British Rail Class 55 - Operations After BR Withdrawal

Operations After BR Withdrawal

Despite the ban on privately owned diesel locomotives operating on BR tracks, railway enthusiasts did not have to wait that long after the final withdrawal of the class to see a Deltic back on the mainline. Following participation in the hastily arranged 'Farewell to the Deltics' open day at BREL Doncaster Works on 27 February 1982, 55 002 left Doncaster under its own power and ran back up the ECML to the National Railway Museum light engine; it was to be some years before a Deltic was officially allowed to run again on the mainline.

The next opportunity to see a Deltic back on the mainline and running under its own power was in April 1985 when D9000 was sent (at the request of ScotRail management) light engine from Haymarket Depot to Perth for an open day. Following newspaper comments by Chris Green of ScotRail around that time there was hope that D9000 might see regular work north of the border. Chris Green's move to the management team at the newly created Network South East in 1986 put paid to that. However, that did not end his involvement with D9000 and when he moved on to head up Virgin Trains the Deltic was used on many Virgin service trains.

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 on its tracks. With privatisation came open-access railways—the track and infrastructure were owned and operated by Railtrack, who for a fee would allow approved locomotives and trains to operate on their track. Suddenly, the owners of preserved locomotives were on an equal footing with everyone else. In fact, the characteristics of the Deltic locomotives, powerful and capable of cruising at 100 mph (160 km/h), 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 main-line service and on 30 November 1996 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 returned to main-line working (it was temporarily painted in the garish purple livery of Porterbrook Leasing, who helped finance the restoration and was called the 'Purple Peril' by enthusiasts), as did the Deltic Preservation Society's D9009 Alycidon and D9019 Royal Highland Fusilier. Between 1997 and 2003 all four main-line certified locomotives saw frequent charter and locomotive hire use, including 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 main line. After a brief return to the main line in 2005 the DPS withdrew their last Deltic (55 019) 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 (September 2008) non-runners. D9015 Tulyar is undergoing a full bodyside restoration at Barrow Hill and D9002 The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry is currently painted in BR blue and is undergoing full restoration to running operations at NRM. 55 019 remains in full working order along with 55 009, whilst 55 016 is currently able to operate on one engine only.

On 23 September 2006, 55 022 (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. On its second working two weeks later, severe damage occurred to the number 2 end engine. The engine suffered from a leg out of bed, a term which means the engine con-rod breaks out of the engine. This left Royal Scots Grey still able to operate but on one engine only. By January 2007, the faulty power unit was removed from 55 022, put into storage and replaced by an ex-marine Napier Deltic engine modified for rail use; work was complete by Royal Scots Grey's dedicated team in August 2007. After extensive testing at the East Lancs Railway the locomotive hauled its first tour since the previous engine malfunction on RTC's 'Autumn Highlander' with 50 049 and 40 145 in October 2007. 55 022 successfully hauled a number of charter tour services during 2008 but the replacement marine sourced engine gave rise for concern following the discovery of oil in the coolant, and at the end of August the loco was then removed from future large railtour duties. The loco continued working mainline duty by visiting other preserved railway and dragged other non-mainline registered locos.

In mid January 2007, an agreement was reached between heritage railway Peak Rail and the owner of 55 016 (D9016) Gordon Highlander which entailed the move of the locomotive from Barrow Hill to the preserved line for a period of three years. It had been thought that D9016 would receive certain maintenance and restoration while on the railway. However, the sale of the locomotive to the Harry Needle Railroad Company and subsequent announcements indicated that the weekend runs of 27 and 28 September 2008 might be its last prior to component recovery and eventual scrapping. Despite previous indications to the contrary, HNRC put the locomotive up for sale during the last week of September 2008 and although the Gordon Highlander Preservation Group submitted a substantial bid it was not accepted and the immediate future (and owner) of the locomotive was clouded in some mystery.

Subsequently, in October 2008 DRS announced in a press release that it had acquired 55016 (D9016) Gordon Highlander from Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC). The company is working with HNRC to return the locomotive to operational condition, although at the time of writing (June 2009) the locomotive is still stored at Barrow Hill awaiting attention. While the locomotive is not been planned for an immediate return to service, DRS is confident that the locomotive will be returned to mainline service in the future. DRS intends to retain the locomotive's name. On 29 December 2009, it was announced that 55016 had been purchased by Martin Walker, and is currently without a working engine, its complete engine being placed into sister engine 55022 to enable it to return to mainline use. The plan is to return 55016 to one, and eventually two engines, and the possibility of a mainline return. The Royal Scots Grey team late 2010 focused work on D9016 and in January 2011 the locomotive returned to service and is planned to continue work on the ELR. 2011 will see the locomotive receive much needed body work attention.

In April 2011, 55022 was chartered by GB Railfreight for bauxite freight working between North Blyth and the Lynemouth aluminium smelter. This charter was scheduled to last from April to July.