Elektrische locs - British Railways Class 70-87: boeken
Geïllustreerde boeken over de historie, typen en techniek van de British Railways Class 70, 86 en 87 elektrische locomotieven.
Class 86 Locomotives
The Class 86 of AC electric loco comprised a hundred members, built from 1965 onwards. The first forty locos were built by British Rail at their Doncaster Works, and the other sixty were built by English Electric at their Vulcan Works.
They were built for West Coast services, which had been electrified from London, and would eventually run all the way to Glasgow. They were delivered in Electric Blue livery, complete with cast lion and wheel. They were originally known as the AL6 class, but under TOPS became the Class 86s. They were originally numbered in the Class 86/0 series and the Class 86/2 number series, with the 86/2s used on passenger workings due to them being fitted with improved suspension, allowing them to run at 100 mph.
Three of the Class 86/2s were used as test beds for the Class 87 development, being fitted with different bogies, becoming the Class 86/1 series. The class has also found passenger workings on the Great Eastern route from London to Norwich, finally being replaced by Class 90s. They have also been very useful engines on freight workings, with quite a few still in use with Freightliner.
When British Rail decided to electrify the West Coast Main Line north of Crewe towards Scotland, a new class of electric locomotive was needed to work these services. Thirty-six members of Class 87 were built at Crewe Works from 1973 onwards and were an instant success. The first 35 members were standard locomotives; however, the final member was fitted with an experimental thyristor control system and was reclassified as Class 87/1.
All 36 members of the class received names and were a regular sight on the West Coast for decades. All were initially used on passenger work, but they could also be found on freight workings, being fitted with multiple working equipment from new. The whole class stayed on West Coast workings throughout the BR era and into privatisation, with all members, except for No. 87101, passing to Virgin Trains.
The sole Class 87/1 passed to the Railfreight sector of BR and would eventually find its way into EWS ownership; it was scrapped in 2002. When their work on the West Coast was at an end, 21 members of the class found further use in Bulgaria and three would be preserved, with the remainder being scrapped. In this book Andrew Cole documents the Class 87 locomotives.
