WEST COAST SURVIVORS: As they approach 50 years old, it is strange to think these former British Rail Class 87 locomotives have now spent more than a quarter of their working lives abroad in Bulgaria. Built in the first half of the 1970s, when electrification of the West Coast Main Line was extended from Weaver Junction (Cheshire) to Glasgow, 21 of the fleet of 36 were exported in the late-2000s/early 2010s for use by Bulgarian state railway company BZK and open access operator Bulmarket. This scene was captured at the locomotive stabling point at Iliyantsi on October 11 – the photographer noting that, despite some reports to the contrary, the BZK ‘87s’ are still very much active. Visible in the line are the former Nos. 87003, 87004 (still named Britannia), 87029, 87028 and 87012. Also present in the line is a Grup Feroviar Român (GFR) Electroputere Class 40 electric loco, while Bulmarket Smartron No. 80 029 and EA Class No. 86 006 double-head a freight on the left.
Stephen Ginn