89001 Loaded Test Run at Lancaster - 18th March 2026 скачать в хорошем качестве

89001 Loaded Test Run at Lancaster - 18th March 2026

One of a kind prototype electric locomotive 89001 "Avocet" (also known as "The Badger") is seen twice passing through Lancaster on a loaded test run with a short Mk3 rake and 86101 for added weight and insurance. The first shot is of the consist heading north, it's not the greatest as I believed my camera malfunctioned (my screen was very blurry) so the camera work is not great and I pretty much gave up on the pan-round and didn't zoom in for the going away shot but looking now it has come out ok. The second shot is of the southbound run to Crewe, the Badger has run-around the stock at Tebay and now sits atop a Lovely Horse (82139) with 86101 tagging along on the rear. Believe it or not I thought the camera issue happened again, believing it to be the camera not being able to handle the bright sunlight and the very slab fronted 89 - it turned out to be the sunlight shining too brightly onto my fingerprint laden screen... Fortunately I kept to plan this time and kept rolling and it came out well enough. It's always one of those cases of when you spend hours on something it goes to heck :/ Of course it didn't help with the WCML being in chaos due to issues last night with OHLE issues between Leyland and then track circuit issues in the same area this morning meaning everything was running 30+ minutes late - I managed to record several freights, some were 6+ hours late! Those are for another day however ;) The Class 89 was built in the mid 1980s by BREL Crewe Works under contract from Brush Traction for British Rail as a prototype high speed electric locomotive. BR under pressure from government bean counters changed the specs repeatedly and in the end settled on the Class 90 and the Class 91 "Electra" (better known as the Intercity 225 power cars) instead. Fondly known as the Badger 89001 was named "Avocet" in 1989. 89001 operated many test runs with some limited passenger services on the East Coast Main Line but being a one-of-a-kind loco it soon found itself withdrawn, it was saved for preservation by a group of Brush Traction employees however it was purchased by GNER's parent company Sea Containers in 1996 and following overhaul ran in regular service until it suffered another major failure in October 2000 when it was subsequently withdrawn. In 2004 the AC Locomotive Group (with the aim of preserving at least one of each electric locomotive class) took over stewardship of the locomotive, ultimately acquiring it in December 2006. The restoration was a very lengthy and expensive one however in 2025 the locomotive was finally able to move under its own power again and did some test runs from Crewe to Stafford. This is the first time 89001 has run north along the WCML under its own power in decades, quite possibly since it completed its testing in the 1980s! I've seen this loco several times but today was the first time I've seen it run, I like it ;) Thanks for watching, subscribe to see more rail content as it drops or take a look through my vast back catalogue of railway videos going back the last 15+ years :) #89001Avocet #Class89 #Intercity