Image ID: 08177

A Deltic Diesel locomotive D9001 at Newark Northgate (LNER) Railway Station

Courtesy of L Clark

Newark Northgate (LNER) Railway Station
Newark on Trent
England

In British Railways livery, the loco is pulling away from the south end of the Up platform with a London-bound service. Otherwise known as the class 55, the Deltic was one of the most powerful diesel locomotives ever to run on the British Railways network. D9001 was one of the 22 Deltics ordered by British Railways Eastern Region to replace its mainline steam fleet. The Delic was built by English Electric, the leading engine builder of the time, with the whopping 3,300hp generated by its two powerful Napier 'Deltic' engines, it was capable of a maximum speed of 100mph, and its 'maintenance by replacement' system at Doncaster Works meant it also set unprecedented standards for reliability and availability. No other railway locomotive in history had ever captured the attention of the general public and enthusiasts alike. Early in 1961, the first production Deltic emerged from the Vulcan Foundry. This was D9001, which is seen here (although the date given for the picture is 1960?). The D9001 (the prefix stands for diesel) was named 'St Paddy'. The fleet of Deltics were allocated for maintenance purposes between 3 British Railways Regions. The Scottish and North Eastern Region locomotives were named after British Army Regiments. The Eastern Region named it's Deltics after racehorses, a continuation of a LNER tradition.

Date: 1960

Organisation Reference: NCCE001985

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