In 1996, Pete Waterman, who had purchased the sole surviving examples of AC electric classes 81, 82, 83 and 85, put his entire fleet of locomotives for sale. The AC Locomotive Group was formed with the intention of purchasing all four machines. This was accomplished in June 1997, and three of the four locomotives were moved to Barrow Hill Engine Shed in December 1998, with the fourth joining them in early 2000. Also between 2000 and 2008, the group had 84001on loan from the National Railway Museum, and this was given a major cosmetic overhaul following a long period stored in the open. In 2002, leasing company HSBC Rail UK placed 86213 on loan to the group while in 2004, 86401 was purchased. The same year, GNER placed 89001 into the group's care following closure of part of Doncaster Works where it had been stored out of use. In 2005 the ACLG was honoured by the naming of 87002 as The AC Locomotive Group. This was owned by Porterbrook and painted in its purple colour scheme, and later became the last Class 87 to haul a passenger train in regular service. Also in 2005, the group purchased 86101 and 86213. At the end of 2006 GNER put 89001 up for sale, and following a high-profile appeal, the ACLG successfully purchased the loco for preservation.In 2008, the group was able to acquire the loco that carried its name, 87002, for preservation. For for months in early 2008, 86101 operated services from London King's Cross to Doncaster hauling Cargo-DMark 3s under hire to First Hull Trains. In February 2016, 86213 was sold for export to Bulgaria. The ACLG hired 86101, 86401 and 87002 to main-line operator Electric Traction Limited for use on Caledonian Sleeper services from London Euston to Edinburgh and Glasgow between 2015 and 2019. After this work ceased in May 2019, 86101 and 87002 were sold to Locomotive Services Limited and 86401 to West Coast Railways.
Restoration
The ACLG made great strides to restore electrical equipment in their early locomotives; early successes included the restoration of auxiliary equipment in locomotives 82008 and 83012. In 2006, 81002 was completed electrically to a condition where it could be powered up from the overhead wires. Most locomotives in the collection have received full cosmetic overhauls since acquisition, with both 82008 and 85101 receiving "fictitious" makeovers for various periods. As at June 2020, 89001 is in the final stages of an overhaul to return it to main line operation.
