The
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 ...
Class 82 (AL2 under the pre-
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 scheme)
electric locomotives
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 t ...
were designed by the British manufacturing interest
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 ...
and produced by
Beyer, Peacock and Company
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, ...
on behalf of
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 ...
(BR).
The locomotive was developed as a part of the programme of works to electrify 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 ...
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
Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to c ...
(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
rectifier
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an Power ...
s. 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
The British Rail Class 87 is a type of electric locomotive designed and built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) between 1973 and 1975. A total of thirty-six locomotives were constructed, to work passenger and freight services over the ...
. Following the final retirement of the Class 82 in 1987, a single example was preserved.
Background
During the late 1950s,
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 ...
(BR) embarked upon the electrification of 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 ...
, 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.
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
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 ...
division of the British manufacturing interest
Associated Electrical Industries
Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to c ...
(AEI).
![E3049 at Euston(8193045517)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/E3049_at_Euston%288193045517%29.jpg)
Responsibility for the locomotive's design was with AEI, which produced much of the mechanical design in-house.
While the design phase was worked on in-house, the company opted to
subcontract
A subcontractor is an individual or (in many cases) a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract.
Put simply the role of a subcontractor is to execute the job they are hired by the contractor f ...
the construction phase to
Beyer, Peacock and Company
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, ...
, who produced all examples at their works in
Gorton
Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw.
A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hi ...
,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
A total of ten examples were produced; the type being classified as ''AL2'' under the pre-
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 scheme, each locomotive was originally numbered E3046 - E3055.
Midway through the manufacturing phase, it was realised that the locomotive would be considerably heavier than had been anticipated.
In response, some elements were rapidly redesigned so that it could still confirm with the requirements laid out by the corresponding
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...
specification. These late-stage design modifications included the replacement of heavy sections with lighter alternatives, such as an
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
body and
fibreglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
roofing,
while weighty electrical equipment was substituted with lighter counterparts wherever it was practical to do so.
Design
The Class 82 is an
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 ...
intended for express services 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 ...
.
Its design shared numerous aspects with, and had similarly performance attributes to, the preceding
British Rail Class 81
The British Rail Class 81 is a class of Alternating current, AC electric locomotives that formerly operated on the West Coast Main Line of the London Midland Region of British Rail. Originally designated AL1, it was the first type of AC electric ...
, such as its power rating of 3,300 hp, and use of fully-suspended traction motors, and multi-
anode
An anode is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the device. A common mnemonic is ...
mercury arc
rectifier
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an Power ...
s.
Power was delivered to the locomotive via
overhead catenary
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipmen ...
, 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
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
. Since the clearances were found to be adequate, the lower voltage connections were locked out of use. The
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 ...
was raised using pressurised air, power for which was provided via the
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
-powered auxiliary air compressor.
The locomotive body was largely composed of
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
and resin-bonded
fibreglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
.
The main transformer was housed within a centrally-mounted power compartment, within which the rectifiers and their cooling apparatus set at one side and the transformers' oil-cooled radiator at the other. A narrow corridor ran alongside the power compartment, enabling train crews to move through to reach either cab of the locomotive.
Various pieces of auxiliary equipment were installed along the walls of this corridor, including the battery charging frame and the l.t. equipment frame. Between the power compartment and the cabs at either end were insulated bulkheads, upon which equipment such as the four traction motor blowers and brake apparatus were fixed.
Climate control within the power compartment was heavily regulated, with
space heater
A space heater is a device used to heat a single, small to medium sized area.
Operation
Electric space heaters fall into four main categories: fan heaters, ceramic, infrared, and oil-filled.
* Fan heaters are the cheapest, but are often the ...
s present to pre-heat the rectifiers to operating temperature, and numerous air-driven fans that maintained steady airflow towards vents set into the locomotive's roof.
The two cabs, one being set at either end of the locomotive, were largely identical in design and configuration.
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.
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.
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.
The underframe is the locomotive's major structural element, comprising a combination of rolled and
welded
Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as braz ...
steel plate, topped by an aluminium-steel deck.
It bore standard screw couplings and
oleo-
pneumatic
Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air.
Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A central ...
buffers. The underframe also functioned as a mounting point for several pieces of equipment, such as the battery, air reservoirs, and weak field resistances.
The traction motors are also fully suspended on rubber brushed mountings; connected to one another in parallel, these motors are fed power via an iron-cored
choke to smooth out the supply. If required, any single motor (or pair of motors) can be isolated from the other units.
Power from these motors was directed to the bogie-mounted wheels via an
Alsthom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
-supplied
drive
Drive or The Drive may refer to:
Motoring
* Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle
* Road trip, a journey on roads
Roadways
Roadways called "drives" may include:
* Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive"
...
attached to a universal link assembly. Weight was transferred to the bogies via transverse spring planks mounted to the base of the body support struts.
The bogies incorporated a Metrolink swing link suspension system that provided favourable ride characteristics even when travelling at high speeds.
Operational history
Upon the type's introduction, all AL2 locomotives were allocated to
Longsight depot.
During 1966, the final locomotive to be built, E3055, was destroyed by fire at
Maw Green, leading to its withdrawal.
The first locomotive built, E3046, was also destroyed by fire while north of
Bletchley
Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley.
Bletchley is best known ...
, on 7 January 1971, and similarly withdrawn early.
Changes
E3049 was the first to be refurbished with a
silicon rectifier
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an inver ...
, replacing the
mercury-arc rectifier
A mercury-arc valve or mercury-vapor rectifier or (UK) mercury-arc rectifier is a type of electrical rectifier used for converting high-voltage or high-current alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). It is a type of cold cathode gas-fil ...
;
its refurbishment was completed during 1972. The rest of the class followed suit over the following years.
Under 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 ...
system, the type were reclassified as 'Class 82', while the individual locomotives were renumbered sequentially from 82001 to 82008.
Withdrawal
Following the introduction of newer electric locomotives, such as the
British Rail Class 87
The British Rail Class 87 is a type of electric locomotive designed and built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) between 1973 and 1975. A total of thirty-six locomotives were constructed, to work passenger and freight services over the ...
, BR planners decided to withdraw the entire fleet, with most examples being placed into storage during 1982, and the majority of these locomotives were withdrawn in 1983. Two, 82005 and 82008, were subsequently reinstated for use on empty coaching stock workings
between
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
Euston Station
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...
and
Willesden
Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...
, working until 1987, with 82008 receiving a repaint into
Intercity Executive livery by 26 January 1986.
Preservation
Preserved locomotive, no. 82008 on display at open day on 11 September 2005. This locomotive has been restored to InterCity_Executive_livery..html" ;"title="InterCity (British Rail)">InterCity Executive livery.">InterCity (British Rail)">InterCity Executive livery.
82008 was preserved in the early 1990s, following a long period of storage, and was later owned by the
AC Locomotive Group
The AC Locomotive Group is a dedicated AC electric locomotive preservation society in England. It has five locomotives in its care; 81002, 82008, 83012, 85101 and 89001.
History Locomotives
In 1996, Pete Waterman, who had purchased the ...
, located at
Barrow Hill Engine Shed
Barrow Hill Roundhouse, until 1948 known as Staveley Engine Shed, is a former Midland Railway roundhouse in Barrow Hill, near Staveley and Chesterfield, Derbyshire (), now serving as a railway heritage centre.
History
Staveley Roundhouse was ...
.
Fleet details
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
AC Locomotive Group - owners of preserved locomotive no. 82008{{British_Rail_Locomotives
82
Bo-Bo locomotives
Metropolitan-Vickers locomotives
Beyer, Peacock locomotives
25 kV AC locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1960
Standard gauge locomotives of Great Britain