Class 80 was the

TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...

classification allocated by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

to the prototype

25 kV AC Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The d ...

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 ...

. This locomotive was built by

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

, initially as a prototype

gas turbine-electric locomotive A gas turbine locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), prime mover is a gas turbine. Several types of gas turbine locomotive have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is ...

, numbered 18100. British Rail allocated the number E1000 (and later E2001) to the locomotive following its conversion from gas turbine propulsion.

Conversion

Its new electric propulsion meant it was rated at , giving a maximum speed of and weighing . In addition, it was also converted from Co-Co to

A1A-A1A The AAR wheel arrangement system is a method of classifying locomotive (or unit) wheel arrangements that was developed by the Association of American Railroads. Essentially a simplification of the European UIC classification, it is widely used in ...

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

when the centre

traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric vehicle, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles (ele ...

from each bogie was removed. The new traction motor rating (with four motors) was about the same as the original rating (with six motors). This suggests that new traction motors were fitted. The conversion of the locomotive began in January 1958 when the locomotive was moved from storage at Dukinfield Works to the Bowesfield Works at

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

. The work involved the removal of the

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

unit, main generator, fuel tank, air filters, the centre traction motor from each bogie and all of the ancillary equipment used for the gas turbine unit. Once the locomotive had been stripped, the new electrical equipment was installed which included the

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

, the Stone-Faiveley

pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...

(for which a section of the roof had to be lowered), a

Brown Boveri Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies. It was founded in Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1970 ...

air blast

circuit breaker A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by an overcurrent or short circuit. Its basic function is to interrupt current flow to protect equipment and to prevent the risk ...

and the Hackbridge-Hewittic

mercury arc rectifier Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Mercury ...

units. The cabs of the locomotive were converted from Western Region right-hand drive to the standard British Rail left-hand drive arrangement. The rebuilt locomotive was completed and ready for trials in October 1958. It retained its original BR black livery, with a silver stripe around the middle of the body and silver numbers.

Usage

The locomotive was used to prepare the ground for the 25 kV AC electrification being installed on the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

, including the testing of overhead line equipment and staff training.

Withdrawal

Once the production locomotives ( Class 81 onwards) were in service, E2001 was no longer required. It was put into store at the end of 1961, and lasted for over ten years at various locations. It was officially withdrawn in April 1968 and scrapped in November 1972 at J Cashmore in Great Bridge.

Models

E1000/E2001 is being made as a kit and a ready-to-run model in OO gauge by Silver Fox Models.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

{{British Rail Locomotives 80 Metropolitan-Vickers locomotives A1A-A1A locomotives 25 kV AC locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1958 Scrapped locomotives Individual locomotives of Great Britain Unique locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of Great Britain