Towards the end of the 1980s, the fleet could be found mostly on the West of England route, as well as fast services from Paddington to Oxford. Some locomotives were also transferred to the civil engineers department to work maintenance and engineering trains. Around this time, the first locomotives were withdrawn, starting with 50011 "Centurion" in early 1987. This locomotive's nameplates were later transferred to 50040, which was previously named "Leviathan". A further two locomotives, 50006 "Neptune" and 50014 "Warspite" were withdrawn in 1987, followed by a further five locomotives in 1988 (50010/13/22/38/47).