Cobo Boco Loco Part B

1955 - The Dawn Of A New Age

It seemed a good idea at the time. After the damage and decay of the wartime years, it was obvious that omething had to be done with Britain's railway network. The Modernisation Plan was published in 1954 ...

... re-appraised in 1959 then reviewed in 1961 ...

... and reviewed again in 1962. finally came ...

... and its controversial but apparently necessary results.

Part of the 1954 plan was to equip the network with diesels; and, to achieve this, fourteen different types were ordered "for evaluation". Then panic set in and more and more diesels were ordered even before the test batch had turned a wheel!

Many of the types were execrably bad and were soon consigned to the scrap heap.

Most commentators would place the MetroVick  "CoBo" into this category.

Built by Metropolitan Vickers, they had a six wheeled bogie at one end and a four wheeled bogie at the other, hence CoBo. In the TOPS renuberings scheme they became Class 28.

They did appear on passenger trains ...

... but they were notably famous for hauling fast freights between London and Glasgow. 

To this end, the class was eventually all stabled at Carlisle.

But problems soon surfaced with the class. The two-stroke Crossley diesel engines were unreliable and the mainframes started cracking. (What goes around comes around!!).

And the windows fell out!

As built the side panes of the front windows curved seductively round the side (a bit) ostensibly to improve visibility (a bit) ...

... but they kept falling out; so they had to be replaced and the bodywork re-engineered to accommodate flat panes; which were plain but not a pain and did not fall out!

At one point the whole class was withdrawn for modification! Again, what goes around, comes around!!

For reasons that are less than clear, the locos attracted some significant publicity ...

... using a painting by Terence Cuneo.

The poster also appeared on the front cover of a Triang Hornby catalogue ...

... although Triang Hornby never produced a CoBo! That privilege rested with predecessor Hornby Dublo in both three rail ...

... and two rail versions.

fbb remembers that there was "talk" in the model railway press that such a model was highly unattractive and that poor sales were a dead cert. Then Hornby went bust anyway.

Heljan have previously produced today's CoBo in OO and have recently announced another batch.

Rapido offer an N gauge version.

The real Class 28 was often linked (physically and anecdotally) with the Condor branded goods service: Con was for Container and Dor for "Dor to Door"?. 

Containers were available in two sizes ...

... with road collection and delivery at each end included in the price.

Models of the wagon plus containers are available, again from Rapido, in N ...

... but not in OO.

Despite trendy publicity ...

... the service struggled to attain profitability. Even the logo change did not bring in the customers. The red and blue version (Midland and Scottish Region colours) is shown below on an OO model class 26 as manufactured by Suttons Locomotive Works. 

In the loss making days, these locos hauled a half-length train.

In the end, the Condor train died in readiness for Beeching's expanded Liner Train; a plan to replace loss-making wagon load freight with full containerisation.

And BoCo?

The most famous Class 28 has to be Boco, an occasional character from the Thomas the Tank Engine series of books and TV programmes. Originally he had a yellow face cum warning panel ...

... but this was later changed to grey for the books ...

... and films.

And, if you thought some of fbb's interests were a bit on the weird side, try this one!

Nice!

But do the kiddies understand why he is called BoCo? Unlikely, unless daddy knows explains it!

And a real one was also numbered D5702, just like Boco!

 Next Variety blog : Sunday 21st April 

Cobo Boco Loco Part A

This Man Had A No(ta)tion!

His name was Frederick Mathvan Whyte (1865 to 1941). He came up with a cunning plan to classify the wheel arrangement of every possible type of railway steam locomotive and it was a plan adopted world wide. Those of "a certain age" know it so well that it is hard to believe that anyone had to invent it.

But he did.

This particular list was distributed to locomotive builders in 1906.

Whyte may well have come up with the names but only a few of those made it into general use, certainly in the UK.

Even today steam loco aficionados still refer to Pacific, Mogul and Prairie and in his youth fbb did occasionally see "Consol" in print. But it would be very unlikely for anyone to dare to call City of Truro an American ...

... or a Castle something as mundane as a Ten Wheel.

In very simple terms the middle number of the three was the total number of wheels actually driven by the steam engines gubbins. The other numbers were the various load bearing but not driven bogies. (Although if the bogie has just two wheels is was always called a pony truck!!)

But any good trainspotter with his notebook and pencil would be able to refer to the wheel arrangement diagram in his Ian Allan "Combined" volume and sound very knowledgeable at the trackside.

But this system would come unstuck with diesels. Most did not have coupled wheels or extra bogies. There was GT3 ...

... and The Fell.

Most numerous where diesel shunters which also retained the Whyte notation as 0-4-0 or the ubiquitous 0-6-0.

A Different Scheme

It starts of very simply. 

Most main line diesels have two bogies driven by motors, usually elelctric, which were powered from a huuuuge diesel engine driving a generator. So if the bogie has six driven wheels (usually three on each side) the bogie was given the letter "C".

The letter "B" would be used for 4 wheel bogies.

Seemples?

Hmm, not quite.

If each of the three axles had its own separate motor (usually called axle-hung) a small case "o" was added.

So a Deltic was a "Co-Co" and a Type 20 (D8000 in old money) was a"Bo-Bo".

But look at this D200 class (type 40).

You can spot eight wheels on the bogie - But the front two are smaller and NOT powered.

So a Class 40 is designated a 1Co-Co1.

So what about this class?

The Type 31 (Brush class 2) has six wheels on each bogies so is a Co-Co?

No-No!

It is an A1A-A1A! The centre pair of wheels on each bogie is NOT powered, hence the number 1. Although the outer pairs of wheels are separately powered, that is obvious as there are ony two of them in each case, so thay can only be individually powered.

===================

Model Railway Aside

The A1A-A1A was the first realistic diesel loco produced by Triang (in 1963???)  and it remained in the catalogue well into the Triang Hornby days before being replaced by a slightly better model that Hornby took on when it bought out Lima.

Thus video shows a selection of the original in various liveries.

It was a very nice model for its day.

===================

It really is very simple, with one more option. If two bogies are articulates, i.e. mechanically joined, you replace the - with a +.

So this loco, an American U50 class is a B+B-B+B!

At each end it has TWO four wheel bogies which are articulated together making a mechanical pairing of two sets of 4 wheels (that's  8) - B+B! That makes 16 wheels in total.

Wheely powerful! GROAN!

So, after a thorough lesson on diesel wheel arrangements, readers may be able to understand the headline on today's blog - or, at least work out what a Co-Bo might be!

Who said that diesels were boring when compared with steam locos?

If a diesel is a tin box, then a steam engine is a kettle!

Pause for thousands of aged railway enthusiasts to stick sharp pins in a wax model of fbb to effect excruciating pain!

Definitely OUCH!!

 Next Cobo Boco Loco blog : Saturday 20th April 

Mysteries Manifesting At Millsands (4)

And There's More Near Millsands

Around 20 years ago, the area to the west of Millsands was mainly warehouse businesses butt for most of the 20th century it had been small industrial manufacturing companies, eg Dixons. 

The first bit of development was the building of Sheffield's new Crown Court building (above aerial shot, bottom left). This stood on a road called West Bar which runs across the bottom of the above view.

Historically, this was narrow inner city clutter, boty residential and retail.

Of course by the mid 1900s auch property was long-since condemned and demolished and the opportunity was later taken to widen West Bat with two lanes in each direction.

Fashions and traffic management change over the years and the land on the right was further cleared for the aforementioned courts building.

But having widened the road, the later decision was taken to narrow it! It is now just one lane in each direction ...

... plus greenery. The reason that the road could be narrowed is the completion of the northern bit of Sheffield long-time-a-coming inner ring road (map below in RED).

It was planning in 1945 and still isn't finished on the south east side of the city centre!

One other things changes and that is district names. Sheffield, for example, took the name of a former island in the River Don and gave it to a museum and later to a much expanded district.

Thus it is that the rough isosceles triangle of land between Corporation Street, Bridge Street and West Bar ...

... now has a district name (or maybe it might be a "quarter"?).

It is called - ahem - West Bar! We have already had a glimpse of the district in preparation when looking for today's Love Street ...

... but things have moved on since Streetview gingerly tootled down Bridge Street. This is a more recent view of the junction of Corporation Street and Bridge Street, i.e. the north of the development.

This is what those two blocks will look like; actually probably do look  like today!

Here is the full site plan:

... and here is what the block, now known as No 1 West Bar, (above the Crown Courts on the site plan) will look like.

But the good news is that the development will be all touchy-feely and cosy whilst saving the planet.

It announced that, wowsers, 1 West Bar will have a "green active ravel plan". That usually means "bike racks" nut it almost certainly doesn't mean a well considered bus travel plan.

The only bus stops serving this vast development are the aforementioned Millsands with the 83 bus TO city only and the SC2 from and to.

Outside the courts building there are frequent buses via Hillsborough outbound and inbound to the city and beyond.

Buses from both stops will get you to the main shopping areas and the railway station. 

There are no buses on Corporation Street and we have already seen that the 83 is of use only into town with the outward route being significantly further away.

You would guess that most will have to walk unless something very different is created.

It is called "Planning For Public Transport NOT the Car"; and doesn't seem to have happened in this case.

Ideally there should be a turning circle for "something" bang in the middle at that "green" green space called West Bar Square.. You could easily run an upgraded SC2 into there.

There will need to be access there for all the bars and cafes that will be provided as part of the development.

Of course?

The Sheffield Connect 2 ...

... might then need bigger buses.

The mean green green machines are very nice, thank you, but inadequate for, say a lunch time rush from West Bar Square into the city centre to stock up with Prosecco and trendy nibbles!

14 seats?

No, 16 - there's and extra two with a splendid view of the panel behind the driver's seat.

Depressing Destructive News

The damage was to the driver's side front corner and some of the side paneling.

The debris was left at the site of a collision with another vehicle at about 0530 on Monday last.

A second vehicle was entered but not, apparently, driven away. Because of the damage and the police investigation, the SC1 frequency has been reduced from every 7/8 mins to every 10 with an apology from the South Pennine manager.

The SC2 to Millsands remain at every 20 minutes!

An fbb Bludner

The new bridge allowing access to Millsands from Nursery Street did NOT replace the "Iron Bridge" as was illustrated yesterday

The original bridge can be seen at the junction of Corporations Street and Nursery Street as pictured below.  It is, however still fenced off!

The old footbridge is upper left on the map below amidst the road junction ...

... the new bridge is lower right.

fbb punished himself by having only one choccy biccy instead of two with his afternoon cuppa yesterday - such sacrifice in the face of adversity!

 Next Cobo Boco Loco blog : Friday 19th April