View allAll Photos Tagged 900hp
“Horizontal Falls” is the name given to a unique phenomenon on the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. It has been described by the British naturalist David Attenborough as “one of the greatest wonders of the natural world”.
The ‘Falls’ are actually powerful water currents created by ten-metre-high tides that force seawater through two narrow gaps in the coastal range. These gaps separate the open ocean from two internal gorges. As the ocean tide rises, water is forced into the gorges. When the tide turns the water traped inside is unable to exit fast enough. It banks up as high as five metres before rushing through as a surging torrent.
When my wife and I were taken through the narrower of the two gaps in the late afternoon, the 900hp fast-boat we were riding in had to maintain a speed of 12 knots (22 kilometres per hour) simply to stay in the same place relative to the cliffs on either side. Next morning the current was faster and stronger. We were able to approach the gap to get this photograph but passage through it was too dangerous to be attempted.*
© Irwin Reynolds, all rights reserved. If you are interested in using one of my images or would like a high-quality fine art print, please send an email to irwinreynolds@me.com.
*For more information and a map of Talbot Bay and the two gorges, click on the link below:
kimberley-australia.com/kimberley-attractions/horizontal-...
SIEVERS McLaren Mercedes SLR 'GTB' - Böblingen
~900hp now but it will get more!
Had an awesome ride in this sick car:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkC9qZODhlo
Thanks again to:
Become a fan of my facebook-page!
He helped me with the editing:
SIEVERS McLaren Mercedes SLR 'GTB' - Böblingen
~900hp now but it will get more!
Had an awesome ride in this sick car:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkC9qZODhlo
Thanks again to:
Become a fan of my facebook-page!
About to take 900hp flat out into the banking
#27, Dario Franchitti, KOOL Green Racing, Reynard, Honda
Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART)
2000 Michigan 500 presented by Toyota
Michigan Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan
July 22, 2000
World Copyright
Peter Burke
Dunedin Railways' DJ 1210 is on its way to the Addington Wheel lathe.
The Mitsubishi DJ class locos effectively ended steam traction in the South Island when they were introduced from 1968. At just 64 tons in a flexible bo-bo-bo arrangement, they were light enough to travel on the flimsiest of branchlines and also run mainline passenger trains at 100 km/h, but were hampered by their low power, being derated to 900hp after the Caterpillar D398 engines were plagued with overheating issues.
The DJ was ubiquitous in the South Island until being withdrawn in the late 1980s, replaced by bigger locos such as the two leading this train.
A number of DJs were preserved, most notably by Dunedin Railways for their excursion trains.
19 Nov 2023, Train 962, 7239-5310, plus Dunedin Railways DJ 1210, Oamaru, SIMT-NZ
Video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHIxw8KJnkg
Facebook - www.facebook.com/SlickGT?ref=hl
Instagram - instagram.com/slickbsb
YouTube - www.youtube.com/user/SlickGTBSB
We were cruising through Beverly Hills at midnight and suddenly this sick Mosler appeared behind us.
Quite a crazy car. It has 900HP and on this pic you can look directly into the turbos!
Erm? Most of Clem's older negatives, dating from the 1960s, are rail related. The film from which this offering came appears to have been taken with a bunch of Scottish shots. It doesn't necessarily mean that this one was taken in Scotland, but my feeling is that it was.
The loco is one of the unloved Clayton Type 1s which were largely concentrated in the Central Belt of Scotland for their short working lives. I believe that the last ones weren't built until 1956, and yet the first withdrawals occurred in 1968. Apart from a couple trialled with Rolls Royce DV8 engines, all were powered (oddly) by a pair of Paxman horizontal 6 cylinder railcar type engines which between them gave 900hp. One survived the cutters torch, being bought by an industrial concern (Portland Cement, Bletchley rings a bell as I went to see it), and thanks to that, survived to represent 'Class 17' in preservation.
The boat 'Brighton Diver 3' eases its way through the Marina.
Brighton
The new Brighton Diver 3 fast ultra-stable 900hp catamaran with 360 degree viewing and heated inside cabin and proper toilet
Sussex
UK.
Series of 4 shots.
The Horizontal Falls or Horizontal Waterfalls in the Kimberley region of Western Australia were described by Sir David Attenborough as "One of the greatest wonders of the natural world". They are formed by a break in-between the McLarty ranges reaching up to 25m in width.
The phenomenon is created as seawater builds up faster on one side of the gaps than the other, creating a waterfall up to 5m high on a King tide. Within each change of the tide the direction of the falls reverses, creating vast tidal whirlpool.
The boat we went through the gap in was 900hp & 3.8 metres wide. As you can see from the photos with the strong tides you need a powerful boat & when the boat stopped in the gap (deliberately to scare us) I was that person thinking OMG!
Diesel Traction Group (DTG) Clayton Type 1 (Class 17) 900hp Bo-Bo diesel No. D8568
09.52 Bewdley-Kidderminster SVR Diesel Gala passenger service
Kidderminster (Severn Valley Railway), Worcestershire
October 2nd, 2021
1600 x 1050
Diesel Traction Group (DTG) Clayton Type 1 (Class 17) 900hp Bo-Bo diesel No. D8568
16.55 Kidderminster-Bewdley SVR Diesel Gala passenger service
Kidderminster (Severn Valley Railway), Worcestershire
October 3rd, 2021
1600 x 1050
Diesel Traction Group (DTG) Clayton Type 1 (Class 17) 900hp Bo-Bo diesel No. D8568
Light engine off 09.52 Bewdley-Kidderminster at SVR Diesel Gala
Kidderminster (Severn Valley Railway), Worcestershire
October 2nd, 2021
1600 x 1050
Taken June 22, 2005 on the former NYC Water Level Route we catch NS8210
Conrail purchased a total of 22 C39-8's in 1986. The 3,900hp beasts were built between June and August of 1986 and were assigned to series 6000 - 6021. The C39-8, often referred to as "camelbacks" due to the large equipment blower and dynamic brake box located directly behind the cab, is almost identical to the earlier produced C32-8. The C39-8 was the last in the Dash 8 line to utilize two radiator exhaust fans.
The original factory-installed, small single grab iron on the nose of the unit, also found on the B40-8 model, was intended for use when crossing between locomotives. They were replaced however, sometime in 1991 when Conrail opted for the upside down "L" grabs due to safety concerns and difficulty boarding the locomotives from the ground, account the higher walkway.
In 1999, the fleet was divided between Norfolk Southern and CSX. Those assigned to NS were renumbered into the 8200-8212 series, while CSX allocated units became 7480-7498.
Another one from our chase of MACe/MAC duo on a coalie bound for the Tucson Electric Power Company's Springerville Generating Station. Our second spot got them still clawing up the hill while entering a deep cut in the landscape. The HP rating system that BNSF uses gave them 23,900hp total among the 5 AC units for the 17,692 ton train. We would break off from here to get around to the other end of the Coronado Sub where they'll pop out of the inaccessible middle portion of the run. The 124 loads of black diamonds would make it to power plant without a problem later that afternoon.
When 48s ruled the rails - ALCo DL531 branchliners 48124/48132 head north somewhere between Boggabri and Turrawan , New South Wales, with what was then the daily Moree 'Speedfreight' on 15 August 1991.
Motive power on these tracks is now usually 3000hp plus, but general freight such as this has all but disappeared. However there is still a healthy flow of grain, cotton and coal trains on this stretch.
165 of these 900hp DL531s were built by A E Goodwin for the New South Wales Government Railways between 1959-1970 with approximately a third remaining in service today (2017)
V700_4_312
Matte wrap orange '03 Porsche 996 Turbo with EVOMS parts. Producing 900hp.
Check out my FB photography page!
www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jeff-Chin-Photography/134164841165
Not sure what "tc" mean but it has is beside 599. It's probably initials of owner. It also has black rear lights and silver diffuser.
Edit: Just found that "tc" mean twin compressor and than enzo engine produce 900HP in this car.
Please fave if you like it.
Now, what if the Bugatti Model 100 was actually modified into a fighter aircraft? The race variant was supposed to be equipped with two 450hp engines but the combat version most likely would have received 600-900hp inline engines, giving it a top speed of around 590km/h (some websites estimate that performance at around 800km/h, but that is completely impossible).
Because of all that added power, the twin blade propelled would have been replaced by three blade propellers.
Armament would have been most likely two 20mm cannons and two or four 7,7mm machine guns on the wings.
Range would have been quite small, so it would have been employed as an interceptor, to protect cities and industrial facilities.
Click here for the next photo to know more about the MOC:
www.flickr.com/photos/einon/51892229328
Eínon
Charlie built a 1986 Z28 with decent 500hp and 500 pound feet of torque for his daily driver Z28. Next year Santa is bringing additional 900hp. Hmm 1400hp daily driver. Lit by strobes with softboxes. View large in lightbox for this asphalt monster.
I had my first trip to England and France planned for 2020, then 2021, and finally was able to take it in 2022. It was timed so we could visit the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which did not disappoint! One of the cars I was most looking forward to seeing was this bonkers Subaru. I spoke to Travis at one point and told him that I loved the car, and he said thanks, he did too! I don't think it's an insult to say that it's gloriously stupid, in the best way possible.
It's also scorchingly quick, 5th fastest up the Goodwill hill - just ahead of Ford's 1,900hp Supervan.
Best viewed Original size.
Two views of former BR Class 17 "Clayton" 900hp Bo-Bo diesel-electric 8568 at Grosmonth (NYMR) - 11/10/1983.
Sold by BR into industrial use, and subsequently purchased by the Diesel Traction Group on 09/02/1983 which initially based the sole survivor of this Class on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. It is now based at the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway.
© 2015 - 53A Models of Hull Collection. Scanned from the original 35mm colour negative; photographed by Richard Binns.
- - - - - -
The Zilant was a single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Imperial Lego Air Force during the first Lego/Androvakian war. It was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft armed with two 20mm ENA-50 cannons on the wings, two 12,7mm heavy machine guns over the engine and one 30mm ENA-60 engine mounted Auto-cannon.
To achieve extreme altitudes as soon as possible, the plane received the most powerful engine available at the time, the V-450, a 2400hp engine equipped with a 3 level turbo-supercharger and a secondary two level high altitude booster, providing an emergency power of 3 900hp for 4 minutes.
Thanks to being light and having extremely thin wings, the fighter could easily get to 8 000meters in less than 6 minutes, a record for the time.
About the MOC:
I’ve made a huge number of planes in 2013, which for many reasons I never presented to the world due to the recent “fashion” of using curved slopes, which improve a lot the quality of planes. While I wait for the arrival of new parts to improve those planes, I decided to show some of them and then compare the improvements made with the new parts.
Zilant is a legendary creature, something between a dragon and a wyvern. Since 1730, it has been the official symbol of Kazan.
My girlfriend gave me the idea of the plane, therefore I put a female pilot on the plane! ^^
Don´t forget to visit my flickr page for many more planes and ships!
Eínon
Today I had a little shoot! Looks so awesome!
Power: 900HP/662KW
Top Speed: ~350 kp/h
0-100kp/h: ~3,4sec
Cylinder Capacity: 6208 ccm
Stadtlohn, Germany 2011
The South Australian Railways relied on just three loco types for its shunting and branch line duties, a representative of all three being lined up at Mile End loco depot on 5 August 1987, though by this time ownership had passed to the federally owned Australian National.
502 was built by the SAR's own workshops at Islington in 1964 and powered by an English Electric 4SRKT engine rated at 500hp.
804 was built by English Electric at Rocklea,Queensland in 1956 and powered by an English Electric 6SRKT engine rated at 750hp.
844 was built by AE Goodwing,Sydney under licence to ALCo in 1962 and powered by an ALCo 251B engine rated at 900hp.
Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks 371, Mobile, Ala., September 8, 1968. Alco-GE #68789, Built March, 1937. 900hp; Ex-BS #83. Phil Kotheimer Photo
Half an hour later, and racing north through Lichfield Trent Valley with an intermodal freight from Felixstowe to Trafford Park is veteran AC electric Class 86, 86632 and an unidentified classmate.
For a time it was the flagship of those early days of Electric traction on the Midland Region, but today few remain in nocturnal freight operations. The 100mph Class 86's were by far the most numerous of the original electric traction for British Rail, but their decline has been pronounced as many now languish in silent storage or have met their end at the cutter's torch.
The Class 86 was a culmination of developments pioneered by the original AC electric locomotives that formed the backbone of British Rail's Modernisation Plan in the late 1950's and early 60's. As part of the electrification of the West Coast Mainline, a new fleet of electric locomotives were commissioned to various manufacturers, these being the Class 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85. While the Class 81 and 85 were quite successful, and would see active service in the 1980's and 1990's, the Class 82, 83 and 84 were noted for their unreliability, largely due to their manufacturer's inexperience at building electric locomotives.
The Class 86, originally dubbed the AL6, took elements from each to create the perfect flagship locomotive, including the bodyshape and wheel design. The AL6 however also brought to the table its own innovative design features, including quieter cooling fans, the lack of a second pantograph and the fitting of four AEI 282AZ 900hp Traction Motors, with an overall power output of 3,600hp on the original locomotives.
The Class 86's made their first official appearance on the West Coast in August 1965, and eventually all 100 locomotives would be in service with BR after a 24 month construction run, making it the most numerous class of electric locomotive in the UK, an unbeaten record. However, initial problems came with regard to the AL6, largely due to the position of the axle-hung traction motors, which would cause damage to the tracks due to the additional unsprung mass. To solve this, new flexicoil springs were added in 1969 to help support the traction motors, this eventually being placed onto all members of the class.
By 1970, several variants of the class had been created for various purposes. 86/0 locomotives were unmodified members without flexicoil springs, and were restricted to 80mph; while 86/2 were modified with flexicoil springs, and could operate at the locomotive's top speed of 100mph, putting them in good stead for passenger services. A later variant was the Class 86/1, modified with 5,000hp traction motors as a testbed for the upcoming Class 87's, which would be the flagship electric locomotives for passenger trains out of London Euston.
Even following the introduction of the Class 87's in 1974, the Class 86's still held a prominent role on the West Coast Mainline for both passenger and freight operations. Their influence was widened in time thanks to the electrification of routes out of London Liverpool Street towards Cambridge, Harwich, Norwich and Ipswich. Class 86's began operations there during the mid to late 1980's, and became the prime motive power for express services along the Great Eastern route towards Anglia. This coincided with the addition of TDM or Time-Division Multiplexing, which allowed the locomotives to be controlled by cab-control cars. On the West Coast Mainline, streamlined Class 82 Driving Van Trailers made an appearance after 1988, while on the Great Eastern, converted MkII carriages called DBSO's, or Driving Brake Standard Only, were brought in from Scotland after they were displaced from Edinburgh to Glasgow expresses by Class 158 DMU's.
By the 1990's, a majority of the Class 86's were still in service on freight and passenger workings. Class 86/2's worked express passenger services, whilst Class 86/4's were reclassified into 86/6's for use on freight as part of the new Freightliner and Railfreight Distribution services. For a brief time, several 86/2's were allocated to freight, and these were renumbered 86/5's, but were quickly returned to InterCity. By the mid-1990's, the Class 86's were truly at the peak of their powers, operating InterCity services out of two major London terminals, and being the backbone of both freight and parcels services on the West Coast Mainline north of London, as well as on the Great Eastern to the east.
However, as privatisation began in the late 1990's, new operators were quick to outline their new plan for replacing the nearly 40 year old locomotives with newer stock. The Class 86's were split into several companies, with passenger 86/2's being divided amongst Anglia Railways, Virgin West Coast and Virgin Cross Country. Freight operator EWS inherited 15 locomotives from the Parcels sector, whilst 30 locomotives went to the newly formed Freightliner company.
As mentioned however, commitments to the new franchising system meant that old stock had to be replaced in order to improve service reliability, and the Class 86's were singled out for retirement more than the other classes. Virgin Cross Country were the first to retire the locomotives, their fleet of 19 locomotives used between Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland being retired in September 2002 along with all loco-hauled Cross-Country services. Some Class 86's would continue to find service with Virgin's West Coast Mainline arm, but the end was nigh for these locomotives as well, the last being retired in September 2003.
Anglia's Class 86's held on for another year, but as Virgin replaced its loco-hauled stock with new Class 390 Pendolino units, displaced Class 90's, which were much younger and more reliable, began working on Anglia's services out of London Liverpool Street. Coupled with the change in franchise from Anglia to National Express' 'One', and by September 2005 nothing remained of the Class 86, the very last Class 86 hauled intercity train taking place on September 17th, 2005, with 86235 doing the honours.
EWS also quickly retired the Class 86's, due largely to the removal of the Mail Train contract in 2003, but also due to the introduction of Class 66's to operate most freight diagrams.
Freightliner however continue to maintain a sizable fleet of locomotives for their freight operations on the West Coast and Great Eastern Mainlines, with 14 of these 52 year old locomotives still in active service with the company. Today they're quite hard to find in the daytime, but in rare instances you may be lucky enough to catch one running very late or very early.
Other Class 86's include ones exported to Bulgaria, of which 6 have currently been so far together with several Class 87's. Many Class 86's however continue to languish in storage, mostly at Long Marston base in Worcestershire, as well as many having been scrapped or stripped for spares donors.
Class 86's have also had their fair share of accidents, perhaps more so than other UK locomotive classes. The first such accident was in January 1975, when 86209 collided head-on with Class 83, 83003, killing one, though the 86 was eventually recovered and returned to work. Also in 1975, 86006 and 86242 suffered a devastating crash at Nuneaton, when the two electric locomotives entered a temporary speed restriction at high speed causing a derailment that killed 6 and injured 38.
Another very serious incident was the Colwich rail crash of September 19th, 1986, when 86211 and 86429 collided head-on, resulting in the death of one of the drivers and the destruction of both locomotives.
In 1996, 86239, hauling a Mail Train, collided with the rear of a freight train near Stafford and ended up in a back garden, writing off the locomotive and killing two Royal Mail staff aboard the mail train.
The last major crash of the Class 86 was in 2003, when 86631 and 86611 crashed into a stationary freight train at Norton Bridge, the force of the impact snapping the leading locomotive in half. Thankfully there were no fatalities, but both locomotives were written off.
Officially, three locomotives have been preserved here in the UK, but even these still see regular revenue earning work. 86259 'Les Ross' was purchased by the eponymous owner in 2008, and is a regular operator on the mainline working railtours for Vintage Trains. Two other Class 86's, 86101 and 86401, have been returned from preservation to help operate the Caledonian Sleeper service from London to Scotland. Though mostly used for Empty Carriage workings, they do sometimes operate the full route between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh.
Today, the Class 86's, though over 50 years old, still prove themselves reliable and charming electric locomotives, and true pioneers in their own right. A design that may date back to the late 1950's, the flexible nature of these engines has helped them stand the test of time, and one hopes they see continued use well into the future.
G-Power is a German Tuner that modifies anything and everything to come from Bavarian Motor Works, or BMW as it is commonly known. Starting with the already insane 500+ HP twin turbo V-8 X6M, G-Power swaps in a twin supercharged V-10 rated at a whopping 900HP!
Built for the 79th LUGNuts Challenge "LUGNuts Goes Wingnuts" . This vehicle fits into the challenge since BMW has a history of building aircraft engines. Contrary to popular belief, their logo does not represent an airplane's propeller,
Exclusive Mc Laren P1 GTR Street legal on road during the rally supercars - Chantilly art et elegance Richard Mille - 03.09.2016
SP TR6A 1100 rests in Los Nietos, CA on St. Patrick's Day 1972. The luck of the Irish is with this little guy, as it was sold to the Quincy RR sometime after 1981 and then was aqquired by the Feather River Rail Society in Portola in 2004 where it now resides. 1100 was originally EMD demo #1600A along with 1600B, the TR6B. SP bought the pair and numbered them 4600/4700. They were used on the NWP for the early part of their careers, along with three other TR6 sets. The calves were separated from the cows around 1955 or so, and the TR6A's were basically treated like any other SW8, a 900hp switcher. Renumbered in the 1966 renumbering plan, the 1100 and 1102 would become the last of the TR6A's and the 1100 would outlast the other until it's sale.
GAD Motors CLK 63 AMG Black Series
Power: 900HP/662KW
Top Speed: ~350 kp/h
0-100kp/h: ~3,4sec
Cylinder Capacity: 6208 ccm
Stadtlohn, Germany 2011
Speeding north through Lichfield Trent Valley with an intermodal freight from Felixstowe to Crewe Basford Hall is veteran AC electric Class 86, 86638 and an unidentified classmate.
For a time it was the flagship of those early days of Electric traction on the Midland Region, but today few remain in nocturnal freight operations. The 100mph Class 86's were by far the most numerous of the original electric traction for British Rail, but their decline has been pronounced as many now languish in silent storage or have met their end at the cutter's torch.
The Class 86 was a culmination of developments pioneered by the original AC electric locomotives that formed the backbone of British Rail's Modernisation Plan in the late 1950's and early 60's. As part of the electrification of the West Coast Mainline, a new fleet of electric locomotives were commissioned to various manufacturers, these being the Class 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85. While the Class 81 and 85 were quite successful, and would see active service in the 1980's and 1990's, the Class 82, 83 and 84 were noted for their unreliability, largely due to their manufacturer's inexperience at building electric locomotives.
The Class 86, originally dubbed the AL6, took elements from each to create the perfect flagship locomotive, including the bodyshape and wheel design. The AL6 however also brought to the table its own innovative design features, including quieter cooling fans, the lack of a second pantograph and the fitting of four AEI 282AZ 900hp Traction Motors, with an overall power output of 3,600hp on the original locomotives.
The Class 86's made their first official appearance on the West Coast in August 1965, and eventually all 100 locomotives would be in service with BR after a 24 month construction run, making it the most numerous class of electric locomotive in the UK, an unbeaten record. However, initial problems came with regard to the AL6, largely due to the position of the axle-hung traction motors, which would cause damage to the tracks due to the additional unsprung mass. To solve this, new flexicoil springs were added in 1969 to help support the traction motors, this eventually being placed onto all members of the class.
By 1970, several variants of the class had been created for various purposes. 86/0 locomotives were unmodified members without flexicoil springs, and were restricted to 80mph; while 86/2 were modified with flexicoil springs, and could operate at the locomotive's top speed of 100mph, putting them in good stead for passenger services. A later variant was the Class 86/1, modified with 5,000hp traction motors as a testbed for the upcoming Class 87's, which would be the flagship electric locomotives for passenger trains out of London Euston.
Even following the introduction of the Class 87's in 1974, the Class 86's still held a prominent role on the West Coast Mainline for both passenger and freight operations. Their influence was widened in time thanks to the electrification of routes out of London Liverpool Street towards Cambridge, Harwich, Norwich and Ipswich. Class 86's began operations there during the mid to late 1980's, and became the prime motive power for express services along the Great Eastern route towards Anglia. This coincided with the addition of TDM or Time-Division Multiplexing, which allowed the locomotives to be controlled by cab-control cars. On the West Coast Mainline, streamlined Class 82 Driving Van Trailers made an appearance after 1988, while on the Great Eastern, converted MkII carriages called DBSO's, or Driving Brake Standard Only, were brought in from Scotland after they were displaced from Edinburgh to Glasgow expresses by Class 158 DMU's.
By the 1990's, a majority of the Class 86's were still in service on freight and passenger workings. Class 86/2's worked express passenger services, whilst Class 86/4's were reclassified into 86/6's for use on freight as part of the new Freightliner and Railfreight Distribution services. For a brief time, several 86/2's were allocated to freight, and these were renumbered 86/5's, but were quickly returned to InterCity. By the mid-1990's, the Class 86's were truly at the peak of their powers, operating InterCity services out of two major London terminals, and being the backbone of both freight and parcels services on the West Coast Mainline north of London, as well as on the Great Eastern to the east.
However, as privatisation began in the late 1990's, new operators were quick to outline their new plan for replacing the nearly 40 year old locomotives with newer stock. The Class 86's were split into several companies, with passenger 86/2's being divided amongst Anglia Railways, Virgin West Coast and Virgin Cross Country. Freight operator EWS inherited 15 locomotives from the Parcels sector, whilst 30 locomotives went to the newly formed Freightliner company.
As mentioned however, commitments to the new franchising system meant that old stock had to be replaced in order to improve service reliability, and the Class 86's were singled out for retirement more than the other classes. Virgin Cross Country were the first to retire the locomotives, their fleet of 19 locomotives used between Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland being retired in September 2002 along with all loco-hauled Cross-Country services. Some Class 86's would continue to find service with Virgin's West Coast Mainline arm, but the end was nigh for these locomotives as well, the last being retired in September 2003.
Anglia's Class 86's held on for another year, but as Virgin replaced its loco-hauled stock with new Class 390 Pendolino units, displaced Class 90's, which were much younger and more reliable, began working on Anglia's services out of London Liverpool Street. Coupled with the change in franchise from Anglia to National Express' 'One', and by September 2005 nothing remained of the Class 86, the very last Class 86 hauled intercity train taking place on September 17th, 2005, with 86235 doing the honours.
EWS also quickly retired the Class 86's, due largely to the removal of the Mail Train contract in 2003, but also due to the introduction of Class 66's to operate most freight diagrams.
Freightliner however continue to maintain a sizable fleet of locomotives for their freight operations on the West Coast and Great Eastern Mainlines, with 14 of these 52 year old locomotives still in active service with the company. Today they're quite hard to find in the daytime, but in rare instances you may be lucky enough to catch one running very late or very early.
Other Class 86's include ones exported to Bulgaria, of which 6 have currently been so far together with several Class 87's. Many Class 86's however continue to languish in storage, mostly at Long Marston base in Worcestershire, as well as many having been scrapped or stripped for spares donors.
Class 86's have also had their fair share of accidents, perhaps more so than other UK locomotive classes. The first such accident was in January 1975, when 86209 collided head-on with Class 83, 83003, killing one, though the 86 was eventually recovered and returned to work. Also in 1975, 86006 and 86242 suffered a devastating crash at Nuneaton, when the two electric locomotives entered a temporary speed restriction at high speed causing a derailment that killed 6 and injured 38.
Another very serious incident was the Colwich rail crash of September 19th, 1986, when 86211 and 86429 collided head-on, resulting in the death of one of the drivers and the destruction of both locomotives.
In 1996, 86239, hauling a Mail Train, collided with the rear of a freight train near Stafford and ended up in a back garden, writing off the locomotive and killing two Royal Mail staff aboard the mail train.
The last major crash of the Class 86 was in 2003, when 86631 and 86611 crashed into a stationary freight train at Norton Bridge, the force of the impact snapping the leading locomotive in half. Thankfully there were no fatalities, but both locomotives were written off.
Officially, three locomotives have been preserved here in the UK, but even these still see regular revenue earning work. 86259 'Les Ross' was purchased by the eponymous owner in 2008, and is a regular operator on the mainline working railtours for Vintage Trains. Two other Class 86's, 86101 and 86401, have been returned from preservation to help operate the Caledonian Sleeper service from London to Scotland. Though mostly used for Empty Carriage workings, they do sometimes operate the full route between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh.
Today, the Class 86's, though over 50 years old, still prove themselves reliable and charming electric locomotives, and true pioneers in their own right. A design that may date back to the late 1950's, the flexible nature of these engines has helped them stand the test of time, and one hopes they see continued use well into the future.