BR Class 82

The BR Class 82 locomotives, originally designated AL2, were a batch of ten Bo-Bo 25 kV AC electric locomotives built between 1960 and 1962 by Beyer Peacock of Manchester (mechanical parts) with electrical equipment by Metropolitan-Vickers, also of Manchester. They formed part of the five-class AL1–AL5 evaluation order for the West Coast Main Line electrification, with each class coming from a different manufacturer to allow performance comparison under operating conditions.

Metropolitan-Vickers (later absorbed into AEI) specified a somewhat different electrical arrangement from the AL1 class, using different rectifier and control gear configurations in an attempt to optimise the AC–DC conversion for traction use. The locomotives were rated at approximately 3,000 hp, slightly lower than the AL1, and were allocated to Stoke and Longsight depots for WCML express working. In service they proved reliable but, like the other early AC classes, were eventually superseded by the larger and more powerful Class 86 production locomotives.

Ten were built and all entered service; the class was withdrawn progressively between 1981 and 1987. One locomotive, 82008, was preserved and is currently held at Barrow Hill Roundhouse in Derbyshire, making it the sole surviving example of the AL2 class and one of only a handful of first-generation WCML electric locomotives in preservation.