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British Railways AL1, British Rail Class 81
81004 at Birmingham New Street in 1984
Type and origin Power type Electric Builder Associated Electrical Industries atBirmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Build date 1959–1964 Total produced 25
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B  • UIC Bo′Bo′  • Commonwealth Bo-Bo Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge Bogies Fabricated steel, Alsthom suspension[1] Wheel diameter 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m)[1] Wheelbase 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m)[1] ​  • Bogie 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)[1] Pivot centres 31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)[2] Length: ​  • Over beams 56 ft 6 in (17.22 m)[1] Width 8 ft8+1⁄2 in (2.65 m)[1] Height: ​  • Pantograph 13 ft0+9⁄16 in (3.977 m)[2]  • Body height 12 ft4+1⁄4 in (3.77 m)[1] Axle load 20 long tons 4 cwt (20.5 t)[2] Loco weight 79.60long tons (80.9 t; 89.2short tons) Electric system/s 25 kV ACCatenary Current pickups Stone Faiveley[1] ‘V’-typepantograph, 2 off (later 1 off) Traction motors 4 ×AEI 189 6-pole Alsthom Quill drive[1] 847 hp (632 kW) ​  • Rating 1 hour 760A[3]  • Continuous 700A[3] Gear ratio 29:76 (Type A) 26:83 (Type B)[1] Train heating Electric Train Heating Loco brake Westinghouse[1] Air,Rheostatic Train brakes Vacuum;Dual from 1972–1973
Performance figures Maximum speed 100 mph (161 km/h) Full field: 60 mph (97 km/h) Weak field: 71 mph (114 km/h)[1] Power output: ​  • 1 hour 4 × 920 hp (690 kW)[3]  • Continuous 4 × 847 hp (632 kW)[3] Tractive effort 50,000 lbf (222 kN)
Career Operators British Rail Numbers E3001–E3023, E3096, E3097; later 81001–81022 Axle load class Route availability 6 Retired 1968 (2), 1971 (1), 1983–1991 Preserved 81002 Disposition 1 preserved, 24 scrapped

TheBritish Rail Class 81 is a type ofACelectric locomotives that formerly operated on theWest Coast Main Line ofBritish Rail'sLondon Midland Region. Originally designatedAL1, it was the first class of AC electric locomotive to be delivered to British Railways.

As part of the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line, which included electrification, 100 locomotives of five types were acquired; each type from a different manufacturer.

The first locomotives to be delivered were type AL1, designed byBritish Thomson-Houston (BTH), an order being placed for 25 examples. Of these, 23 were for use on passenger trains with a top speed of 100 mph and were designated Type A. The other two locomotives were intended for freight train use and geared for a top speed of 80 mph; these were designated Type B.^[4]

Before the work was completed, BTH amalgamated with Metropolitan Vickers to formAssociated Electrical Industries (AEI) traction division^[4] and it was under this name that the locomotives were built in 1959, under subcontract byBirmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon inSmethwick. The first locomotive, E3001, was handed over to British Railways on 27 November 1959.^[5] The type was initially used for crew training on theStyal Line betweenManchester andCrewe.

The AL1 were numbered E3001-E3023 and E3096/97; the first twenty-three being Type A and the last two Type B (initially numbered E3301 and E3302).^[6] However, these last two were actually geared for passenger service, being delivered in February 1964.

The locomotives always worked on power provided by overhead catenary, energised at 25,000 V AC. However, the main transformer, normally operated with the four windings in series, could be operated at 6250 V AC with the transformer windings in parallel.^[4] This voltage was initially to be used where limited clearances gave concern over use of the higher voltage. However, this approach was never used on the West Coast Main Line, although it was employed elsewhere such asGlasgow Central in the initialBlue Train electrification there. By the time the WCML wiring was extended to Glasgow, it had been revised there to the mainstream 25 kV voltage.

The class only operated on the West Coast Main Line, initially because they were restricted to lines electrified at 25 kV AC. Cities where these engines could be seen includedLondon,Birmingham,Manchester,Liverpool andGlasgow. They operated passenger, freight and parcel trains.

Under theTOPS system, twenty-two examples were reclassified as Class 81 from 1972 and were numbered 81001-81022.^[7]

Three locomotives (E3002, E3009 and E3019) were withdrawn before they could be renumbered under the TOPS system, which was implemented in 1972. E3002 and E3019 were damaged by fire and both were scrapped at British Rail'sCrewe Works. The remains of E3009 were also cut up at Crewe Works; the locomotive was wrecked in theHixon rail crash of January 1968.^[5]

Two further members of the class saw relatively early withdrawal due to accident or fire damage:

• 9 December 1982 (1982-12-09):locomotive 81016 was derailed and severely damaged in an accident atLinslade Tunnel, inBedfordshire, after striking an inadequately secured load that had fallen from a preceding train, killing the driver.^[8] It was officially withdrawn in 1983.
• 26 August 1983 (1983-08-26):locomotive 81001 was damaged by fire nearCarstairs, inLanarkshire, whilst working aMotorail train.

The remaining locomotives of the class had relatively successful service lives of 25 to 30 years; in their latter years, they became unreliable and displayed an increasing tendency to catch fire. However, a shortage of electric locomotives ruled out withdrawal of the fleet until the newerClass 90 locomotives came into service in the late-1980s.^[5][9] The remaining examples were withdrawn from service in the late-1980s and early-1990s. The final examples were used for the transfer of empty coaches betweenLondon Euston andWillesden sidings between 1989 and 1991 following the withdrawal of the finalClass 83s in that role. The last two examples withdrawn from service were 81012 and 81017 in July 1991. The majority of the class were scrapped at Coopers Metals inSheffield.^[5]

One example, 81002, has been preserved by theAC Locomotive Group; it is located atBarrow Hill Roundhouse, inDerbyshire.^[5]

There have been no recentOO gauge models of the Class 81, althoughHornby Dublo produced a model from 1964, prior to the purchase of Hornby byLines Bros (owners of theTri-ang Railways brand). This model was very crude, even by the standards of the day; it lacked cab interiors, had a poor pantograph and there wad a lack of detail in the roof pan. It was issued underTri-ang Hornby (predecessors to the currentHornby Railways brand) from 1966.^[7]

There has, however, been a static model inHO scale produced byAtlas Editions; some of these have been successfully motorised.^{[citation needed]}

• Longhurst, Roly (1979).Electric Locomotives of the West Coast Main Line. Truro: D. Bradford Barton Ltd.ISBN 0851533558.OCLC 16491712.
• Webb, Brian; Duncan, John (1979).AC Electric Locomotives of British Rail. David & Charles.ISBN 9780715376638.OCLC 6916046.

• Derrick, Kevin (2014).Looking back at AC Electric Locomotives. Strathwood.ISBN 9781905276516.OCLC 931820979.
• Marsden, Colin J. (2007).The AC Electrics. OPC.ISBN 9780860936145.OCLC 148304137.
• McManus, Michael.Ultimate Allocations, British Railways Locomotives 1948 - 1968. Wirral. Michael McManus.
• "AC Type A Electric Locomotives for British Railways, No E3001-E3023".The Railways Archive. Publisher: Associated Electrical Industries Ltd.
• Vehicle Diagram Book No. 110 for Electric Locomotives(PDF). Derby: British Railways Board. November 1988. 81-b – via Barrowmore MRG.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBritish Rail Class 81.

• AC Locomotive Group - custodians of preserved locomotive no. 81002
• AEI A.C. Type 'A' Electric Locomotives for British Railways, Nos. E3001-E3023 booklet

• British Rail electric locomotives
• Bo-Bo locomotives
• BRCW locomotives
• 25 kV AC locomotives
• Railway locomotives introduced in 1959
• Standard-gauge locomotives of Great Britain
• Bo′Bo′ electric locomotives

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