Speculatively

[…] he will appear to many of the more speculatively minded intellectuals merely as a timid apologist of things as they are; at the same time he will be dismissed by the men of affairs as an impractical theorist.

The fleet had been ordered speculatively by Beacon Rail, and intended as heavy shunting and trip locomotives, as well as a viable low-emission replacement for the elderly Class 08/09 'BR Standard large shunter' which dates from the 1950s and 1960s.