The class 71, initially known as the type HA, was a locomotive for third rail electrified lines. Depending on the region, they were operated with 650 or 750 volts. For station areas with many points, in which there was an overhead line instead of the third rail, they had a pantograph on the center roof. To overcome short non-electrified gaps, they had a flywheel to maintain speed. Nevertheless, the first ten locomotives were converted to diesel locomotives as early as the 1960s because they had competition from the class 73 electro-diesel locomotives. The latter ultimately led to all remaining locomotives being withdrawn at the same time in 1977.

The class 86 is a standard locomotive for passenger and freight service that was developed for the West Coast Main Line electrification. It incorporated experiences gained from the classes 81 to 85 of which a total of 100 were built by several manufacturers between 1959 and 1964. In 1965 and 1966, 60 locomotives of the class 86 were built by English Electric at their Vulcan Foundry and 40 by BR at Doncaster. Before the introduction of the TOPS scheme it was designated AL6, what stood for “AC locomotive 6”. Their original numbers were E3101 to E3200.

The class 86 can be distinguished from its predecessors by the rectangular body with only sloped wind screens, while the older ones had sloped noses. Like the classes 83 to 85, it had only one pantograph. The locomotives built by EE had four traction motors of 900 hp each, while the ones built at Doncaster had 1,000 hp each. The traction motors were axle-mounted, what was soon found to damage the tracks at speeds of 100 mph. So the suspension had to be upgraded on many locomotives and the remaining ones were limited to 80 mph for the time being.

In 1970, three were modified for a top speed of 110 mph and the output was increased to 5,000 hp to work as prototypes for the class 87. By the mid-eighties, the remaining locomotives had received upgraded suspension for 100 mph. But at the same time, the sectorisation of British Railways meant that many were now dedicated for freight service only and re-geared for a top speed of 80 mph. 

After privatisation, companies like Anglia Railways, Virgin, EWS and Freightliner took over the class 86. Due to the introduction of the class 90 and modern multiple units, regular passenger services ceased in the mid 2000s. The last operator in Britain was Freightliner, which used the class 86 in freight and charter service. The last ones were withdrawn in 2021 and some were subsequently sold to Bulgaria and Hungary. In the UK, three are being preserved in working order.

The Class 87 was developed as a development of the Class 86. The main differences included an increase in output to 5,000 hp, a top speed of 110 mph and a suspended power transmission. It was mainly used on the West Coast Main Line in front of express trains, but also in front of freight trains. In the 1980s, a more modern multiple control system was retrofitted, which also allowed the use of driving van trailers (control cars).

The class 90 was in turn a direct derivative and was originally intended to be designated class 87/2. After privatization in the 1990s, most of the locomotives went to Virgin Trains, where they were only used to haul express trains. After the decommissioning, which took place in the first decade after the turn of the millennium, many locomotives were sold to Bulgaria.

To replace their ageing electric locomotives of classes 81 to 85 from the early sixties, British Railways ordered a new mixed traffic locomotive in the eighties. The design ultimately selected for production was a four-axle development of the class 87, while the competing six-axle class 89 didn't make it out of the prototype stage. After initial plans to call the new locomotive class 87/2, it was given a the new class number 90 due to the numerous changes compared to the class 87.

The most noticeable difference was the bodyshell that had a completely new design. At 5,000 hp, the power level was the same as in the class 87 and also the traction motors were of basically the same design. But power control was now electronically via Thyristor. A time-division multiplexing system was added to enable double heading and the use of driving trailers. Due to some teething problems, they were nicknamed “Skodas” in reference to similar problems encountered with cars of the Czechoslovak brand being imported to the UK at the same time.

50 locomotives were produced between 1987 and 1990. When BR was sectorised in 1991, half of them were assigned to passenger services and half to freight services. The freight variant was re-geared from 110 mph (177 km/h) to 75 mph (121 km/h), lost its electric train supply equipment and was designated class 90/1.

After privatisation, EWS alone inherited 25 locomotives of both variants. Passenger services were also provided by other private operators like Virgin Trains. When passenger services with the class 90 ended around 2020, a total of 24 locomotives each was now owned by EWS (now DB Cargo UK) and Freightliner. The remaining two were owned by Locomotive Services Limited. DB Cargo UK either stored or scrapped all its locomotives in 2023 due to high energy costs and replaced them with diesel locomotives.

For the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme, British Rail needed a new passenger train that could offer services between King's Cross and Edinburgh with a top speed in excess of 125 mph (201 km/h). With the failure of the APT-P programme, the new plan was to develop a more conventional, loco-hauled trainset. It got the name “InterCity 225” due to the projected top speed of 225 km/h or 140 mph. Many technical features of the APT-P were to be integrated into the new train.

The locomotive for this train would be known as class 91 and was nicknamed “Electra”. It has four axles and an asymmetrical body with the main cab in the aerodynamic nose and an auxiliary cab in the blunt end. All four traction motors are mounted in the body and connected to the axles via cardan shafts. Unlike other electric locomotives built at that time, they do not have three-phase AC traction motors and deliver a relatively modest output of 4,700 kW.

31 locomotives of the class 91 were built by BREL at Crewe between 1988 and 1991. A total of 314 Mark 4 passenger carriages and 32 matching Driving Van Trailers (DVTs) were built to complete the train sets. All were designed for a speed of 140 mph, but safety concerns due to missing in-cab signalling equipment meant that they are only being operated at 125 mph. Additionally, tilting technology did not make it into the new train.

In this configuration, they did not have much advantage compared to the diesel-powered HST. They had better acceleration, but this did not have much advantage on long runs with few stops. Nevertheless, 91010 set a record for the fastest British locomotive in September 1989 with 161.7 mph or 260.2 km/h. After privatisation, they came to Eversholt Rail Group which leased them to different operators over the years. Between 2000 and 2003, they were refitted by Adtranz to improve the reliability of their electric part. Since 2021, 13 have been scrapped and several have been stored.

The class 92 is a six-axle mixed-traffic electric locomotive designed for working through the Channel tunnel. This included international freight trains and the planned, but never introduced “Nightstar” service that was intended to run between various destinations in Britain and the European mainland. The majority of the fleet of 46 of these locomotives was operated by the BR sector Railfreight Distribution, but some were operated by SNCF.

Production was carried out by a consortium of ABB and Brush Traction between 1993 and 1996. The body is similar to that of the class 60 diesel locomotive also built by Brush, but has other noses. Each locomotive has two three-axle bogies which also carry the contact shoes for operation under 750 V DC. While they have an output of 5,040 kW (6,760 hp) under 25 kV AC, power is reduced to 4,000 kW (5,360 hp) under DC.

After privatization, new operators in Britain were GB Railfreight, EWS and DB Cargo UK. In 2009, part of the fleet was equipped with the TVM-430 signalling system for use on High Speed 1. Since 2015, the class 92 also hauls the Caledonian Sleeper. Meanwhile, some have been sold to Transagent Rail of Croatia, DB Cargo Romania and DB Cargo Bulgaria.

At the end of the 1980s, 40 locomotives were initially ordered for the car shuttles in the Eurotunnel, one of which was to be used at each end of the train. They were developed by the Euroshuttle Locomotive Consortium, which was made up of ABB and Brush Traction. The requirements included ensuring that the large differences in temperature and humidity inside and outside the tunnel did not cause problems.

Three two-axle bogies, each with its own power converter, ensure that two-thirds of the power is still available if one power converter fails. The output was initially 5,600 kW, but was increased to 7,000 kW for the third batch of locomotives. In addition, the unneeded auxiliary driver's cab at the rear end was omitted. These locomotives were intended for truck shuttles, but later a large part of the first batches was also rebuilt to the same power.

For engineers trains, the London Underground needed locomotives which could also operate when the third rail was switched off. Starting in 1905, these were created by mounting batteries in the passenger compartment of motor coaches. These could run under 630 V power from the third rail and switch to battery power when they reached the construction site. In 1936, a new type of purpose-built battery locomotives was introduced.

They re-used the bogies of old motor coaches together with their traction motors. They were built to the small Tube loading gauge and had cabs on both ends. When running on the batteries at 360 V, they produced considerably less power. By 1985, 52 locomotives had been built in six batches by four manufacturers. Although each batch had some improvements, they all used the same control equipment to enable multiple working. Only the last batch could recharge the batteries from the third rail, all others had to be recharged in the depot.

In 1902, the North Eastern started to electrify its suburban network in the Tyneside area. From Newcastle Manors station to Quayside Yard, there was a 3/4 mile curved freight line that had a gradient of 1 in 27 or 3.7 percent. Since this was too steep for efficient operation with steam locomotives, Wilson Worsdell decided to electrify this line, too. The specification for two electric locomotives to use on this short line included that they were able to haul 300 tons at 14 mph and to start up to 150 tons on the steepest portion.

They were designed as steeplecabs and were inspired by some locomotives GE had delivered to the Italian Milan-Varese Railway. The mechanical part came from Brush, while the electric part came from British Thomson-Houston. Four traction motors delivered 160 hp each. Additionally to the bow collector on the hood for the overhead line, they had collectors for the third rail in the tunnels.

The two locomotives were introduced in June 1905 when the electrification was finished. The bow collector was later replaced by a pantograph on the cab roof. In 1923, they came to the LNER and it took until 1945 for them to be assigned the class name ES1 for “Electric Shunting 1”. They were withdrawn in 1964 when the line was de-electrified and dieselised. One was preserved and is now on display at Shildon.