Class 28

The British Rail Class 28 (Metro-Vick Type 2) diesel locomotives, or 'Metrovicks' as they were popularly known, were built as part of the British Railways 1955 Modernisation Plan. The locomotives had a Co-Bo wheel arrangement (a 6-wheel bogie at one end, a 4-wheel bogie at the other) – unique in British Railways practice and uncommon in other countries, although Japan also used some C-B diesel hydraulics. This made maintenance more complicated. The maximum tractive effort of 50,000 lbf (220 kN) was unusually high for a Type 2 locomotive but, as there were five (not four) driving axles, the risk of wheelslip was minimal.

Preservation
A single locomotive, D5705, survived by historical accident, being renumbered S15705 and used from December 1968 by the Research Division for its Tribology Test train.undefined It was superseded by a Class 24, and was used as carriage heating unit TDB968006 (based at Bath Road Depot, Bristol) before being preserved in 1980. It is currently on the East Lancashire Railway. The Class 15 Preservation Society has signed an agreement with the owners of D5705 to become its custodians during its restoration and operation for the next ten years, although funding will remain separate.undefined