#4623
British Rail Class 89
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Rail Engineering Limited· from 1986· class of 1 Co′Co′ electric locomotive
4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 89001 at Barrowhill: Les Chatfield from Brighton, England· CC BY 2.0
- 2. 89001 at Doncaster Works: Phil Scott ( Our Phellap )· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. British Rail Class 89 89001 Avocet locomotive at Barrow Hill - September 2011: Boxley· CC BY 2.0
- 4. Class 89: Phil_Parker· CC BY 2.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 89 is a one-off prototype electric locomotive, which was built in 1986 by British Rail Engineering Limited's Crewe Works. It was used on test trains on both the West Coast and East Coast Main Lines. The locomotive was fitted with advanced power control systems and developed more than 6,000 bhp (4,500 kW).
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 40 years ago, in 1986.
- Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 12 minutes.
- Weighs about as much as 18 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 19.8 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 13 years (1987–2000).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1986
- in service from
- 1987
- retired
- 2000
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 1
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Rail Engineering Limited, Crewe Works
- designer
- Brush Traction
- operators
- British Rail, InterCity, Great North Eastern Railway
- top speed
- 201 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- overhead
- wheel arrangement
- Co′Co′
- length
- 19.8 m
- weight
- 105 t
- nicknames
- Aardvark, Badger
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4970860, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 89 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.