Diesel Locomotives - British Railways Class 55 Deltic: Books

The Deltics and Baby Deltics - A Tale of Success and Failure

The Deltic class 55 Locomotives were some of the most successful, first generation diesels introduced to British Railways, being constructed from 1960-1962 and numbering twenty two, in the production class.
The prototype machine was constructed in 1956 and was tested extensively on express trains on the London Midland and Eastern Regions of B R, until 1960. The interest and enthusiasm, for the class is reflected in the fact, that six examples of the class are preserved, including the 1956 prototype.

The Baby Deltics, were a derivative Locomotive design, using one rather then two engines, for use on outer suburban and short main line semi fast services. Only ten Baby Deltics were constructed between 1961-1962, for use on services out of London Kings Cross. The Baby Deltics were all withdrawn within a decade, as they were not very successful in main line service.

Andrew Fowler is a well known writer of railway history, with a regular feature in Railway Herald Magazine.

Class 55 Deltics - From the Final Years to Preservation

Named after the Napier Deltic diesel engines that powered them, the Class 55 Deltic locomotives served on Britain's railways from the early 1960s until the last examples were retired at the beginning of 1982.
While in service, the Deltics dominated services on the East Coast Main Line between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Six are now in preservation.

Obsessed by the Deltics since his childhood, Colin Alexander has photographed these charismatic locomotives in mainline service, in withdrawal and in preservation since the 1970s. His pictures make a wonderful personal record of the Class 55 locomotives, the Deltics.

Deltics - The Final Roar

In 1980, the first of the Deltics was withdrawn from service. By late 1981, they had all gone, after two decades as Britain's fastest and most powerful locos. This unique class of twenty-two diesel locomotives was powered by twin Napier Deltic engines, originally designed for minesweepers, but utilised in these high power, high speed locomotives.
Designed for the East Coast Main Line, the Deltics were a common sight from Kings Cross to Aberdeen, with occasional forays onto other routes.

Alistair McLean spent the last year of Deltic power photographing the various members of the class throughout the country. His images give an idea of the power of the Deltics, as well as their scrapping.
Luckily for us, today, six members of the class survive in preservation, with some being used in main line service on an occasional basis, some thirty years after withdrawal from service.