British Rail Class 55
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| BR Class 55 "Deltic" | ||
|---|---|---|
| TOPS numbers | 55 001–55 022 | |
| Early numbers | D9000–D9021 | |
| Builder | English Electric (Vulcan Foundry) | |
| Introduced | 1961-1962 | |
| Wheel Arrangement | Co-Co | |
| Weight | 104.7 t | 106.4 tonnes |
| Height | ft in | m |
| Width | 8 ft 10 in | 2.68 m |
| Length | 69 ft 6 in | 21.18 m |
| Wheel Dia. | 3 ft 7 in | 1092 mm |
| Wheel Base | ft | m |
| Minimum radius | 4 chains (264 ft) | 80 m |
| Maximum speed | 100 mph | 160 km/h |
| Engine | 2 × Napier D18.25 "Deltic" | |
| Engine output | 2 x 1,650 hp | 2 x 1230 kW |
| Max. Tractive Effort | 50,000 lbf | 220 kN |
| Power at Rail | 2640 hp | 1970 kW |
| Brake type | Vacuum, later vacuum & air | |
| Brake force | 51 tons force | 510 kN |
| Route availability | 5 | |
| Fuel Tank | 825 imperial gallons | 3,750 litres |
| Heating type | Steam, later Dual, later Electric, index 66 only | |
| Multiple working | Not equipped | |
British Rail assigned Class 55 to the twenty-two English Electric Type 5 express diesel locomotives built in 1961/2 and used for high-speed service on Britain's East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and Edinburgh. They gained the alternative name of "Deltic" from their Napier Deltic engines and the prototype locomotive.
Contents |
[edit] Production
Following trials with a prototype locomotive, DP1 Deltic, an order was placed with English Electric for a production fleet of twenty-two units. They were intended to replace more than twice that number of Gresley Pacifics. A first was that the locomotives were purchased under a service contract, English Electric agreeing to maintain them, especially their engines and generators, for a fixed price. Additional Deltic engines were produced to enable engines to be swapped out regularly for overhaul while keeping the valuable locomotives in service.
The locomotives were delivered in 1961/1962 and assigned to three different locomotive depots, Finsbury Park in London, Gateshead over the Tyne from Newcastle, and Haymarket in Edinburgh. They arrived from the manufacturer painted in two-tone green, the dark BR green on top, with a narrower strip of a lighter, grass green along the bottom. This helped to disguise the bulk of the locomotive body. Although delivered without it, they all soon sported the bright yellow warning panel at each end common to all British diesel and electric locomotives, to make them more conspicuous. Very soon, all were named; the Gateshead and Haymarket locomotives were named after regiments of the British Army, while the Finsbury Park locomotives followed the grand LNER tradition of naming locomotives after winning racehorses. Finsbury Park depot also chose to paint the window surrounds of its Deltics white, making them distinctive.
By 1966 they began to be painted in corporate Rail Blue with yellow ends, the change generally coinciding with a works repair and the fitting of air brake equipment, the locomotives originally having only vacuum braking. In the early 1970s they were fitted with Electric Train Heating (ETH) equipment to power the new generation of air-conditioned coaches, while a couple of years later, with the introduction of BR's TOPS computer system, they were renumbered in Class 55, as 55 001 to 55 022.
[edit] Replacement
In the late 1970s the Deltics began to be supplanted by the next generation of express trains for the East Coast route, the Class 254 High Speed Train (HST), branded as InterCity 125, and the Deltics began to take on secondary roles. However, it was soon realised that the class had a limited future; it was not considered economic to maintain such a small and totally non-standard class of locomotive for secondary services, and the end of the decade saw the first withdrawals from service. More were withdrawn, and 1981 proved to be the last service year of the Deltics, the final service run taking place on December 31, 1981, hauled by 55 022 Royal Scots Grey, followed by the last enthusiast special, the "Deltic Farewell" on January 2, 1982.
At that point, few would have imagined that for six fortunate locomotives of the twenty-two, life was only half over.
[edit] Preservation
Six locomotives were saved after their withdrawal from British Rail service. They were:
- D9000 (55 022) Royal Scots Grey was purchased by the Deltic 9000 Fund and was handed over in fully running condition after work and a repaint by BR. Its first base was the Nene Valley Railway. It now resides in Bury at the East Lancs Railway and is owned by Beaver Sports (Yorks) Ltd who are committed to its preservation in running order with mainline certification. Royal Scots Grey completed an 18 month overhaul and was re-certified for running on the mainline in August 2006[1]
- D9002 (55 002) The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was donated to the National Railway Museum, York.
- D9009 (55 009) Alycidon was purchased by the Deltic Preservation Society Ltd and has been mostly based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
- D9015 (55 015) Tulyar was purchased by a private buyer, Peter Sansom, but in 1986 was sold to the Deltic Preservation Society. It has led an itinerant existence on many preserved railways.
- D9016 (55 016) Gordon Highlander was purchased by the Deltic 9000 Fund, initially intended as a source of spare parts for Royal Scots Grey. Of course, enthusiasm quickly prevailed over such practical intentions and Gordon Highlander was instead restored to running condition.
- D9019 (55 019) Royal Highland Fusilier was purchased by the Deltic Preservation Society and was the first to turn a wheel under its own power in preservation. In April 2005, it became the first Deltic to be fitted with TPWS equipment.
In addition, complete cabs from two further locomotives, D9008 (55 008) The Green Howards and D9021 (55 021) Argyll and Sutherland Highlander, are also owned by the DPS.
[edit] Return to service
With the changes taking place on Britain's railways in the 1990s, the outlook changed for preserved diesel locomotives. In British Rail days, no privately owned diesel locomotives were allowed to operate over BR tracks. With privatisation, however, came open-access railways—the track and physical plant were owned and operated by Railtrack, who for a fee would allow anyone's approved locomotives and trains to operate. Suddenly, from being pariahs, the owners of preserved locomotives were on an equal footing with everyone else: just another locomotive owner. In fact the characteristics of the Deltic locomotives (powerful and capable of cruising at 100 mph) enabled them to fit more easily onto the modern rail network than other (slower) preserved diesels.
In 1996, the Deltic 9000 Fund reformed itself as Deltic 9000 Locomotives Ltd (DNLL) in order to return its locomotives to mainline service, and on the 30th November of that year D9000 Royal Scots Grey hauled the 'Deltic Deliverance' charter from Edinburgh to Berwick. Although this tour ended prematurely D9000 went on to haul many charter and Virgin service trains until 2003. Subsequently DNLL's other Deltic, D9016 Gordon Highlander also returned to mainline working (it was temporarily painted in the garish purple livery of Porterbrook Leasing, who helped finance the restoration), as did the Deltic Preservation Society's D9009 Alycidon and D9019 Royal Highland Fusilier. Between 1997 and 2003 all four mainline certified locomotives saw frequent charter and locomotive hire use, including use on the Venice Simplon Orient Express.
In 2003 DNLL went into liquidation with the result that D9000 and D9016 were sold to private individuals. From July 2003 to March 2005 no Deltics hauled a train on the British main line. After a brief return to the main line in 2005 the DPS withdrew their last Deltic (55019) at the end of 2005, having run three tours during the year. The other two preserved Deltics, D9002 The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and D9015 Tulyar, are currently non-runners (as of October 2006). Tulyar is undergoing a full bodyside restoration at Barrow Hill and D9002 is an exhibit at the NRM, now as 55002 in BR blue. 55019 remains in full working order while 55009 and 55016 are each currently able to operate on one engine only.
On September 23 2006 privately owned Deltic 55022 (D9000) Royal Scots Grey returned to the main line after a lengthy and extensive restoration at Barrow Hill by the DPS. It successfully hauled the SRPS 'Moray Mint' railtour from Edinburgh to Inverness, via Perth on the outward trip and back via Aberdeen. Unfortunately on its second working two weeks later a severe failure to one of the Napier power units occurred. It is likely that the cost of the necessary repairs will prevent the locomotive running on the main line for a considerable time.
[edit] Class roster
[edit] In film
The famous opening titles of Get Carter (1971) feature shots of the journey to the North via the East Coast Main Line, filmed from the front of a Deltic, as well as the interior of the rolling stock. Another Class 55 in the rail blue livery passes briefly in the opposite direction.
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| British Rail non-steam locomotives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Diesel locomotives - Electric locomotives - DMU - DEMU - AC EMU - DC EMU - Departmental units | ||
| Diesel shunting locomotives | ||
| Classes: | 01 - 01/5 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 | |
| Pre-TOPS type: | D1/1 - D1/2 - D1/3 - D1/4 - D2/1 - D2/2 - D2/3 - D2/4 - D2/5 - D2/6 - D2/7 - D2/8 - D2/9 - D2/10 - D2/11 - D2/12 - D3/1 - D3/2 - D3/3 - D3/4 - D3/5 - D3/6 - D3/7 - D3/8 - D3/9 - D3/10 - D3/11 - D3/12 - D3/13 - D3/14 | |
| Pre-1955 type: | 11001 - 11104 - 15107 - 13000 | |
| Main-line diesel locomotives | ||
| Classes: | 15 - 16 - 17 - 20 - 21 - 21 (Vossloh) - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 33 - 35 - 37 - 40 - 41 (Warship Class) - 41 (HST) - 42 - 43 (Warship Class) - 43 (HST) - 44 - 45 - 46 47 - 48 - 50 - 52 - 53 - 55 - 56 - 57 - 58 - 59 - 60 - 66 - 67 | |
| Pre-TOPS type: | D8/1 - D8/2 - D10/1 - D10/2 - D10/3 - D11/1 - D11/2 - D11/3 - D11/4 - D11/5 - D12/1 - D12/2 - D12/3 - D13/1 - D14/1 - D14/2 - D15/1 - D15/2 - D16/1 - D16/2 - D17/1 - D17/2 - D20/1 - D20/2 - D22/1 - D22/2 - D23/1 - D25/1 - D27/1 - D33/1 - KA - KB | |
| Pre-1955 type: | 10000-10001 - 10100 - 10201-10203 - 10800 | |
| Electric locomotives | ||
| Classes: | 70 - 71 - 73 - 74 - 76 - 77 - 80 - 81 - 82 - 83 - 84 - 85 - 86 - 87 - 89 - 90 - 91 - 92 | |
| Pre-TOPS type: | AL1 - AL2 - AL3 - AL4 - AL5 - AL6 - EB1 - EE1 - EM1 - EM2 - ES1 - HA - HB - JA - JB | |
| Other locomotives | ||
| Departmental: | 97 - 97/6 - Eastern - Southern - Other Series | |
| Other: | 98 - 99 - 15097-15099 - 18000 - 18100 | |
| Demonstrators: | D0226/D0227 - D0260 - D0280 - D9998 - DHP1 - DP1 - DP2 - GT3 - HS4000 - Janus/Taurus | |
