| In the late 1950s (I'll try and find the date), after much dithering about the cost (as ever) the government of the day finally bit the bullet - well, gave it a bit of a nibble - and decided to electrify the West Coast Main Line as far as the two industrial cities of Manchester and Liverpool. Electrification at 25,000 volts, 50 hz, was undertaken, prompted it seems by the success of similar schemes in northern France. The French were way ahead of us then, as now, in the field of high speed electric railways (359mph anyone....?).
A conservative (small 'c') toe was dipped in the water by electrifying the Styal Line, so as to test prototype traction while the real work continued on further south. Initially using a converted Great Western gas turbine loco (E1000 / E2001), the much awaited step forward came when, on 29th November 1959, British Railways took delivery of a sparkling - in every sense! - new blue machine machine, no. E3001, from BRCW in Smethwick. To our accustomed (jaundiced?!) 21st century eyes the impact of this is, I think, much dimmed in hindsight, but imagine if you will how it must have looked nearly five decades ago, when steam very much reigned supreme - a gleaming blue electric machine whose pantograph would be raised, literally bringing it to life. And when the master switch was engaged, the numerous cooling fans would cut in (hence the distinctive roar which we loved and miss so much), and this machine would be away, whisking its load easily up to no less than one hundred miles per hour. Of the five early types ordered from various manufacturers so as to gain experience, some were succesful, others less so. It is now well known what the AL3s and AL4s in particular were so beset by problems (on which subject I'm no expert....!) that they were stored after only a few years' service, despite serious attempts by their manufacturers to improve their reliability. They might even have been scrapped, but for the decision - at last - to extend the electrication to Glasgow. This saw the AL3s and AL4s undergo fairly major refurbishment by BR, but in the case of the 84s, as they became, nothing could be done to make them acceptably reliable. These charismatic machines were hence the first to be withdrawn, some as early as 1977. The 82s and 83s soldiered on a few more years, long enough for me to spot nearly all of them, but never to ride behind one, and by 1984 the only ones left were those operating ECS between Wembley and Euston. Disliked by many drivers on account of their undoubtedly hard ride, the 81s and 85s were nonetheless indispensable machines for the WCML, and frequently appeared on passenger work, though by the end of 1983 these classes too had seen casulaties. 81016 was the unfortunate victim of an unnecessary derailment inside Linslade Tunnel, while 85027, 85033 and - of all things - the prototype 81001, succumbed to major fires. If you look around the t'Internet there are odd photos of these machines, post-conflagration, which are proof of the severity of these fires. As with AL1s E3002 & E3019, and AL2s E3046 & E3055, none of which outlived the 1960s, when a blaze took hold, the loco would be damaged beyond repair in minutes. Paradoxically, though, it appears that the loss of these early types meant that when the 87s were ordered, to compensate, 35 were built instead of the originally planned 32; every cloud has a silver lining! But back to the Roarers. The roaring sound of these lovely machines was made by numerous high velocity fans, gulping in air to cool such things as traction motors and rectifiers - to say nothing of the need to keep the hundreds of gallons of oil inside the transformer from boiling as the loco sucked power voraciously from the OLE when on full taps. Add to this the soulful whine of the smoothing chokes on the opposite side of the loco, and the combination was magical! My thanks for this collection from better times are due to Gordon 'Bobby' Nattrass from Carlisle, who, like me, made many a desperate leap in the dying years of these venerable machines. Except that most of his leaps were over Shap, something of which I'm most jealous!! With the NRM's apparent lack of interest in this part of our railway heritage, we owe a great deal to the efforts of The AC Locomotive Group. Here's hoping that E3061 (aka 85006 / 85101) will one day see the main line once again. |
The oldest surviving AL1, built in 1960, 81002 heads north from Carlisle Citadel towards Scotland and its home depot in Glasgow. |
Viewed at Carlisle, I'd guess that 81002 is in charge of a Glasgow - Euston relief, given that the stock is a venerable set of Mk1s! The good old days! |
81002 and an unidentified 85 run south into Carlisle, returning from Kingmoor. |
81002 stands dumped outside the TMD. |
81003 caught fire at Scout Green (on Shap) while heading 6M79, 21;05 Mossend - Bescot, in 1986. This was the result...... |
The undamaged no.2 end of 81003, post conflagration. |
81004 eases out from Platform 3 at Carlisle with a northbound freight. |
Arriving into Carlisle from the south, 81005 is silhouetted against the setting sun as it runs in with a freight. |
81005 on freight once more, this time heading south on tanks. |
81006 runs north through Crewe with ECS. |
The night-time lighting at Carlisle catches the travel-worn bodysides of 81007. |
Broadside of 81007, stabled against the wall in the West Sidings. |
Class 1 duty for 81007, see, here pausing mid-morning at Penrith as it heads south, probably for Birmingham. |
Framed by Carlisle's lovely footbridge, 81009 runs into the station with a southbound freight. |
81009 departs north from Carlisle, to tackle Beattock with an express. |
81009 pulls out of Preston with a southbound freight. |
A very rare pairing indeed; 81010 heads an unidentifiable Class 87 at Carlisle on limestone tippers, no doubt en route from Hardendale Lime Works to one of the Glasgow steelworks. The 81, the train, and the steelworks are now all history. |
An unidentifiable but named Class 86/4 draws alongside to overtake 81010. |
With the driver in place in the 87, 81010 will shortly head north. For this reason, the use of Class 86s and/or 87s was preferred, as they would be run in multiple without the need for a second driver. |
81012 pauses at Carlisle with empty steel coil bogies. |
Another view of 81012 and its train of empty steel coil bogies. |
Stabled in the West Sidings between duties, 81012 basks in the morning sun at Carlisle. |
On a murky day, 81013 runs north into Carlisle, having just overtaken an 86/4. |
The floodlights illuminate 81017, stabled by the wall in the West Sidings at Carlisle. |
