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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 Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
| Table of contents |
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2 Production 3 Replacement 4 Preservation 5 Return to Service 6 Class Roster 7 Specifications |
The English Electric company, who had absorbed the engine maker Napier into its vast empire, was (among many interests) a major builder of diesel and electric locomotives. EE saw the potential of Napier's Deltic engine for rail traction, and in 1955 built a demonstrator in its Dick Kerr works in Preston. Officially numbered DP1, although this was never borne on the locomotive, it carried the word DELTIC in large white letters on its powder-blue sides. Plans to name the locomotive Enterprise never came to fruition, and it was to be known as Deltic to all.
Long white stripes were painted on the sides, a visual device to make the locomotive's high sides appear slenderer, speedier; three curved chevrons in the same creamy white on the noses gave it the impression of speed. The locomotive's styling was reminiscent of American locomotives, with high noses and small, somewhat swept-back cab windows set back behind them; to add to the American look of the locomotive to British eyes, a large headlight was fitted to each nose. Two eighteen-cylinder Deltic engines were fitted, derated from the 3100 horsepower of the marine engines to 1650 horsepower each, 3300 horsepower total. This derating decreased the stress on the engines and thereby increasing the service life and time between overhauls.
The locomotive first saw service on the London Midland Region of British Railways, but the intention soon became to electrify the major routes on that Region. On the Eastern Region, however, no diesel replacement of conventional design seemed to be available for Gresley's swift and powerful Pacifics, particularly the A4. Only the Deltic appeared to offer the power and speed required within the restraints of sensible axle load, and the prototype Deltic was soon running on that Region.
An order was placed with English Electric for a production fleet of twenty-two units, to replace more than twice that number of Gresley Pacifics. A first was that the locomotives were purchased under service contract, EE agreeing to maintain them, especially their engines and generators, for a fixed price contract. More Deltic engines were produced than needed for the locomotives, for the plan and practice was to swap out engines regularly for overhaul while keeping the valuable locomotives in service.
The locomotives were all delivered in 1961/2. In 1961 the prototype Deltic was withdrawn after serious powerplant failure. Plans to test it in Canada came to naught, and the locomotive was donated to the Science Museum, London. It's now in the National Railway Museum, York.
The Deltics were assigned to three different locomotive depots, Finsbury Park in London, Gateshead over the Tyne from Newcastle, and Haymarket in Edinburgh. They came from the manufacturer painted in two-tone green, the dark BR green on top, but a narrow strip along the bottom a lighter, grass green. Again, this concealed the bulk of the locomotive body. Although delivered without it, they soon sported the bright yellow warning panel on the nose that all British diesel and electric locomotives were painted with, for visibility. 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. The 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, this generally corresponding with a works repair and the fitting of air brake equipment, the locomotives originally only having vacuum train braking. In the early 1970s they were fitted with Electric Train Heating (ETH) equipment to power the new generation of air-conditioned passenger 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.
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 begin. 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.
Six locomotives were saved after their withdrawal from British Rail service. They were:
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 1996, the Deltic 9000 Fund reformed itself as Deltic 9000 Locomotives Ltd in order to return its locomotives to mainline service, and later that year D9000 Royal Scots Grey was the first preserved diesel locomotive to operate on mainline trackage. Since then, the DNLL's other Deltic, D9016 Gordon Highlander has also returned to mainline working (temporarily painted in the garish purple livery of Porterbrook Leasing, who helped finance the restoration), as have the Deltic Preservation Society's D9009 Alycidon and D9019 Royal Highland Fusilier. The other two preserved Deltics, D9002 The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and D9015 Tulyar, are both undergoing restoration with a view to also being certified for mainline running.
All the mainline certified locomotives have seen frequent charter and locomotive hire use, including much use on the Venice Simplon Orient Express's travels in England.
There is a fast-approaching prospect of all six surviving locomotives being fully restored to main line certified standards in the near future as of 2004.Prototype
Production
Replacement
Preservation
Return to Service
| Number | Name | Depot | Withdrawn | Disp. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orig. | TOPS | ||||
| D9000 | 55 022 | Royal Scots Grey | HA | 02 Jan 1982 | Preserved |
| D9001 | 55 001 | St. Paddy | FP | 05 Jan 1980 | Scrap |
| D9002 | 55 002 | The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry | GD | 02 Jan 1982 | Preserved |
| D9003 | 55 003 | Meld | FP | 31 Dec 1980 | Scrap |
| D9004 | 55 004 | Queen's Own Highlander | HA | 28 Oct 1980 | Scrap |
| D9005 | 55 005 | The Prince of Wales' Own Regiment of Yorkshire | GD | 08 Feb 1981 | Scrap |
| D9006 | 55 006 | [The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry | HA | 08 Feb 1981 | Scrap |
| D9007 | 55 007 | Pinza | FP | 31 Dec 1981 | Scrap |
| D9008 | 55 008 | The Green Howards | GD | 31 Dec 1981 | Scrap |
| D9009 | 55 009 | Alycidon | FP | 02 Jan 1982 | Preserved |
| D9010 | 55 010 | The King's Own Scottish Borderer | HA | 24 Dec 1981 | Scrap |
| D9011 | 55 011 | The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers | GD | 08 Nov 1981 | Scrap |
| D9012 | 55 012 | Crepello | FP | 18 May 1981 | Scrap |
| D9013 | 55 013 | The Black Watch | HA | 20 Dec 1981 | Scrap |
| D9014 | 55 014 | The Duke of Wellington's Regiment | GD | 22 Nov 1981 | Scrap |
| D9015 | 55 015 | Tulyar | FP | 02 Jan 1982 | Preserved |
| D9016 | 55 016 | Gordon Highlander | HA | 30 Dec 1981 | Preserved |
| D9017 | 55 017 | The Durham Light Infantry | GD | 31 Dec 1981 | Scrap |
| D9018 | 55 018 | Ballymoss | FP | 12 Oct 1981 | Scrap |
| D9019 | 55 019 | Royal Highland Fusilier | HA | 31 Dec 1981 | Preserved |
| D9020 | 55 020 | Nimbus | FP | 05 Jan 1980 | Scrap |
| D9021 | 55 021 | Argyll and Sutherland Highlander | HA | 31 Dec 1981 | Scrap |
Depot Key: Finsbury Park FP, Haymarket HA, Gateshead GD
Specifications
| Prototype | Production | |
|---|---|---|
| TOPS numbering: | N/A | 55 001 - 55 022 |
| Early numbering: | DP1 (not carried) | D9000 - D9021 |
| Built by: | English Electric (Dick Kerr) | English Electric (Vulcan Foundry) |
| Introduced: | 1955 | 1961-2 |
| Wheel Arrangement: | Co-Co | Co-Co |
| Weight: | 106 tonnes | 100 tonnes |
| Length: | 66" (20.11m) | 69½" (21.18m) |
| Minimum Radius: | 6 chains (396", 120.70m) | 4 chains (264", 80.46m) |
| Maximum Speed: | 90 mph (later 105mph) | 100 mph (161 km/h) |
| Engines: | 2 x Napier D18.25 "Deltic" | 2 x Napier D18.25 "Deltic" |
| Engine Output: | 3300 hp total | 3300 hp total |
| Power at Rail: | 2650 hp | 2650 hp |
| Brake Type: | Vacuum | Vacuum, later Dual |
| Brake Force: | 51 tonnes | |
| Route Availability: | 5 | |
| Heating Type: | Steam | Steam, later Dual, later Electric only |