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Class 87

Class 88

Class 89

Class 90

Class 91

Class 92

The Class 87 was ordered to provide additional traction on the long overdue completion of the West Coast electrification from Weaver Junction to Glasgow. They were originally allocated the numbers E3201 to E3236 and I remember seeing E3201 chalked on the bodyside of what became 87001 at Crewe Works in 1973! However, they carried the TOPS numbers from new.

Lima produced a model of the Class 87 in various liveries for a number of years until their demise. Hornby re-introduced the model in their Railroad range, with a much better paint finish. I upgraded from the Lima to the Hornby, not just for the finish, but for the better 5 pole motor now installed instead of the old Lima Pancake motor.

The model has had extensive modification with the fitting of working lights, sprung buffers, a Sommerfeldt pantograph and etched nameplates from Shawplan. In addition, I fitted the Viessmann 'spark unit' to the model wired to the motor. A tiny blue/white LED is fitted just underneath the pan head and randomly flashes when the model is moving giving an arcing effect. It actually looks quite good! The model is DCC and I hope to add the sound chip to it at a later date.

In the meantime, Judith Edge Kits has produced the correct Cross Arm Pantograph which I will investigate with a view to fitting.

As usual, as I near completion of an involved upgrade, Hornby announced at the 2016 Warley Show that they were working on new tooling for a Class 87 complete with correct cross arm pantograph. Typical!