British Rail Class 89
|
|
89001_at_Doncaster_Works.JPG
The Class 89 was a prototype design for an electric locomotive. Only one unit was built, no. 89001, which was officially named "Avocet" by the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It was built in 1986, by Brush Traction at Loughborough, and was used on test-trains on the East Coast Main Line. It used advanced power control systems and developed over 6,000 bhp (4,500 kW). It was given the nickname "Badger" owing to its sloping front-ends.
The locomotive used six DC traction motors. The main armature current for all the motors was fed from a common thyristor drive, whilst each motor had an independent field current controller. The field current controllers were comprised of a two quadrant chopper inside a thyristor bridge. The bipolar transistor based choppers provided a fast fine control of motor torque for electric braking and slip control, whilst the thyristor bridge was used to invert the field current polarity.
After being used as a testbed, the locomotive was used on passenger trains from London King's Cross to Leeds. However, it suffered a serious failure, and as a result was withdrawn from traffic. It was, however, saved for preservation at the Midland Railway Centre by a group of Brush Traction employees.
In 1996, the InterCity East Coast franchise was won by GNER. They purchased no. 89001, and repaired it for use on London to Leeds and Bradford passenger trains. It was also re-painted in their blue and orange livery. However, in 2001, the locomotive again suffered a major failure, and was withdrawn from traffic. The future of this locomotive is uncertain, and it languished for a period at Doncaster Works.
In December 2004, the locomotive was moved to Barrow Hill Engine Shed for secure storage.
Registered Diesel & Electric Locomotives
The Class 89 series has also been used for preserved diesel and electric locomotives (excluding shunters) registered to run on the mainline. The numbers are allocated in the following way:
- Third digit: 1-5 representing Types 1-5 (see here for details). Electric locomotives have also been allocated numbers in the 895xx series.
- Fourth & Fifth digits: The last two digits of the locomotive's original number. If this results in a duplication of an existing number, then the number is increased by 1.
So, as an example, the Type 5 locomotive number 55022 would be allocated 89522.