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The Deltic 9000 Fund was a locomotive preservation society set up to ensure that at least one example of the British Rail Class 55 diesel locomotives was preserved following their withdrawal from service in 1981. It was placed in receivership in 2004.
With the entry into service of the new High Speed Train in the late 1970s, the old Class 55 diesel locomotives began to be withdrawn. In order to ensure that the first production unit, D9000/55022 (Royal Scots Grey), was preserved, the Deltic 9000 Fund was established with the intention of purchasing the locomotive once it was withdrawn. The successful purchase was completed in 1983, and Royal Scots Grey was handed over to the fund at Doncaster Works, from where she was taken to the Nene Valley Railway for preservation. At the same time, D9016/55016 (Gordon Highlander) was also purchased by the fund. Gordon Highlander was intended to be used as a source of spares for Royal Scots Grey, but, with sentiment taking over, she too was restored to working order.
The privatisation of British Rail allowed private train operators to run services on the mainline. With this in mind, the Deltic 9000 Fund renamed itself Deltic 9000 Locomotives Ltd (DNLL) with a view to operate its locomotives pulling special charter trains and railtours. Royal Scots Grey was sent for a complete overhaul to allow the locomotive to be operated on the mainline, and in November 1996 was returned to service pulling her first railtour. In 1997/98, it was hired to Virgin CrossCountry. [1] [2] [3] DNLL, through the sponsorship of Porterbrook, was able to overhaul Gordon Highlander for service on the mainline between 1998 and 1999. At this time, the locomotive was transferred to the ownership of Porterbrook, returning to DNLL ownership in 2002. In 1998, DNLL also entered into a ten-year agreement with the National Railway Museum to undertake the operation of their Class 55, D9002/55002 (King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry), on charter trains. However, in June 2004, DNLL went into voluntary liquidation. At that time, both Royal Scots Grey and Gordon Highlander were offered for sale, with both entering private ownership. [4] [5]
In July 2004 Martin Walker purchased 55022 Royal Scots Grey. In December 2004 preparation were made to move 55022 from Hornsey TMD to Barrow Hill Engine Shed where the major work was to be undertaken by the Deltic Preservation Society. The move was done in January 2005 with help from the Class 40 Preservation Society, by providing its Class 40 40145 East Lancashire Railway for rail transportation. In July 2005 the first section of the outer body skin was welded into place. Work was completed in July 2006 and both Napier Deltic engines were started successfully.
The next major leap for Royal Scots Grey was in August 2006 when TPWS and OTMR systems were certified and mainline tests were successfully completed. Royal Scots Grey worked her first passenger train in four years at the Deltic Preservation Society Doncaster tribute weekend at Barrow Hill and also moved to her new East Lancashire Railway home. The loco has consistently worked since 2006 on a variety of passenger and freight duty throughout the country. She worked for 2 years and 8 months in Scotland hauling Electric Multiple Units for maintenance, as well as a stint working the Royal Scotsman luxury train to Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh. In December 2017, it was sold to Locomotive Services. [6]
Royal Scots Grey was for a time the only mainline class 55 Deltic out of the remaining 6, being joined in 2012 by D9009 and 55002. However, 55022 has seen the most use, and as of early 2016, the other two have carried out in 5 years a similar amount of work to what 55022 does in a busy month.
Gordon Highlander entered private ownership and worked at Peak Rail for many years until she was sold to Harry Needle Railroad Company and was later sold to Direct Rail Services. [7] [8] The locomotive was stored at Barrow Hill until purchase by Martin Walker. who also owned of 55022 'Royal Scots Grey'. It worked for a short while on the East Lancashire Railway before her working engine was removed in early 2010 and installed in 55022 for her return to mainline twin engine operations. The other engine was worked on and soon returned to service and the loco continued to operate at the East Lancashire Railway until the loco left and moved to the Great Central Railway at Loughborough for a successful operating season. It is the long term aim to restore D9016 to twin engine operation, although bodywork and power unit restoration is required. In January 2015 D9016 moved by road to Boden Rail Engineering's facility at Washwood Heath for bodywork repairs to be carried out. In December 2017, it was sold to Locomotive Services. [6]
The Napier Deltic engine is a British opposed-piston valveless, supercharged uniflow scavenged, two-stroke diesel engine used in marine and locomotive applications, designed and produced by D. Napier & Son. Unusually, the cylinders were disposed in a three-bank triangle, with a crankshaft at each corner of the triangle.
The British Rail Class 55, also known as a Deltic, is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric for British Railways. They were designed for the high-speed express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) between Edinburgh and London King's Cross. They gained the name "Deltic" from the prototype locomotive, DP1 Deltic, which in turn was named after its Napier Deltic power units. At the time of their introduction into service, the Class 55s were the most powerful single-unit diesel locomotives in the world, with a power output of 3,300 hp (2,500 kW). They had an official maximum speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), however this was frequently exceeded, especially in their later years of service, with speeds of up to 117 miles per hour (188 km/h), being recorded on level gradients, and up to 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) whilst decending Stoke Bank.
The British Rail Class 57 is a type of diesel locomotive that was remanufactured from Class 47s by Brush Traction of Loughborough between 1998 and 2004. The locomotives were fitted with re-conditioned EMD engines and the same model of traction alternator as that fitted to the Class 56.
The British Rail Class 40 is a type of British railway diesel electric locomotive. A total of 200 were built by English Electric between 1958 and 1962. They were numbered D200-D399. They were, for a time, the pride of British Rail’s early diesel fleet. However, despite their initial success, by the time the last examples were entering service they were already being replaced on some top-level duties by more powerful locomotives. As they were slowly relegated from express passenger uses, the type found work on secondary passenger and freight services where they worked for many years. The final locomotives ended regular service in 1985. The locomotives were commonly known as "Whistlers" because of the distinctive noise made by their turbochargers.
Porterbrook is a British rolling stock company (ROSCO) established in April 1994 as part of the privatisation of British Rail. Together with Angel Trains and Eversholt Rail Group, it is one of the three original ROSCOs.
Riviera Trains Limited is a railway spot-hire company based at Burton-on-Trent and Eastleigh in England.
West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the company became the first privately owned company to be given a licence as a train operating company.
English Electric DP1, commonly known as Deltic, was a prototype 3,300 hp (2,500 kW) demonstrator locomotive employing two Napier Deltic engines, built by English Electric in 1955.
DP2, meaning Development Prototype number 2, was a prototype Type 4 mainline diesel locomotive.
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The British Rail Class 50 is a class of diesel locomotives designed to haul express passenger trains at 100 mph (160 km/h). Built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows between 1967 and 1968, the Class 50s were initially on a 10-year lease from English Electric Leasing, and were employed hauling express passenger trains on the, then non-electrified, section of the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Scotland. Initially numbered D400–D449 and known as English Electric Type 4s, the locomotives were purchased outright by British Rail (BR) at the end of the lease and became Class 50 in the TOPS renumbering of 1973.
The British Rail Class 43 (HST) is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by British Rail Engineering Limited from 1975 to 1982, and in service in the UK since 1976.
The British Rail Class 45 or Sulzer Type 4 are diesel locomotives built by British Railways' Derby and Crewe Works between 1960 and 1962. Along with the similar Class 44 and 46 locomotives, they became known as Peaks.
British Railways (BR) Standard Class 7, number 70000 Britannia is a preserved steam locomotive, owned by the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust.
The British Rail Class 23 were a class of ten Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives built by the English Electric Company (EE) in 1959. The power unit used was a Napier Deltic T9-29 9-cylinder engine of 1,100 bhp (820 kW) driving an EE generator, which powered the four traction motors. They were numbered from D5900 to D5909.
The Deltic Preservation Society is a railway preservation group based in England. The society is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the remaining Class 55 "Deltic" diesel locomotives operated by British Rail from the 1960s to the 1980s.
GB Railfreight is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Infracapital.
The AC Locomotive Group is a dedicated AC electric locomotive preservation society in England. It has five locomotives in its care; 81002, 82008, 83012, 85101 and 89001.
The Fifteen Guinea Special was the last main-line passenger train to be hauled by steam locomotive power on British Rail on 11 August 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban that started the following day, the extra day added to allow for the movement of locomotive BR Standard Class 7 70013 Oliver Cromwell to Bressingham Steam Museum. It was a special rail tour excursion train organised for the occasion from Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester Victoria to Carlisle and back, and was pulled in turn by four steam locomotives during the four legs of the journey. The last scheduled standard gauge steam-hauled passenger services had run on 3 August 1968 from Preston. Steam continued to be used on the narrow gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway under British Rail, which was subsequently privatised in 1989.
Locomotive Services Limited is a train operating company in Great Britain. The company operates rail tours using heritage steam, diesel and electric locomotives with support from associated companies and trusts.
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