Throughout the history of Britain’s railways there have been many locomotives and trains with troubled histories, with amongst the most recent the Class 92 electrics - adesign that has struggled to find its rightful place on today’s railway despite its immense capability, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
Above: Class 92 92020 Billy Stirling rumbles south at Helpston on June 20 2022 with the diverted Caledonian Sleeper (1M16) from Inverness and Fort William to London Euston. The train was running via the East Coast Main Line due to engineering works at Carstairs providing the relatively rare sight of a Class 92 on the ECML. Mike Wild.
WHEN the construction of the Channel Tunnel was finally authorised, the decision was taken that it should cater exclusively for rail traffic, but this decision presented both British Railways and the French rail system with a problem as the project developed into the 1980s as neither had any form of traction suitable for working through such a long tunnel. For through services, two distinct types of new train were required. The first was a fast express multiple unit which would operate between European capitals, and this need was eventually met by the …
