Graham Farish 371-775

British Rail Class 90 90030 Crewe Locomotive Works English, Welsh & Scottish Railway Maroon & Gold

Contents

Tooling

The Graham Farish British Rail Class 90 in N gauge was first introduced in 1995, marking an important addition to the range of modern image AC electric locomotives. The prototype Class 90 entered service in 1987–1990 as a development of the Class 87, designed for mixed-traffic duties on the West Coast Main Line and beyond. The original Graham Farish tooling reflected the standards of the mid-1990s, offering a basic but serviceable representation of the locomotive for N gauge layouts.

At launch, the model was welcomed for filling a gap in modern electric traction for N gauge layouts. However, over time, reviewers noted limitations such as the lack of lighting, basic detailing, and absence of DCC provision. Enthusiasts often praised its running qualities and reliability but acknowledged that it fell behind newer standards as technology advanced.

Contemporary magazine reviews in the late 1990s described the model as a solid performer for its time. In later years, online forums and social media highlighted its historical significance while comparing it to the vastly improved 2022 retooling, which introduced features such as Next18 DCC sockets, lighting, and sound options.

The original Class 90 tooling remained in production for several years and was periodically updated with new liveries. It became a popular choice for modellers depicting the post-privatisation era, with versions in Freightliner and Virgin Trains schemes proving especially popular.

Detailing: Moulded body details, simplified roof equipment, and a fixed pantograph. Cab interiors were basic compared to modern standards.

The 1995 tooling was DCC incompatible. There was no decoder socket, and conversion required significant modification. This reflected the era before DCC became standard in British N gauge models.

Class & Prototype

  • Running Number: 90030
  • Name: Crewe Locomotive Works

The British Rail Class 90 electric locomotive, built 1987-1990 at BREL Crewe, delivered 5,000 hp from 25kV AC overhead supply through sophisticated thyristor control. Fifty locomotives served BR InterCity, Virgin Trains, Greater Anglia, and freight operators across 37 years. Pioneer of Time-Division Multiplexing push-pull operations, the class worked West Coast and East Coast main lines at 110 mph with Mark 3 coaching stock. Over 35 liveries span InterCity Swallow through privatisation operators to contemporary Freightliner freight. Bachmann's 2019 OO gauge tooling features world-first servo-operated pantograph; Graham Farish offers excellent N gauge versions. Approximately 30 remain operational.

Operator & Livery

The English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS) operated Britain's largest rail freight network from 1996-2007, controlling 90% of the UK freight market. Formed by Wisconsin Central through acquisition of five British Rail freight companies, EWS revolutionised British freight transport with 250 new General Motors Class 66 locomotives and distinctive maroon and gold livery featuring the famous "three beasties" logo. The company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn in 2007, eventually becoming today's DB Cargo UK while maintaining its freight market dominance.

The EWS maroon and gold livery was introduced in April 1996, with the first locomotive to receive the scheme being Class 37 number 37057, which emerged from Toton Depot on 25 April 1996 to coincide with the launch of the English, Welsh & Scottish brand. The colour specification featured maroon bodysides, roofs and ends with black underframes and buffer beams, standard UK yellow warning panels, and a distinctive gold stripe running centrally between the cab ends.

To ensure accurate colour consistency, a sample plate was flown from Wisconsin Central's American operations to Britain, where British paints were mixed to match this standard. Interestingly, when Class 66 and 67 locomotives were later built by General Motors, another sample plate was sent to the manufacturer, resulting in a slightly lighter shade than the original British mix.

The livery evolved through several variations. Early applications from April 1996 featured "EW&S" lettering (including the ampersand) in Arial typeface within the gold band. From January 1997, this was simplified to "EWS" with improved Gill Sans typeface - continuing a tradition established by the LNER in the 1920s and used by British Railways until the 1960s.

The gold band width varied by locomotive class - most received 600mm bands, but Classes 37, 58, and 73 looked better with 550mm bands due to their distinctive body shapes. Company lettering and locomotive numbers appeared in maroon within the gold stripe with 20mm clearance from the band edges, positioned at opposite ends on each side of the locomotive.

For model railway enthusiasts, specialist paint manufacturers like Phoenix Paints produce authentic colour matches, with their E.W.&S. Red (P193) and E.W.&S. Gold (P194) paints matched to original Wisconsin Central colour panels. Alternative options include RailMatch EWS Maroon (1255) which many modellers prefer for value and colour accuracy.

The EWS maroon and gold scheme became one of the most recognisable railway liveries in modern British history, remaining in use until Deutsche Bahn's acquisition in 2007 and the subsequent adoption of DB Schenker corporate red livery from 2009.