British Rail Class 55 - Replacement

Replacement

In the late 1970s the Deltics began to be supplanted by the next generation of express trains, the Class 43 High Speed Train (HST), branded as InterCity 125 and the Deltics began to take on secondary roles. British Rail at this time had a general policy of not maintaining small non-standard fleets of locomotives, thus the class had a limited future. When the Intercity 125 fleet took over on the main East coast services it was never likely to be economic to maintain a small non-standard class of locomotive for secondary services and the end of the decade saw the first withdrawals from service. Deltics were generally run with only limited maintenance until they became unable to continue running and required rescue by other locomotives after breaking down. Typically the cause would be engine failure although some Deltics were withdrawn for other reasons. They were then taken to Doncaster Works for scrapping. For a time the Deltic scrap line was a draw for railway enthusiasts. The final service run was the 16:30 Aberdeen-York service on 31 December 1981, hauled from Edinburgh by 55 019 Royal Highland Fusilier, arriving in York at just before midnight. The last train was an enthusiast special, the "Deltic Scotsman Farewell" on 2 January 1982, from King's Cross to Edinburgh and back, hauled by 55015 Tulyar northbound and 55022 Royal Scots Grey on the return. Following the farewell, the surviving Deltics were put on display at Doncaster Works before their final journey to the scrap line.