Preserved last Crewe-built Class 91 arrives at Bo’ness

in Railways Illustrated issue 240, Class 91 electric locomotive 91131 – the last locomotive to be built for British Rail at Crewe Works – has entered preservation at the Museum of Scottish Railways. It was delivered to its new home on the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway on March 9. The Class 91, which was last in service on the East Coast Main Line with LNER until being stored in April 2020, had been in store at Doncaster Belmont yard with six other off-lease Class 91s; the other locomotives were all taken for scrapping at Sims Metals, Newport, during February. 91131 was moved around to Wabtec’s works at Doncaster at the end of January, in preparation for its collection by low-loader.

The locomotive has been donated to the Museum of Scottish Railways on the B&KR by former owner Eversholt Rail.

The Class 91 was originally designated for preservation by the Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board in July 1998 on account of it being the last high-speed locomotive to be built for British Rail and the holder of the speed record for a train conveying passengers in Britain, with 91031 (as it was then) achieving a speed of 154.1mph.

The locomotive will be a static exhibit in the museum and will be displayed in its current red and grey livery, which was applied by former ECML operator Virgin Trains East Coast in 2015. The locomotive’s bodywork was given a thorough clean by volunteers following its delivery, before being moved into the museum.

It will be displayed alongside a sleeper coach, and the Class 91 will be opened for cab visits over the coming months.

Sam Dixon Now extracted from its long-term storage location at Doncaster Belmont Yard, the last-built Class 91 locomotive, 91131, has entered preservation at the Museum of Scottish Railways on the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway. On the morning of March 9, the Class 91 is manoeuvred at Southwaite Services on the M6 in Cumbria during its journey from Doncaster to Bo’ness, where it arrived later in the day.