The British Rail Class 83 electric locomotives were built by English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows as part of the West Coast Main Line electrification. History Construction Fifteen locomotives of British Rail Class 83 were built between 1960 and 1962 by English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, as part of British Rail's policy to develop a standard electric locomotive. Five prototype classes (81-85) were built and evaluated, which eventually led to the development of the Class 86 locomotive. Three of these locomotives were to have been built as Type B, geared for freight trains, but as it was only two were so built, becoming E3303 and E3304. The third Type B, E3305, was never built as such. Instead it was used as a test bed with silicon rectifiers and transductors, this being the first step towards thyristor control. It became a Type A, geared for passenger trains, and numbered E3100. The other two Type B locomotives were eventually rebuilt as Type A, being renumbered E3098 (ex E3303) and E3099 (ex E3304). Power was provided by overhead catenary energized at 25,000 V AC. Under the pre-TOPS British Rail classification, the first fourteen locomotives, E3025 - E3035 and E3303, E3304 (later E3098 and E3099) were Class AL3 (meaning the 3rd design of AC Locomotive). The fifteenth engine, E3100 became Class AL3/1. All fifteen were included in the TOPS numbering system, being renumbered 83001-015. The Polish EU06 class was produced by English Electric at the same time as the Class 83s and externally they are quite similar. In service The class was used to haul trains on the then newly electrified West Coast Main Line, from Birmingham, to , Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool and later . By 1965, electrification had spread south to London Euston. Storage and refurbishment As with the Class 84, the Class 83 suffered with problems due to the mercury-arc rectifiers. After spending several years in storage (1967 to 1971), they were rebuilt with silicon rectifiers, as were already fitted to E3100, and dual braking between July 1970 and October 1973. The decision to reinstate the fifteen engines of Class 83 was the result of the extension of the electrification from Weaver Junction to Glasgow, which required more electric locomotives. With both Class 83 and Class 84 being returned to traffic only thirty-six Class 87 were required to be built. Later use Electrification finally reached Glasgow in the early 1970s, allowing this