The InterCity 225 Class 91s and Mk.4 coaches were the last locomotive-hauled fleet to be built by British Rail in the late 1980s, but the surviving examples are now in the twilight period of operation. Andy Coward met up with Ben Denton-Cardew and Chris Curtis from the 225 Group to hear about their efforts to celebrate the legacy of the trains and plans for preservation in the future.
Railway preservation has certainly evolved since its inception. Throughout the 1960s, in the wake of the infamous Beeching report, groups were set up to preserve and reopen numerous sections of railway that were either threatened with closure or which had closed already. For the revival of these railways, large numbers of steam locomotives were secured to operate their services, sourced mainly from British Railways, industry, or scrapyards.
The 1970s and 1980s saw diesel preservation grow in popularity, with Class 42 Warship D821 Greyhound becoming the first privately-owned diesel locomotive to be secured for preservation in 1973. Since then, hundreds of heritage diesels have followed the Warship, and diesel locomotives are now vital assets for many heritage railway operations.
Things aren’t quite so easy for electric locomotive preservation, however, meaning that far fewer electrics are represented in the preservation sector than their steam and diesel contemporaries.
Electric locomotive preservation is not straightforward. None of our heritage railways or museums are equipped with overhead electrification, so for those seeking to save an electric locomotive for preservation, they are effectively faced with two choices – static exhibit or maintained and operated on the main line.
In the static exhibit camp, discounting those locomotives that are part of the National Collection, Barrow Hill is home to the AC Locomotive Group’s 81002, 82008, 83012 and 85006, Crewe Heritage Centre owns 87035 Robert Burns and is also currently cosmetically restoring Freightl
