[1] Their design represented a major departure from British conventions of construction; amongst the innovations was the adoption of the American practice of modularisation.

Initial experiences with the latter had proved the type to be somewhat unreliable in service, a factor which had led to dissatisfaction amongst several of British Rail's freight customers.

[1] BREL engineers were involved in the effort from the conceptual stage of development, bringing design and production planning into close alignment.

[3] Once the design for the new locomotive had been approved by the British Railways Board, the contract to build the type was awarded to BREL's Doncaster Works.

[3] To accommodate the manufacturing programme, BREL embarked on a major multi-million pound upgrade of 'E2' shop, which is where final assembly of the Class 58 would be performed.

BREL dropped traditional locomotive construction methods in favour of an entirely new approach – an innovative modular design.

[4] During January 1982, British Rail felt sufficiently confident in the project's progress to place an order for an initial batch of 35 locomotives.

Structurally, it consists of a strong underframe designed to bear all the static loads imposed by the equipment in addition to the dynamic forces exerted during its service life; it was designed to have a zero possibility of fatigue failure across its anticipated lifespan of thirty-five years as well as to satisfy end-load requirements stipulated by the International Union of Railways (UIC).

[3] The rear bulkhead is also a strong structural element, designed to prevent the cab's collapse in the event of derailment as well as to serve as an anchoring point for lifting/righting the vehicle.

[3] The engine incorporates a silencer to lower noise emissions, which was in part necessitated to meet future noise restriction standards being developed by the European Economic Community; this silencer is directly mounted to the engine rather than the locomotive's body, and projects upwards via a clearance hole in the roof, surrounded by a gutter to collect rain.

A total of thirty-two identically sized doors line either side, these open in pairs and lift away to provide access for both maintenance and the initial assembly process.

Initial trials of this locomotive revealed that the climate control systems for the driver were less effective when driven at high speeds; this was rectified by the relocation of the air intake from the bottom of the front plate to either side of the crash beam, immediately beneath the windscreen.

Despite claims made at the time, their performance was actually inferior to Class 56s on many types of freight train due to their increased tendency to wheelslip, largely as a result of bogie design.

Although originally allocated to coal traffic, their arrival coincided with the miners' strike; it has been alleged that British Rail had only tolerated the construction of so many units because the components for their manufacture were already on order.

With the advent of privatisation in the 1990s, Class 58s greatly extended the geographical scope of their operations and were used on general freight traffic until withdrawal.

However, despite being quoted as EWS's most reliable and consistent Type 5s, during 1999, it was announced that a large number of Class 58s were going to be placed into long-term storage: 58 017 was the first to be stored, quickly followed by 58 022.

During September 2002, the last few Class 58 locomotives were withdrawn after working the last charter train, the "Bone Idol" from King's Cross to Skegness and return.

A subsequent posting on the group's website said that the stripping of 58 045 had proceeded apace and all parts recovered were to be initially stored until the restoration of 58 016 commences properly.

The introduction of Railfreight sector liveries from October 1987 saw 58 050 outshopped by Stratford in the new triple grey scheme, complete with the Trainload Freight coal sub-sector logo.

The model formed part of an exhibition at the RTC to illustrate the work of the Locomotive Design Office to the then Chairman of British Rail, Sir Peter Parker.