#4162· Class 87
British Rail Class 87
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Rail Engineering Limited· from 1973· class of 36 Bo′Bo′ 5000hp AC electric locomotives
8 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 87 030 at Kenton: Barry Lewis· CC BY 2.0
- 2. Class 87 87022 at Ruse Works, Bulgaria: Spookywestie· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. A Virgin West Coast Class 87 hurries a north-bound express from Euston alongside the Grand Union Canal at Ansty, Warwickshire: kitmasterbloke· CC BY 2.0
- 4. British Rail Class 87: train_photos· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 5. 87001 A Data Panel: Peter Skuce· Public domain
- 6. 87031 at Stafford - 5351788134: Tutenkhamun Sleeping· CC BY 2.0
- 7. 87031 at Stafford - 5351791394: Tutenkhamun Sleeping· CC BY 2.0
- 8. 87031 at Stafford: Tutenkhamun Sleeping· CC BY 2.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 87 is a type of electric locomotive designed and built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) between 1973 and 1975. A total of thirty-six locomotives were constructed, to work passenger and freight services over the West Coast Main Line (WCML). The type was developed in response to the need to add extra capacity to the electric traction fleet operated by British Rail (BR), in addition to the desire to introduce a higher performance electric locomotive than the existing Class 86, upon which the Class 87 was based.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 53 years ago, in 1973.
- Top speed is 1.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 14 minutes.
- 3.7 MW is about 44 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1973–1975
- retired
- 2007
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 36
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Rail Engineering Limited, Crewe Works
- operators
- Bulgarian Railway Company A.D., Bulmarket DM, Locomotive Services Limited, British Rail, Caledonian Sleeper, Cotswold Rail, Direct Rail Services, DB Cargo UK, GB Railfreight, Virgin Trains, London Midland Region of British Railways
- top speed
- 177 km/h
- power
- 3.7 MW
- electric system
- 25 kV AC Catenary
- wheel arrangement
- Bo′Bo′
- Dutch name
- Class 87
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q3306530, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 87 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.