Talk:British Rail Class 85

Trains: in UK / Locomotives Low‑importance

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Nickname[edit]

Why were they called "roarers" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.43.217.40 (talk) 06:51, 4 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

East Coast Main Line?[edit]

Is there any substance in the occasional suggestions I've read down the years that the AL5 was designed with the ECML electrification proposed in BR's 1955 Modernisation Plan (but later dropped) in mind, rather than for use on the West Coast scheme? It has been pointed out in such suggestions that details in the AL5 spec (semiconductor rectifiers, rheostatic brakes) that were not originally built into the AL1-AL4 locos may be a result of an Easten Region design brief. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.141.177.19 (talk) 19:28, 20 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

They were ordered as part of the initial fleet of 100 locos for the Birmingham-Manchester/Liverpool electrification. Five different main manufacturers were chosen, with equipment from several sources and of several types, in order to compare them in service and determine the most suitable for further production. The AL5s were built at Doncaster, and so it's likely that Eastern Region staff were involved in the design. --Redrose64 (talk) 20:45, 20 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]