Today I spent a few hours at Stafford photographing the last runs north of Birmingham of the class 87s. On Monday the new timetable begins, and the shiny new Pendolino tilting trains take over all West Coast Main Line services apart from a handful of Euston-Birmingham shuttles, which will be progressively Pendolinofied in the coming months.
The passing of the 87s doesn’t seem to attracted the same attention from enthusiasts as the end of the Cross Country 47s two years ago; I saw just one other photographer at Stafford. Perhaps it was the dull weather, not conducive for good photography. Or perhaps the electric 87s aren’t considered as charismatic as the Sulzer-powered diesels.
Introduced in 1974 with the electrification of the northern section of the WCML, these 5000hp locomotives have been the backbone of the route for thirty years. They, and the Mk3 coaches (the best coaches British Rail ever built) now face an uncertain future. Judging by the longevity of other stock they probably have another ten years useful life left in them, if any operator can find a use. I believe DRS are going to take on at least some 87s, for use both on freight working, and the night sleepers on behalf of First Scotland. My guess is that Freightliner may end up taking some 87s to replace their own fleet of 86s, which are ten years older. As for the excellent Mk3 coaches, that’s a topic of intense debate in both industry and enthusiast circles. We shall have to see.
