#3001· Class 80
British Rail Class 80
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Metropolitan-Vickers· from 1951· experimental AC electric locomotive
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Converted gas turbine loco.: Johnragla· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. E2001 Ex18100 Parked at Akeman Street as a Weather Station: Gordon11745· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
Class 80 was the TOPS classification allocated by British Rail to the prototype 25 kV AC electric locomotive. This locomotive was built by Metropolitan-Vickers, initially as a prototype gas turbine–electric locomotive, numbered 18100. British Rail allocated the number E1000 (and later E2001) to the locomotive following its conversion from gas turbine propulsion.
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 75 years ago, in 1951.
- Top speed is 1.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- 17.1 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1951–1958
- in service from
- 1958
- retired
- 1958
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Metropolitan-Vickers, Bowesfield Works
- operators
- British Rail
- top speed
- 145 km/h
- power
- —
- electric system
- 25 kV AC Catenary
- wheel arrangement
- (A1A)′(A1A)′
- length
- 17.1 m
- Dutch name
- Class 80
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q4970852, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 80 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.