British Rail Class 82
British Railways AL2 British Rail Class 82 | |
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long tons-force (628 kN) |
Career | |
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Operators | British Rail |
Numbers | E3046–E3055; later 82001–82008 |
Axle load class | Route availability 6 |
Retired | 1969 (1), 1971 (1), 1983 (6), 1987 (2) |
Disposition | One preserved, remainder scrapped |
The
The locomotive was developed as a part of the programme of works to electrify the West Coast Main Line during the late 1950s and early 1960s. BR deliberately opted to procure multiple small batches of locomotives from a range of manufacturers. Having selected a proposal by the Metropolitan-Vickers division of the British manufacturing interest Associated Electrical Industries (AEI), the Class 82 would be produced. A total of ten locomotives were built by Beyer, Peacock and Company between 1960 and 1962.
The Class 82 proved to be a relatively reliable workhorse of the region, particularly following a refurbishment during the 1970s that saw the replacement of their rectifiers. The fleet served in their original capacity for roughly twenty years, being mostly withdrawn during the early 1980s following the arrival of newer types such as the British Rail Class 87. Following the final retirement of the Class 82 in 1987, a single example was preserved.
Background
During the late 1950s, British Rail (BR) embarked upon the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, a strategy which necessitated the procurement of a large number of electric locomotives to utilise the newly installed infrastructure. It was decided that, instead of a bulk order from a single manufacturer, several batches of similar locomotives would be ordered from several companies, the first of these being the AL1 series.[3] Accordingly, it was decided to order the second batch, which was initially classified as the AL2, to a broadly similar role to the preceding model. Following a review of competitive bids, it was decided to award a contract for ten locomotives to the Metropolitan-Vickers division of the British manufacturing interest Associated Electrical Industries (AEI).[3]
Responsibility for the locomotive's design was with AEI, which produced much of the mechanical design in-house.
Midway through the manufacturing phase, it was realised that the locomotive would be considerably heavier than had been anticipated.
Design
The Class 82 is an AC electric locomotive intended for express services on the West Coast Main Line.[3] Its design shared numerous aspects with, and had similarly performance attributes to, the preceding British Rail Class 81, such as its power rating of 3,300 hp, and use of fully-suspended traction motors, and multi-anode mercury arc rectifiers.[3]
Power was delivered to the locomotive via overhead catenary, which was always energised at 25,000 V AC. However, the main transformer, which was normally operated with the four windings in series, could be operated at 6.25 kV AC with the transformer windings in parallel. This voltage was intended to be used where limited clearances gave concern over use of the higher voltage arcing onto lineside structures, especially those made of cast iron. Since the clearances were found to be adequate, the lower voltage connections were locked out of use.[6] The pantograph was raised using pressurised air, power for which was provided via the battery-powered auxiliary air compressor.[3]
The locomotive body was largely composed of
The two cabs, one being set at either end of the locomotive, were largely identical in design and configuration.[3] They were constructed by combining an aluminium outer shell and interior walls with a timber layer sandwiched between. Access to the power compartment was achieved via a centrally-mounted door in the rear bulkhead behind the driver's position.[3] The driver's position is outfitted with a pre-fabricated control unit that featured the majority of controls, gauges, indicators, and instrumentation required. Excellent external visibility was provided via relatively wide forward and side cabin windows; both wipers and electrically powered demisting apparatus were also installed upon the forward windows.[3] Various measures for operator comfort were also included, such as an upholstered adjustable seat for the drive, numerous heating units, and a compact cooker for traincrews to prepare meals upon.[3]
The underframe is the locomotive's major structural element, comprising a combination of rolled and
Operational history
Upon the type's introduction, all AL2 locomotives were allocated to Longsight depot.[5] During 1966, the final locomotive to be built, E3055, was destroyed by fire at Maw Green, leading to its withdrawal.[1] The first locomotive built, E3046, was also destroyed by fire while north of Bletchley, on 7 January 1971, and similarly withdrawn early.[1]
Changes
E3049 was the first to be refurbished with a
Under the TOPS system, the type were reclassified as 'Class 82', while the individual locomotives were renumbered sequentially from 82001 to 82008.[4]
Withdrawal
Following the introduction of newer electric locomotives, such as the
Preservation
82008 was preserved in the early 1990s, following a long period of storage, and was later owned by the
Fleet details
Key: | Preserved | Scrapped |
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Numbers[1] | Works Number[1] | Date Introduced[1] | First Depot | Withdrawn[8][9] | Final Depot[8] | Disposal[8] | |||
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Pre-TOPS | TOPS | AEI | Beyer Peacock | Location | Date | ||||
E3046 | - | 1021 | 7884 | May 1960 | 9A | January 1971[1] | CE | Scrapped at Crewe Works | June 1971 |
E3047 | 82001 | 1022 | 7885 | July 1960 | 9A | July 1983 | LG | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester | March 1985 |
E3048 | 82002 | 1023 | 7886 | August 1960 | 9A | July 1983 | LG | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester | October 1984 |
E3049 | 82003 | 1024 | 7887 | September 1960 | 9A | July 1983 | LG | Scrapped at CF Booth Ltd, Rotherham | June 1993 |
E3050 | 82004 | 1025 | 7888 | October 1960 | 9A | October 1983 | LG | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester | November 1984 |
E3051 | 82005 | 1026 | 7889 | November 1960 | ACL | September 1987 | WN | Scrapped at CF Booth Ltd, Rotherham | July 1993 |
E3052 | 82006 | 1027 | 7890 | December 1960 | ACL | July 1983 | LG | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester | November 1984 |
E3053 | 82007 | 1028 | 7891 | January 1962 | ACL | July 1983 | LG | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester | November 1984 |
E3054 | 82008 | 1029 | 7892 | November 1961 | ACL | December 1987 | WN | Preserved at Barrow Hill Engine Shed | |
E3055 | - | 1030 | 7893 | April 1962 | ACL | September 1969[1] | CE | Scrapped at Crewe Works | August 1970 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Webb & Duncan 1979, p. 39
- ^ a b c d e Webb & Duncan 1979, p. 35
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "A.C Type A Electric Locomotives for British Railways, Nos. E3046 - E3055" (PDF). Associated Electrical Industries. 29 July 1960. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Longhurst 1979, Class AL2–82
- ^ a b c d Marsden & Fenn 2001, p. 71
- ^ Allan 1968, p. 11.
- ISSN 0262-561X.
- ^ a b c Furness, Ian. "Disposals: Class 82". wnxx. End of the Line: Withdrawn & Stored Locomotives UK. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009.
- ^ "The Class 82 Fleet". Rail Blue. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
Sources
- Longhurst, Roly (1979). Electric Locomotives of the West Coast Main Line. Truro: D. Bradford Barton Ltd. OCLC 16491712.
- Marsden, Colin J.; Fenn, Graham B. (2001). British Rail Main Line Electric Locomotives (2nd ed.). Oxford Publishing Co. OCLC 48532553.
- Webb, Brian; Duncan, John (1979). AC Electric Locomotives of British Rail. David & Charles. OCLC 6916046.
- "British Railways Motive Power Survey". British Rail Locomotives and other motive power: Combined volume. London: ISBN 0-7110-0008-5.
Further reading
- Derrick, Kevin (2014). Looking back at AC Electric Locomotives. Strathwood. OCLC 931820979.
- McManus, Michael. Ultimate Allocations, British Railways Locomotives 1948 - 1968. Wirral. Michael McManus.
- "Classes 82/83 put into store". OCLC 49957965.