E3111 emerged from Doncaster works for WCML acceptance trials in October 65 being renumbered as 86024 in 73. She was one of the class partially modified to improve track wear by having resilient wheels fitted in 1980 becoming the legendary 86324.

86324 was to remain very “roarer” like in keeping her blue livery, double arrow emblem and lack of multiple working wires on the front. Without multiple working cables 86324 had a habit of ambushing “roarer” passenger and freight turns much to the annoyance of “roarer fans” the length of the WCML. My first ambush, albeit red pen move, saw her joined on the 1716 Euston-Northampton Cobbler on 010782. The “Pennine Summits” railtour in September 84 saw her work the Euston-Nuneaton leg of the tour complete with 2 Manchester Pullman vehicles at the very front to “top up the load”. 324 was famously spirited away for the tour’s return electric leg from Rugby to Euston with 31257 deputising in some style.

86324 was long term loaned as a crew trainer to the Great Eastern in October 84 so her ambush potential dropped and she featured with 86007/316 on the Great Eastern Pullman tour in Feb 85. She was off “branch line” use by mid 85 and returned to WCML turns becoming 86424 in April 89 as a Crewe Electric based parcels loco. This saw her as a red res liveried work many parcels turns, some passenger and much railtour activity. This included a lot of ECML action such as the Kings X-Edinburgh leg of the fated “Deltic Deliverance” tour some 14 years ago now.

424 was stored in Nov 99, but reinstated in July 00 to see a celebrated swansong as one of a EWS hire fleet for Virgin duties. Suddenly there were mileage moves off the Keynes behind this former celebrity and like the now long gone “roarers”, the “red cans” like 86424 gained a small cult following. She returned to store in March 01 but was reinstated in Sep 01 for her very final swan song. She became one of the few cans I actually cleared by making an effort! and stayed out on WCML turns for another 15 months.

86424’s last passenger working under power is reported as the 1528 M.Keynes-Manchester on 301102 and the legend was finally put to store in Dec 02. However the expected cut never happened despite ending up at Allely’s Studley yard some miles from the wires. She has returned to the WCML in 2006 with storage at Crewe LNWR for her Network Rail owners. Officially a spares loco for the 2 “operative” class 86 (86901,86902) but as we’ve seen before “spares/Christmas tree” locos have returned from the dead before………….