The British Rail Class 82 (AL2 under the pre-TOPS classification scheme) electric locomotives were designed by the British manufacturing interest Metropolitan-Vickers and produced by Beyer, Peacock and Company on behalf of British Rail (BR). The locomotive was developed as a part of the programme of works to electrify the West Coast Main Line during the late 1950s and early 1960s. BR deliberately opted to procure multiple small batches of locomotives from a range of manufacturers. Having selected a proposal by the Metropolitan-Vickers division of the British manufacturing interest Associated Electrical Industries (AEI), the Class 82 would be produced. A total of ten locomotives were built by Beyer, Peacock and Company between 1960 and 1962. The Class 82 proved to be a relatively reliable workhorse of the region, particularly following a refurbishment during the 1970s that saw the replacement of their rectifiers. The fleet served in their original capacity for roughly twenty years, being mostly withdrawn during the early 1980s following the arrival of newer types such as the British Rail Class 87. Following the final retirement of the Class 82 in 1987, a single example was preserved. Background During the late 1950s, British Rail (BR) embarked upon the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, a strategy which necessitated the procurement of a large number of electric locomotives to utilise the newly installed infrastructure. It was decided that, instead of a bulk order from a single manufacturer, several batches of similar locomotives would be ordered from several companies, the first of these being the AL1 series. Accordingly, it was decided to order the second batch, which was initially classified as the AL2, to a broadly similar role to the preceding model. Following a review of competitive bids, it was decided to award a contract for ten locomotives to the Metropolitan-Vickers division of the British manufacturing interest Associated Electrical Industries (AEI). Responsibility for the locomotive's design was with AEI, which produced much of the mechanical design in-house. While the design phase was worked on in-house, the company opted to subcontract the construction phase to Beyer, Peacock and Company, who produced all examples at their works in Gorton, Manchester. A total of ten examples were produced; the type being classified as AL2 under the pre-TOPS classification scheme, each locomotive was originally numbered E3046 - E3055. Midway through the manufacturing phase, it was realised that the locomotive would be considerably heavier than had