Description
The one and only loco behind the legacy InterCity 225 joins the Rail Tags Fleet.
Ordered as a part of the East Coast Mainline Modernisation and Electrification Programme, the Class 91 and MK4 consists were given the honorary title of the InterCity 225 for plans to have services capable of 140mph (225kmh.)
They were designed by GEC and built by BREL at Crewe Works from 1988 to 1991 with an all steel construction.
Services started on March 3rd 1989 on the 17:36 InterCity service from London Kings Cross to Peterborough, with the ECML Electrification Programme reaching York shortly after. The introduction of the InterCity 225 saw a significant increase in passenger numbers with one station seeing a 58% uptick in passenger numbers.
A fleet overhaul took place in the early 2000s as eight out of ten failures of the fleet was discovered to be from sub-standard electrics. This overhaul saw all Class 91/0s become Class 91/1s (ie: Class 91 004 becoming Class 91 104).
Class 91 110 holds the British speed record for locomotives reaching 160+mph during test runs on Stoke Bank in 1989.
In the late 2010s as Class 801 Azuma trains had replaced all HST operations on the East Coast, they started to replace several 225 sets with multiple coach sets and locos either being displaced elsewhere or sent for scrap.
Whilst LNER still has up to 10 InterCity 225 services, a few locomotives were sent for scrap including 91104 which arrived at CF Booth in 2022 for scrap with the process completed in March 2024.
