British Rail Class 86

The British Rail Class 86 is a type of electric locomotive, developed as a standard design from the earlier prototype classes 81 to 85, to haul trains on the newly electrified West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Birmingham, Crewe, Liverpool, Manchester and later Preston and Glasgow. An order for 100 was placed in 1963 and split between two builders: English Electric's Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows built 60 and British Rail's Doncaster Works built 40, with the Newton-built locomotives rated at 3,600 hp and the Doncaster-built ones at 4,000 hp. The class entered service in August 1965 and was designated AL6 until the TOPS system renamed it in 1968. Early on it was notorious for rough riding and track damage caused by its axle-hung traction motors, and a suspension modification trialled in 1969 was applied to the whole fleet. Some members worked the Great Eastern Main Line, some were exported to Bulgaria and Hungary, and three remain preserved in operational condition in Great Britain.