The AC Locomotive Group is a dedicated AC

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...

preservation society in England. It has five locomotives in its care; 81002, 82008, 83012, 85101 and 89001.

History

Locomotives

In 1996,

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterm ...

, who had purchased the sole surviving examples of AC electric classes 81, 82, 83 and 85, put his entire fleet of locomotives for sale. The AC Locomotive Group (ACLG) was formed with the intention of purchasing all four machines. This was accomplished in June 1997, and three of the four locomotives were moved to Barrow Hill Engine Shed in December 1998, with the fourth joining them in early 2000. Also between 2000 and 2008, the group had 84001 on loan from the

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, and this was given a major cosmetic overhaul following a long period stored in the open. In 2002, leasing company HSBC Rail UK placed 86213 on loan to the group while in 2004, 86401 was purchased. The same year,

GNER Great North Eastern Railway, often referred to as GNER, was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by Sea Containers, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, No ...

placed 89001 into the group's care following closure of part of

Doncaster Works Doncaster Railway Works is a railway workshop located in Doncaster, England. Also referred to as The Plant''", it was established by the Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston and Peterborough. Until 1867 it un ...

where it had been stored out of use. In 2005 the ACLG was honoured by the naming of 87002 as ''The AC Locomotive Group''. This was owned by

Porterbrook Porterbrook is a British rolling stock company (ROSCO), created as part of the privatisation of British Rail. Together with Angel Trains and Eversholt Rail Group, it is one of the three original ROSCOs. Porterbrook was established in March 199 ...

and painted in its purple colour scheme, and later became the last Class 87 to haul a passenger train in regular service. Also in 2005, the group purchased 86101 and 86213. At the end of 2006 GNER put 89001 up for sale, and following a high-profile appeal, the ACLG successfully purchased the loco for preservation. In 2008, the group was able to acquire the loco that carried its name, 87002, for preservation. For four months in early 2008, 86101 operated services from London King's Cross to

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

hauling Cargo-D Mark 3s under hire to First Hull Trains. In February 2016, 86213 was sold for export to Bulgaria. The ACLG hired 86101, 86401 and 87002 to main-line operator

Electric Traction Limited Electric Traction Limited was a British electric locomotive hire company. It operated some former British Rail Class 86 and 87 electric locomotives hired from associated company Europhoenix and the AC Locomotive Group from 2010 until 2019. Pr ...

for use on ''

Caledonian Sleeper ''Caledonian Sleeper'' is the collective name for overnight sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two currently operating sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom, the other b ...

'' services from

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and

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between 2015 and 2019. After this work ceased in May 2019, 86101 and 87002 were sold to

Locomotive Services Locomotive Services Limited is a train operating company in Great Britain. The company operates rail tours using heritage steam, diesel and electric locomotives with support from associated companies and trusts. History In August 2017, Locomo ...

and 86401 to

West Coast Railways West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the com ...

Restoration

The ACLG made great strides to restore electrical equipment in their early locomotives; early successes included the restoration of auxiliary equipment (including cooling fans) in locomotives 82008 and 83012. In 2006, 81002 was completed electrically to a condition where it could be powered up from the overhead wires. Most locomotives in the collection have received full cosmetic overhauls since acquisition, with both 82008 and 85101 receiving "fictitious" makeovers for various periods. As at June 2020, 89001 is in the final stages of an overhaul to return it to main line operation.89001 moves to Toton
AC Locomotive Group 4 May 2020

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Preserved electric locomotives Rail transport preservation in the United Kingdom 1996 establishments in England