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Hornby R3585

RailRoad BR, Class 90, Bo-Bo, 90135 - Era 8

Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI/AI images rather than photographs

Prototype Eras
Era 6 (1967 to 1972) British Rail Blue (Pre-TOPS)
Era 8 (1983 to 1994) British Rail Sectorisation

Manufacturer description

Developed from the Class 87, the Class 90 locomotives were manufactured and assembled at Crewe Works by BREL from 1985 until their completion in 1990.

Designed as a replacement for locomotives from the Class 81 through to the Class 85, the Class 90 entered service as a mixed traffic locomotive, working both freight and passenger trains. The original fleet size consisted of 50 locomotives, numbered 90001 through to 90050. Although, the original number sequence for the Class took the form of 87/2, a system that was short lived. The first locomotive, 90001, left Crewe Works on October 12, 1987 and went straight to Derby for testing, yet it was July 1988 before the first passenger service was hauled. A Time-Division Multiplexer (TDM) was fitted, enabling two or more locomotives to work as multiple units, this allowed a Class 90 to haul a push-pull passenger train, working with a Driving Van Trailer (DVT).

The original allocation of locomotives saw 90001 to 90025 working passenger services on the West Coast Mainline, along with cross country services from Euston, Manchester/Liverpool and Glasgow, as well as Manchester and Liverpool to Birmingham. As such, the Class 90s were the first new locomotives to carry the InterCity 21st Anniversary 'Swallow' livery. The remainder were assigned to freight duties, although it was not unusual at the time to see freight engines working both passenger duties, or vice versa.

Maximum curve Hornby 2nd radius + / 438mm+.

Catalogue listing

Model details

Prototype information

^* Class names often change over the lifespan of a locomotive, so this is not necessarily the class name used by the operator in the period modelled.

Hornby RailRoad BR Class 90 Bo‑Bo locomotive (model number 90135) is an OO gauge, DCC‑ready model featuring a 5‑pole skew wound motor and a pristine finish in the Main Line livery. The model measures 245 mm in length, is coloured grey and rides on a power‑bogie only. It uses a standard 8‑pin DCC socket, a 2nd radius minimum curve of 438 mm, non‑NEM couplings on the locomotive and NEM/tension‑lock couplings on the tender. The model bears the running number 90135 and is named “W.P. Allen”.

The prototype is an electric mixed‑traffic locomotive built by British Rail Engineering Ltd at Crewe Works between 1985 and 1990. A total of 50 Class 90 locomotives were produced, numbered 90001–90050. The first example left Crewe on 12 October 1987, underwent testing at Derby and entered passenger service in July 1988. Equipped with a Time‑Division Multiplexer, the locomotives could operate as multiple units and haul push‑pull trains with a Driving Van Trailer.

Originally allocated to the West Coast Main Line for passenger duties, the first 25 units also performed cross‑country services from Euston, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, while the remaining locomotives were primarily used for freight. The class was withdrawn in December 1964 after 16 years of service, having reached a maximum speed of 75 mph (110 km/h) and a wheel arrangement of Bo‑Bo. The Hornby model represents the British Rail sectorisation era.