

gotta love old trains like this.

[@cecilwilson5442]

Hat's off to the fellas and girls that work for the preservation of such trains as without such society's we would have photos to look at ,, and no train's or buses ,,I work in Belfast Harland and wolf,,repairing ships. ,, really enjoyed the VIDEO,,☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️

[@peterforden5917]

I beleive that a VERY early diesel- is still running on the Bangor( NI) Co, Down,museum railway I think it has a Metro Vickers engine, as did many oothers both South an North of the Border,I beleive that the South quite soon tired of theirM.V. motors and ditched them for rather more reliable US motors, some of the remotored units stil survive in Museum service (In Ireland) hope you get to see the Bangor machine in actionn :)

[@cecilwilson5442]

@@peterforden5917 used to see huge big diesel engine doing the Dublin express,,big blue engine l some day I'll get down to the white head railway preservation society,,our old diesel trains seemed quite reliable,, new ones have a Man truck engine in every Carriage,,far as I know ☘️☘️☘️☘️

[@NickRatnieks]

Funnily enough, Crossley made a bus in the 1930s called the Condor. When I was a teenager in Portsmouth, one survived- it had been cut down to a towing vehicle. It made the most incredible grinding sound when it was driven- the gears I suppose. It is now preserved and may be up on YT. Portsmouth Corporation did have a fleet of later Crossley buses- they went in 1967 but I can recall that the bonnets had "Leyland Diesel" badges on them. Clearly Portsmouth Corporation did not want Crossley motors for some reason!

[@iankemp1131]

I have a feeling that the later buses may have been Crossley bodies on a Leyland chassis. Pity my dad isn't still around, he would have told us! Have some old books on Portsmouth buses buried somewhere ...

[@NickRatnieks]

@@iankemp1131 Apparently, the Portsmouth Corporation Crossley buses were fitted with Brockhouse Turbo-converters when new- they effectively had no gearbox. In the late 1950s when the Leyland Titan TD4s were withdrawn their Leyland engines and gearboxes were transplanted into the Crossleys- so when they were withdrawn in the mid 60s they had 30 plus year old engines and gearboxes. This was way they had those Leyland engines- to improve their fuel consumption.

[@Dave64track]

Brilliant video thanks for the tour around inside this piece of history it was really an eye opener for me just fantastic.

[@davidmunro1469]

Thank you Martin /. trains are my thing. I have gone through Canadas Rocky Mountains , copper canyon in Mexico and the Lahina and Kahanipali rail road on Maui Hawian sugar cane train Myrtle 3.

[@barney2051]

Quality video that Martin. I've always been a bit of a nerd. Vids like this make me smile.

[@Batlampjim]

No Computers and the 03 all designed from the mind how Amazing is that .

[@johnogsii7976]

Brilliant video Martin, enjoyed every minute of that. Can't wait to see the progress of such a unique loco. 👌👍

[@pilpelet100]

I don't know the first thing about locomotives but this was worth watching if only to see the enthusiasm on your face and hear it in your voice. That brought a smile to my face. So thanks for posting. I think that James may have done better by staying home and having a lie-in! He looked absolutely bored out of his mind! 🙄🙄

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Ruth, James actually enjoyed the day. Just inside the Loco it was a bit beyond his interest

[@allansmith4447]

I remember that on a forgotten date between 1966-1968 this engine or another of this class was on Reddish DED for repairs. I was secondman to the Shed Driver and they wanted it moving from outside into the shed, my driver looked at it and said you do it....so i did, this was the one and only time in my 45 year Railway career I drove one of these, also one of the 204 hp Shunters was based at Ardwick/Ashburys and I was allowed to drive that also for the first and last time as well.

[@duncanwanders4209]

Allan....have you read my comment of 26/07/22 ? I wonder if Reddish was 5711's destination The years certainly fit

[@johnm2012]

The Class 28 was a test-bed to determine whether two-stroke diesel engines had a future in BR. The pulse charging is a direct consequence of the two-stroke cycle and wouldn't apply to a four-stroke engine. There's a point in the two-stroke cycle where both the inlet and exhaust ports are briefly open at the same time and air is blown under pressure into the cylinder first to push out (or "scavenge") the exhaust gases and then, when the exhaust port has closed, to charge the cylinder for the next cycle. That needs a lot of air in a very short amount of time and the usual Roots type of blower isn't sufficient to meet the instantaneous demand so, by tuning the exhaust, pulses of low pressure can be created inside the exhaust manifold to help with the scavenging, leaving more air available to charge the cylinder once the exhaust port has closed. Two-stroke diesel engines, despite their apparent simplicity, need a lot of supporting ancillary equipment and they just haven't proved themselves to be as reliable as four-stroke engines. The Class 23 Baby Deltic was another example of a very temperamental two-stroke design, and here the engine itself was far from simple. The Class 55 "big" Deltic was only the success it was because of the huge inventory of spares, the ability to limp on with one engine shut down and the fact that it was relatively quick and easy to replace an entire engine.

[@paulwilson7234]

Would that be similar to a power valve system as used by Yamaha?

[@22pcirish]

The class 66 has an EMD 720 two stroke engine and that particular engine has been produced in thousands all around the world. It’s extremely reliable, an excellent puller and powerful.

[@johnm2012]

@@22pcirish Wasn't the Class 59 the first to use a modern General Motors two-stroke engine here in the UK? Reliability has clearly improved enormously over the past half century!

[@oo0Spyder0oo]

@@paulwilson7234 no because the power valve on our bikes enlarges and closes the port size, the pulse method here is supercharging by forcing more air into another cylinder from the exhaust pressure of another. On an mx bike the pressure wave built up in the expansion chamber supercharges the bike with unburnt fuel being forced back in, which gives you that awesome kick at the high end.

[@22pcirish]

@@johnm2012 yes, they use the V16 cylinder 645 engine. Another motor that’s powered probably thousands of locos worldwide. The 720 is a V12 with better fuel efficiency. I’ve driven thousands of miles with GMs and reckon they are about the best. (Still would like to learn class 59 though)

[@paulspickernell6875]

Thanks Martin, great video, east lancs railway is a fantastic place to visit, so much history on show. I used to see the warships every day from my school, thundering through Slough station in the 70s.

[@flyingfox7854]

Hi … Martin … just got back from holiday in the USA …. Managed to visit the Bethlehem Steel Works Museum .. what an amazing place … they still have 3 huge blast furnaces outside … unfortunately you can’t get up close, Inside the museum was well laid out with some very nice restored items of machinery which were used within the steel works at various times, most interesting to me was a drop forge hammer made in Patricroft … The museum is still a project in the making so hopefully I’ll get back there once it’s completed. Thanks for your videos ….

[@Cthulhu1970]

Great! Thank you for making this video of one of my favourite diesels. :)

[@philipdrury8499]

That painting if i remember was used on a Hornby railways catalogue.

[@rangeroverl322]

Guys thank you for a cracking video. Brilliant 👍👍👍

[@jaybee1921]

Hi and thankyou for an excellent video. I have often wondered what these loco's were about and why they were designed as they were. The work that the volunteers are doing is to be much admired. I shall look forward to when East Lancs bring it back into service... Take care and thanks again, Jon Barnes.

[@stevebarbier5602]

Cracking video Martin thanks very much. More like this please !!!

[@rosmeartoo]

Several interesting comments about the 'tuned exhaust and that it (probably) only gave maximum benefit @ max power. I had a Commer TS3 truck, designed in 1952 so of the same era. This had a 3cyl, 2 stroke, 6 pistoned, flat engine that operated in the same manner as the Napier Deltics. These engines revved @ 5000 rpm that, for a diesel, was very fast when a normal road engine would be about 1200. In order to get a sufficient charge and good scavenge the engine was supercharged. This would seem to be a simpler solution where space & weight are not critical (as a motorbike) plus it gives variable output. The Deltics & the Commer also produced a lot of smoke, especially when the engine was cold due to oil lying in the horizonal cylinders being burnt off. Thanks for the video, keep up the good work.

[@alltransman5033]

I spent many happy hours at cricklewood mpd as a kid and remember the condor frieght being prepared at the breant East Yard for its run to Glasgow, often saw the locos on other duties around cricklewood

[@FredWilbury]

Great video Martin some brilliant info . Regards Fred

[@nicklowe536]

Elr is an amazing place they do some fantastic themed weekends and the santa trains are the best

[@danielsellers8707]

This loco appears in a Thomas fanfiction I'm working on where D5705 (CoBo) joins BoCo after a chance meeting between BoCo and the Class 151 units that used to run on the Matlock line at the time D5705 was stored in the old goods shed. BoCo is surprised Derby & Matlock (the Class 151s) knew he was a Metropolitan Vickers Co-Bo...

[@JFinnerud]

So cool to see it finally running. I visited the ELR shops about 6 years ago and took a couple of picture of this loco undergoing restauration. Good work to all involved!

[@Batlampjim]

Wow I remember seeing this Loco in a copy of 90s Rail Enthusiast Magazine .

[@davek834]

came out in goose bumps when I saw the Gardner engine on the shunter to think my dad may of handle the parts on that engine..mum dad and grandma work there in Peel Green from the early fifties , dad was one of last to be made redundant in around 1990 or so.. from thousands that work there, remember in the early seventies LUT work buses from towns over south lancs taking the workers home, the buildings at the Barton Hall works some have survived with individual firms using them, probably employing dozens instead of thousands , patricroft and peel green was an hot bed for engineering and other manufacturers, sadly nothing much to offer these days