A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DELTICS (CLASS 55)  

Please note...some photos have been re-sized to fit the page. If the text is illegible - simply click on photo (as you would a thumbnail) to see the original formatted (readable) size.

As mentioned elsewhere on this website, the smell of a steam engine is one the most delicious in the world, and there are few smells more rewarding than those to be found on a preserved railway. If you can imagine soaking up the freshness of newly-mown grass or the radiance in the street following a good bucketing down of rain, then you’ll appreciate the aroma of hot oil and steam that permeates every fibre of your anorak. It lingers there until the next time you wear it, like a genetic reminder of all the good times you’ve had...and promising a lot more ahead besides.
 
Well, the same can be said of 'Deltics'. Perhaps it was the hallucinating effects produced by inhaling too many diesel fumes that caused such adulation for the fleet of 22 locos? It reached epidemic proportions when  their reign ended on the ECML. For more than twenty years years, diesel fans have been addicted to the intoxicating waste spewed out by the EE Co's twin Napier engines. Indeeed, one whiff of the stuff compelled enthusiasts to chase them to their final resting place on Saturday, February 27th 1982, when no fewer that nineteen machines were herded together for a restricted 'Farewell to the Deltic' open day at Doncaster Works. The event was organised by BREL employees with proceeds going to charity. Three 'Deltics' had their engines operational - No 55002 on loan from the NRM, and the Deltic Preservation Society's future purchases Nos 55009 and 55019, both machines being prepared for well-earned retirement on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So why all the adulation for the Deltic locomotives? The answer can be found back to the Fifties when the Modernisation Plan was announced in 1955, the emphasis being to replace BR's ageing steam fleet. In those days, British Railways was in dire need of investment to shake off years of post-war neglect and help fight competition from road transport, but because of a lack of long term plans by central Government, the proposed electrification of the ECML was mired in penny-pinching bureaucracy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indeed, whilst the LMR got the go ahead for upgrading the WCML from Euston to Liverpool and Manchester there was little the Eastern Region could shout about on the ECML that caught the public's imagination. The golden age of the LNER had long since gone and all throughout the 1950s the pinnacle of the East Coast route's Anglo-Scottish expresses remained firmly rooted in the exploits of the Gresley Class A4 Pacifics during the immediate pre-war years.  True, the Gresley A4s did put in some remarkable performances on the ECML, but by today's standards they were slow. The introduction of the EE Co Type 4s during the late Fifties didn't improve matters either, since there was little to choose between the tractive effort of a 2,000hp diesel and a good A4. What was needed was something more powerful - something capable of 100mph running...then in 1955, like manna from heaven, along came the EE Co's prototype Deltic... 

This unique 3,300hp locomotive, powered by two Napier motor gunboat engines, made its debut on the WCML in December 1955. It was the most powerful locomotive then in existence. And it was light, weighing a mere 106 tons, and mounted on a Co-Co wheel arangement which allowed for 100mph running without causing wear and tear on track like the cumbersome 1Co-Co1 machines before it. As for looks? The EE Co clearly had export potential in mind for the distinctive American-style nose end and non-functional headlight were a prominent feature. So too was the Nankin blue livery, straw lining and speed whiskers - and, of course, there was the sweet sound of its engines. Cynics might argue that the rosy picture I paint of the 'Deltic' fan's idyll is pure hokum - well, sorry to disappoint anyone; judging by the huge following for the 22 production locomotives' reign on the ECML, thousands of rail fans wouldn’t have missed it for all the world.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Below) Ian S Carr is widely regarded as one of the elite among railway photographers and I couldn't resist using his shot of EE Co Deltic No D9009 Alycidon heading the 'up' ‘Flying Scotsman’ on the climb from Durham on August 8th 1961 - it packs all the power of a ‘Deltic’ at full cry. No D9009 entered traffic less than three weeks earlier on July 21st, joining sister engines Nos D9001/3/7 at Finsbury Park. The depot’s full allocation was made up of eight 'Deltics', with D9012/15/18/20 following in quick succession. For the record, Alycidon won the Goodwood Cup in 1949, and sired the famous Meld - No D9003 in the ‘Deltic’ fleet. In the days before top lamp irons were fitted to the nose end, named-train headboards were mounted on a bracket that slipped into two front-end slots below the headcode display panel. Note also the standard locomotive headlamp code - two lamps above the bufferbeam - symbolizing an express passenger train, a legacy of steam days.

(Below Right) By September 1961 thirteen Deltics were available, and at the beginning of the winter schedules the Class A4s were displaced from the premier ECML expresses and more frequently to be found on Kings Cross-West Riding duties. It was the beginning of the end of the A4’s reign, for the Deltic fleet took charge of numerous Anglo-Scottish expresses. The rosters were mainly undertaken by the Haymarket allocation, which included the up morning 'Talisman' and down 'Aberdonian' - the up 'Flying Scotsman' and 10.15 from Kings Cross - the up 'Heart of Midlothian' and 11.35 return from Kings Cross - the 11.15 from Edinburgh and the 'down' Flying Scotsman’. Another famous ECML express, 'The Elizabethan' began life in 1949 when it was decided to create a new non-stop train between the capitals - aptly named 'Capitals Limited' - to run ahead of the 'Flying Scotsman' in both directions. In 1953, when a suitable commemoration was desired for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the 'Capitals Limited' was changed to the 'Elizabethan' and the time allowance was cut to 6½ hours bringing the express to within the charmed circle of mile-a-minute running. Engine crews changed by means of the corridor tenders fitted to the Gresley Class A4 streamlined Pacifics, but the non-stop record was discontinued at the commencement of the Deltics reign when a Newcastle stop was introduced for changing crews. Spotters dutifully note down the number of D9018 Ballymos at York

 

 

 

 

 

Throughout the Sixties, the renewal of trackwork and signalling on the East Coast Main Line continued at a steady pace, with many speed restrictions engineered out of existence, others eased at the very least. By the Seventies, the Deltic fleet really came into its own. Average speeds steadily climbed - the journey time to and from London was reduced to two and half hours from Leeds, three and half from Newcastle and five and half from Edinburgh. Coaching stock steadily improved too - the majority of trains being formed of Mk2 air-conditioned sets. By the end of the Seventies, the Eastern Region continued to be denied ECML electrification, but salvation came with the introduction of 125mph HSTs composed of eight Mk3 coaches sandwiched between two 2,250hp power cars. In March 1978, the first HST departed from Kings Cross with the 08.00 to Edinburgh - it was the end of the Deltics' reign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I must mention again a new Internet phenomenon - 'You Tube Broadcast Yourself'. Being a relative newcomer to the world wide web, I'm constantly amazed at what the internet offers. For example, I recently came across a fantastic video shoot of Class 55 Alycidon at Goathland on the NYMR (posted by Peter Ramsdal) which simply blew me away. It captures the sight and sound of the Deltics perfectly..don't forget to have your sound on, the Napier engines are at full cry! In case you're wondering, I am not affiliated with any of the links provided from this website, but I do seek to promote interest in the various sites I enjoy visiting, particularly if they contain classic shots of trains. Visit Pramsdal's 2007 video shoot here - (link temporarily disabled) it will put you in the middle of other Deltic videos posted on 'You Tube'