The British Rail Class 81 is a class of 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 locomotive to be delivered to British Railways.

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Quick Facts British Railways AL1, Type and origin ...

British Railways AL1 British Rail Class 81
81004 at Birmingham New Street in 1984
Type and origin Power type Electric Builder Associated Electrical Industries at Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Build date 1959–1964 Total produced 25
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B  • UIC Bo′Bo′  • Commonwealth Bo-Bo Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Bogies Fabricated steel, Alsthom suspension[1] Wheel diameter 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m)[1] Wheelbase 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m)[1] ​  • Bogie 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)[1] Pivot centres 31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)[2] Length: ​  • Over beams 56 ft 6 in (17.22 m)[1] Width 8 ft 8+1⁄2 in (2.65 m)[1] Height: ​  • Pantograph 13 ft 0+9⁄16 in (3.977 m)[2]  • Body height 12 ft 4+1⁄4 in (3.77 m)[1] Axle load 20 long tons 4 cwt (20.5 t)[2] Loco weight 79.60 long tons (80.9 t; 89.2 short tons) Electric system/s 25 kV AC Catenary Current pickup(s) Stone-Faiveley[1] ‘V’-type pantograph, 2 off (later 1 off) Traction motors 4 × AEI 189 6-pole Alsthom Quill drive[1] 847 hp (632 kW) ​  • Rating 1 hour 760A[3]  • Continuous 700A[3] Gear ratio 29:76 (Type A) 26:83 (Type B)[1] Train heating Electric Train Heating Loco brake Westinghouse[1] Air, Rheostatic Train brakes Vacuum; Dual from 1972–1973
Performance figures Maximum speed 100 mph (161 km/h) Full field: 60 mph (97 km/h) Weak field: 71 mph (114 km/h)[1] Power output: ​  • 1 hour 4 × 920 hp (690 kW)[3]  • Continuous 4 × 847 hp (632 kW)[3] Tractive effort 50,000 lbf (222 kN)
Career Operators British Rail Numbers E3001–E3023, E3096, E3097; later 81001–81022 Axle load class Route availability 6 Retired 1968 (2), 1971 (1), 1983–1991 Preserved 81002 Disposition 1 preserved, remainder scrapped

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As part of the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line, which included electrification, 100 locomotives of five types were acquired; each type from a different manufacturer.

The first locomotives to be delivered were type AL1, designed by British Thomson-Houston (BTH), an order being placed for 25 examples. Of these, 23 were for use on passenger trains with a top speed of 100 mph and were designated Type A. The other two locomotives were intended for freight train use, and geared for a top speed of 80 mph; these were designated Type B.^[4]

Before the work was completed, BTH amalgamated with Metropolitan Vickers to form AEI (Associated Electrical Industries) traction division^[4] and it was under this name that the locomotives were built in 1959 under subcontract by Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon in Smethwick. The first locomotive, E3001, was handed over to British Railways on 27 November 1959.^[5] The type was initially used for crew training on the Styal Line between Manchester and Crewe.

The AL1 were numbered E3001 - E3023 and E3096 / E3097; the first twenty-three being Type A and the last two Type B (numbered E3301 and E3302).^[6] However, these last two were actually geared for passenger service, being delivered in February 1964 as E3096 and E3097.

The locomotives always worked on power provided by overhead catenary, energised at 25,000 V AC. However, the main transformer, normally operated with the four windings in series, could be operated at 6250V AC with the transformer windings in parallel.^[4] This voltage was initially to be used where limited clearances gave concern over use of the higher voltage. However, this approach was never used on the West Coast main line, although it was employed elsewhere such as Glasgow Central in the initial 'Blue Train' electrification there. By the time the WCML wiring was extended to Glasgow, it had been revised there to the mainstream 25 kV voltage.

The class only operated on the West Coast Main Line because they were restricted to lines electrified at 25 kV AC. Cities where these engines could be seen included London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. They operated passenger, freight and parcel trains. There is no record of operation on the ex-Great Eastern line, which was being electrified at the time of their introduction, nor subsequently on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) when that was electrified in the 1980s.

Under the TOPS system, twenty-two examples were reclassified as class 81 and numbered 81001 - 81022.

Three locomotives (E3002, E3009 and E3019) were withdrawn before they could be renumbered under the TOPS system, which was implemented in 1972. E3002 and E3019 were damaged by fire and both were scrapped at British Rail Crewe Works. The remains of E3009 were also cut up at Crewe Works, the locomotive having been wrecked in the Hixon rail crash of January 1968.^[7]

Two further members of the class saw relatively early withdrawal due to accident or fire damage:

• 9 December 1982 (1982-12-09): locomotive 81016 was derailed and severely damaged in an accident at Linslade Tunnel, Bedfordshire, after striking an inadequately secured load that had fallen from a preceding train, killing the driver.^[8] It was officially withdrawn in 1983.
• 26 August 1983 (1983-08-26): locomotive 81001 was damaged by fire near Carstairs, Lanarkshire whilst working a Motorail train.

The remaining locomotives of the Class had relatively successful service lives of 25 to 30 years, although in their latter years they became unreliable, and displayed an increasing tendency to catch fire. However, a shortage of electric locomotives ruled out withdrawal of the fleet until the newer Class 90 locomotives came into service in the late-1980s.^[7][9] The remaining examples were withdrawn from service in the late-1980s and early-1990s. The final examples were used for the transfer of empty coaches between London Euston and Willesden sidings between 1989 and 1991 following the withdrawal of the final Class 83's in that role. The last two examples withdrawn from service were 81012 and 81017 in July 1991. The majority of the class were scrapped at Coopers Metals in Sheffield.^[7]

One example, 81002, has been preserved by the AC Locomotive Group, located at Barrow Hill Engine Shed.

There have been no recent OO gauge models of the Class 81, although Hornby Dublo produced a model from 1964, prior to the purchase of Hornby by Lines Bros (owners of the Tri-ang Railways brand). This model was very crude, even by the standards of the day - a lack of cab interiors; a very crude pantograph; a lack of detail in the roof pan - but was issued under Tri-ang Hornby (predecessors to the current Hornby Railways brand) from 1966.

There has, however, been a static model in HO scale produced by Atlas Editions - some of these have been successfully motorised.