class-76-em1

The BR Class 76 EM1 was a series of Bo-Bo electric locomotives built for the Woodhead Route — the 1,500 V DC overhead electrification of the former Great Central Railway main line between Manchester (Piccadilly) and Sheffield (Victoria) via the Woodhead tunnel through the Pennines — see the main BR Class 76 EM1 entry for full details. The Woodhead Route electrification was one of the most ambitious post-war railway engineering projects in Britain, and the EM1 locomotives gave it capable and reliable service until the line's controversial closure in 1981 despite the overhead wiring being essentially new. One example, 26020 (Tommy), is preserved at the National Railway Museum, York.