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Introduction:

Where are we today?

Unfortunately no progress has been made on the preservation front,other than what has been archived by Locomotive Services in recent years.

Investigations so far?

One line of inquiry in recent years has been the overhaul of 90050, which continues to be at Crewe as a donor to other class 90s. Finally, a handful of people have shown an interest in the preservation movement and this remains stalled at present.

Latest News

Other Information

Setting up a Trust?

A key aspect to the preservation idea (if  it was to go ahead) would be to setup some kind of Trust and a committee group). In addition, the group would also have to register as a charity.

Future ideas & spot hire?

The UK electrified network has grown in recent years and is expected to continue. This includes:

• Transpennine route
• Scotland area
• Midland Mainline ;
• Leeds to Manchester .

With more lines being electrified, this could be the building blocks to generating a business case for mainline certification of a class 90 in preservation other than 90001 and 90002. I feel that there will be a strong market place in the future for spot hiring electric loco’s.

Do you wish to get involved?

If you wish to make a contribution to the preservation movement; get involved or make suggestions or how best to take the idea forward, then drop us an email today.

Firstly I like to take this opportunity by saying thank you for visiting this webpage, which focuses on that all in important subject and question of “Preservation”. The purpose of this page is to gauge interest, advice and guidance from a variety of sources including other preservation groups; Individuals and/or other interested parties and organisations. This could also be an excellent medium for setting up a project and running with it into the future.

Personal Statement

The class 90s entered their 33rd year of passenger operations on the 12th July 2021  Therefore, it is time to give some thought to the idea of preservation? It was hoped that the creation of the website and CNELG would stimulate interest and maybe even action, but progress on a personal level has been slow. However, the creation of Locomotive Services by a wealthy businessman has resulted in two class 90s being preserved, these being 90001 and 90002, which transferred to the operator in the summer of 2020 after finishing with Greater Anglia.

Locomotive Services is a separate entity to CNELG and it is great to see that at least two members of the fleet have been saved. However, the big question of what happens to the remainder of the fleet is still unclear. It is a long-term passion of mine to at least preserve at least other member of the fleet. This aspiration is currently not going nowhere, but hopefully one day it will mature into something positive.

Aims and Objectives:

What is the Aim?

The overall arching aim of CNELG would be to secure at least one class 90 locomotive for preservation subject to a robust business case being developed and agreed.

Why Preserve?

Any class 90 loco has the potential of being a preservation candidate, but the purchase of 90050 from DBS to LNWR in August 2012 and then to Freightliner in 2015 is possible. Incidentally 90050 was the last mixed traffic electric loco to be built at Crewe Works and was also the last 90 to be released into traffic.

Moving forward?

If 90050 could be obtained from Freightliner once they have no further use for her, then one possible idea could be make her a static display loco in the short to medium term. The long-term view would be to getting her 90050 mainline certified, but this throws up a number of other issues and questions.Some initial investigations have been started to see how viable this option could be in reality and further work needs to be undertaken here including making a decision about generic preservation for the fleet.

The key questions that we need to ask ourselves seriously if the idea of preservation is to move forward in the future are as follows:

• Do we wish to preserve our British Engineering heritage for future generations to come;

• Do we set a target of trying to bring a class 90 back into mainline traffic as a preserved loco;

• Should a static display be the way forward as a short to medium term or permanent options;

• What knowledge, expertise and support can we realistically achieve with electric traction.

The main question and thought we need to give due consideration to with any preservation project is funding particularly when it comes to buying a loco and identifying how much this would cost..

At the time of writing I can report that some initial investigations has been carried out and there is a chance that Lottery funding could be considered but a robust business case and associated reasons would to be drawn up to make it a reality.

The key selling point that could go in out favour with securing funding from the Lottery option is the historical association that class 90s have with Crewe Works.

What about purchasing 90050?

This thought that has been considered elsewhere on this webpage and there is now a chance that this loco could be purchased at some point in the future.

At present 90050 can be found at Crewe where she is donating parts to other engines, so a lot of work would be involved if this 90 was the chosen one (which is not set in stone).

What else needs to be considered?

if the preservation idea moves in a positive direction, then a Trust would be setup and a link placed on this website enabling people to make donations at some point in the future, so check back for any updates.

What are the key questions?