British Rail Class 83
Encyclopedia
The British Rail
Class 83 electric locomotives were built by English Electric
at Vulcan Foundry
, Newton-le-Willows
as part of the West Coast Main Line
electrification.
at Vulcan Foundry
, as part of British Rail's
policy to develop a standard electric locomotive. Five prototype classes (81-85) were built and evaluated, which eventually led to the development of the Class 86
locomotive.
Three of these engines were to have been built as Type B, geared for freight trains, but as it was only two were so built, becoming E3303 and E3304. The third Type B, E3305, was never built as such. Instead it was used as a test bed with silicon rectifiers and transducers, this being the first step towards thyristor
control. It became a Type A, geared for passenger trains, and numbered E3100.
The other two Type B locomotives were eventually rebuilt as Type A, being renumbered E3098 (ex E3303) and E3099 (ex E3304). Power was provided by overhead catenary energized at 25,000 V AC.
As with the Class 84
, the Class 83 suffered with problems due to the mercury-arc rectifiers. After spending several years in storage (1967 to 1971), they were rebuilt with silicon rectifiers, as was already fitted to E3100.
The decision to reinstate the fifteen engines of Class 83 was the result of the extension of the electrification requiring more electric locomotives. With both Class 83 and Class 84 being returned to traffic only thirty-six Class 87
required to be built.
The class were used to haul trains on the then newly electrified West Coast Main Line
, from Birmingham, to , Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool
and later . By 1965, electrification had spread south to London Euston. Electrification finally reached Glasgow in the early 1970s, allowing this class to operate the full length of the West Coast Main Line.
Under the pre-TOPS
British Rail classification, the first fourteen locomotives, E3025 - E3035 and E3303, E3304 (later E3098 and E3099) were Class AL3 (meaning the 3rd design of AC Locomotive). The fifteenth engine, E3100 became Class AL3/1.
All fifteen were included in the TOPS numbering system, being renumbered 83001-015.
Two engines were withdrawn early as a result of accidents. The first was 83003, withdrawn in 1975, which was severely damaged in an accident with a Class 86
at Watford
.
The second engine was 83004 which on 24 December 1977 was severely damaged in a collision with a Class 47
at Willesden
. In 1983 ten of the remaining thirteen engines were withdrawn, all being sent to the Vic Berry Scrapyard
in Leicester
.
The last three in service, 83009, 83012, and 83015 were retained for use on empty coaching stock workings from London
Euston Station
to Willesden. 83009 had previously been used at Longsight in Manchester to convert the 25 kV AC supply to 1500V DC to allow testing of the Manchester-Glossop-Hadfield units following the closure of Reddish Depot.
The Polish EU06
class was produced by English Electric at the same time as the 83s and they are quite similar.
.
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
Class 83 electric locomotives were built by English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
at Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...
, Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows is a small market town within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it is situated about midway between the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, to the east of St Helens, to the north of Warrington and to the south of...
as part of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
electrification.
History
Fifteen engines of British Rail Class 83 were built between 1960 and 1962 by English ElectricEnglish Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
at Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...
, as part of British Rail's
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
policy to develop a standard electric locomotive. Five prototype classes (81-85) were built and evaluated, which eventually led to the development of the Class 86
British Rail Class 86
The British Rail Class 86 was the standard electric locomotive built during the 1960s, developed as a result of testing with the earlier Classes 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85. One hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965-1966 by either English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, or...
locomotive.
Three of these engines were to have been built as Type B, geared for freight trains, but as it was only two were so built, becoming E3303 and E3304. The third Type B, E3305, was never built as such. Instead it was used as a test bed with silicon rectifiers and transducers, this being the first step towards thyristor
Thyristor
A thyristor is a solid-state semiconductor device with four layers of alternating N and P-type material. They act as bistable switches, conducting when their gate receives a current trigger, and continue to conduct while they are forward biased .Some sources define silicon controlled rectifiers and...
control. It became a Type A, geared for passenger trains, and numbered E3100.
The other two Type B locomotives were eventually rebuilt as Type A, being renumbered E3098 (ex E3303) and E3099 (ex E3304). Power was provided by overhead catenary energized at 25,000 V AC.
As with the Class 84
British Rail Class 84
The British Rail Class 84 was a 25 kV AC electric locomotive that operated on the West Coast Main Line of the London Midland Region.- History :...
, the Class 83 suffered with problems due to the mercury-arc rectifiers. After spending several years in storage (1967 to 1971), they were rebuilt with silicon rectifiers, as was already fitted to E3100.
The decision to reinstate the fifteen engines of Class 83 was the result of the extension of the electrification requiring more electric locomotives. With both Class 83 and Class 84 being returned to traffic only thirty-six Class 87
British Rail Class 87
The British Rail Class 87 is a type of electric locomotive built from 1973-75 by British Rail Engineering Limited . 36 of these locomotives were built to work passenger services over the West Coast Main Line . They were the flagships of British Rail's electric locomotive fleet until the late 1980s,...
required to be built.
The class were used to haul trains on the then newly electrified West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
, from Birmingham, to , Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
and later . By 1965, electrification had spread south to London Euston. Electrification finally reached Glasgow in the early 1970s, allowing this class to operate the full length of the West Coast Main Line.
Under the pre-TOPS
TOPS
Total Operations Processing System, or TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock owned by a rail system...
British Rail classification, the first fourteen locomotives, E3025 - E3035 and E3303, E3304 (later E3098 and E3099) were Class AL3 (meaning the 3rd design of AC Locomotive). The fifteenth engine, E3100 became Class AL3/1.
All fifteen were included in the TOPS numbering system, being renumbered 83001-015.
Two engines were withdrawn early as a result of accidents. The first was 83003, withdrawn in 1975, which was severely damaged in an accident with a Class 86
British Rail Class 86
The British Rail Class 86 was the standard electric locomotive built during the 1960s, developed as a result of testing with the earlier Classes 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85. One hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965-1966 by either English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, or...
at Watford
Watford Junction railway station
On 23 January 1975, an express train from Manchester to Euston derailed just south of Watford Junction after striking some stillages that had fallen on to the track. It then collided with a sleeper service from Euston to Glasgow. The driver of the Manchester train was killed, and eight passengers...
.
The second engine was 83004 which on 24 December 1977 was severely damaged in a collision with a Class 47
British Rail Class 47
The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...
at Willesden
Willesden Junction station
Willesden Junction station is a Network Rail station in Harlesden, northwest London, UK. It is served by both London Overground and the Bakerloo line of the London Underground.-History:The station developed on three contiguous sites:...
. In 1983 ten of the remaining thirteen engines were withdrawn, all being sent to the Vic Berry Scrapyard
Vic Berry
Vic Berry's Scrapyard was a large, railway scrapyard situated in the former Great Central / British Railways Goods Yard and Engine Shed area of south central Leicester...
in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
.
The last three in service, 83009, 83012, and 83015 were retained for use on empty coaching stock workings from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Euston Station
Euston station
Euston station may refer to one of the following stations in London, United Kingdom:*Euston railway station, a major terminus for trains to the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and part of Scotland...
to Willesden. 83009 had previously been used at Longsight in Manchester to convert the 25 kV AC supply to 1500V DC to allow testing of the Manchester-Glossop-Hadfield units following the closure of Reddish Depot.
The Polish EU06
PKP class EU06
EU06 is a class of electric locomotives in service with the Polish state railway PKP.-Technical details:EU06 has driving cabs at both ends. The locomotives are equipped for multiple working which allows one driver to drive two coupled engines from one cab. One locomotive can haul passenger trains...
class was produced by English Electric at the same time as the 83s and they are quite similar.
Power supply
The locomotives always worked on power provided by overhead catenary energized 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. This voltage was initially to be used where limited clearances gave concern over use of the higher voltage.Preservation
One locomotive has been preserved by the AC Locomotive GroupAC Locomotive Group
The AC Locomotive Group is the UK's only dedicated AC electric locomotive preservation society. It currently has ten AC locomotives in its care, numbers 81002, 82008, 83012, 84001, 85101, 86101, 86213, 86401, 87002, 89001.- Locomotives :...
.
- 83012 / E3035 - Barrow Hill Engine ShedBarrow Hill Engine ShedBarrow Hill Roundhouse & Railway Centre, until 1948 known as Staveley Roundhouse & Train Centre, is a former Midland Railway roundhouse in Barrow Hill, near Staveley and Chesterfield, Derbyshire .-History:...
Fleet details
| Key: | Preserved | Scrapped |
|---|
| Numbers | Withdrawn | Disposal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type B | Type A | TOPS | ||
| - | E3024 | 83001 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester December 1984 |
| - | E3025 | 83002 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester November 1984 |
| - | E3026 | 83003 | 1975 | Scrapped at Crewe Works July 1975 |
| - | E3027 | 83004 | 1978 | Scrapped at Coopers Metals, Sheffield February 1978 |
| - | E3015 | 83005 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester November 1984 |
| - | E3029 | 83006 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester October 1984 |
| - | E3030 | 83007 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester December 1984 |
| - | E3031 | 83008 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester November 1984 |
| - | E3032 | 83009 | 1989 | Scrapped at MC Metals, Glasgow August 1993 |
| - | E3033 | 83010 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester December 1984 |
| - | E3034 | 83011 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester November 1984 |
| - | E3035 | 83012 | 1989 | Preserved at Barrow Hill Engine Shed |
| E3303 | E3098 | 83013 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester October 1984 |
| E3304 | E3099 | 83014 | 1983 | Scrapped at Vic Berry, Leicester October 1984 |
| (E3305) | E3100 | 83015 | 1989 | Scrapped at MC Metals, Glasgow April 1993 |