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Deltic 55015 Tulyar Edinburgh-York
Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 11:50 pm
by neildimmer
Deltic 55015 Tulyar Doncaster-Kings Cross
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 11:18 pm
by neildimmer
Re: Deltic 55015 Tulyar Edinburgh-York
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 11:19 am
by PinzaC55
Love the one at Newcastle with the two 03's! Very evocative....
Re: Deltic 55015 Tulyar Edinburgh-York
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 11:32 am
by Mickey
Re: Deltic 55015 Tulyar Edinburgh-York
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:48 pm
by Andy W
I didn't do that many rides inside Deltics but when I did I popped in ear plugs before I put the ear defenders on. I never had to use ear plugs inside Brush 2s or 4s!
What could get to you was the phasing in and out of the engine "throb" and I didn't want to go the way of a young technical officer who got off one day at York and the next thing he knew he was being picked up off the platform. He developed a severe form of Vertigo and I was told that he never came back to work.
I also didn't like being in them when they were stationary under a moderately low roof. The exhaust (a nice two stroke mix of all the nasties) used to sometimes, if the wind was right, fall beside the loco and then get sucked into the engine compartment. You really could catch a lung full. At Clarence Yard they were fired up from cold outdoors, much to the locals annoyance.
But there is nothing like being beside those napiers whilst the loco is going along at 100 down the ECML with all that noise around you and those cardan shafts whizzing around above your head. It's real engineering in there, even if the Spanner 2 boiler was probably the worst of the Spanner range.
When D9000 came to the Oak in the late 1980s I had to take the WR inspection staff round it to show them what was where. I had it running on shed and we went into the engine room with the instruction to the man outside to "give it some handle". He did. Somewhat shell shocked after the experience, they got out of the engine room with the senior man, the renowned WR Inspector Bob Judge, saying, "what a contraption!".
Re: Deltic 55015 Tulyar Edinburgh-York
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 5:35 pm
by PinzaC55
I did my Route Learning from Kings Cross to York (as a Guard) in 1986 and had a ride in the back cab of an HST with the original Paxman Valenta engines. Although I was well familiar with the HST's from my bashing days I'd never been that close to the power unit at full throttle and it occurred to me that if it blew they wouldn't even find my underpants.....
Re: Deltic 55015 Tulyar Edinburgh-York
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 7:36 pm
by Mickey
I liked that dvd (one of three dvds) on the Deltics that focus on there complete history from drawing board to preservation anyway when they superseded steam on the ECML they were disliked by many spotter's of the day but at the end of 20 years 'good service' to B.R. the honour finally fell to 55 015 in 1981 to work the last Deltic hauled train up the ECML into Kings Cross for the last time. 55 015 received a 'hero's welcome and a standing ovation' amid tv & press coverage and flashing lights from cameras upon it's arrival at the Cross hundreds of well wisher's had turned out to say a 'fond farewell' with one fella after 55 015 had come to a stand on his knees and kissing the locomotives number with visable tears streaming down his face what a finish!. Call me a sentimental fool but the whole piece of film with 55 015 arriving at Kings Cross on that day in 1981 is strangely quite moving...
Re: Deltic 55015 Tulyar Edinburgh-York
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 9:43 pm
by Andy W
Micky - it was 55022 that hauled the very last train into the Cross. The date was 2nd January 1982 and the train was the Deltic Scotsman Farewell. The scenes at KX, as you say Micky, were incredible. But I'm glad I missed them.
The last Deltic hauled service trains had run on the 31st December. I was there on Platform 6 to see 55017 take the 1603 York out - the last northbound working, not thinking I would ever see it again. Murray Brown was up front and there was something poignant about the former ER HQ Loco Shopping Clerk (who did so much to see some saved) being waved away by me, his former KX Divisional counterpart. I was last off that platform - a part of my railway life was slipping away and there seemed a lot to reflect on.
I was on at FP that weekend and I arrived early on January 2nd to see, much to my amazement, 55017 sitting amongst the dead men by the bdv shed. It had failed en-route and was sent back to FP in disgrace. 55009, the standby engine for the final day, had gone north just before I got there and in 5 road there was 55015, gleaming, white cabs back on and with most of the hated York "embellishments" removed. She had come south on the 1550 from York on the 31st and the depot had done a lot of work on her in a very short time.
The pictures I took at FP that morning bring back so many memories of what was a very emotional day for all of us at Clarence Yard. All too soon it was time for "Deltic 15" to go for the very last time - the shed doors were opened and the crew got in. She started quietly and slowly moved out of the shed. Outside she paused for the cameras before moving past the fuel tanks and then back beside them to await the road.
It was here that I saw her shining in the early morning half light with the yard lights still dancing across the sleepers and the tops of the slightly damp rails. With but a few lights of the Harvester estate flats coming on behind the shed, still with only 5 road doors open & a 31 visible inside on 6 road, she pushed out two slight but firm & clear streams of exhaust as she made ready to go for that last time. Fortunately, and it was fortunately, I managed to capture it all on film.
The signal came off and she went out of the depot sounding really good, smartly reversing to go under the ECML and up the "creep up" to join the main line into the Cross. We all then went to stand by the main line to watch her go past. She gave us a farewell blast on the horn as she went north with her train.
I didn't hang around after work for the last up working. I didn't want to be part of that scrum - I wanted to say my farewells as a depot man, not an enthusiast.
Re: Deltic 55015 Tulyar Edinburgh-York
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 10:49 pm
by PinzaC55
I used to know the guy who bent down and kissed the nameplate - "Rob" I think his name was and he always wore a grey army greatcoat. I remember hearing once that he was bashing double headed 20's to Skeggy and the train got stopped at Elton & Orston - he bailed out there just to say he had done the station!
Re: Deltic 55015 Tulyar Edinburgh-York
Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 7:14 am
by Mickey
Yes your correct there Andy about the date after writing my post i took another look at the dvd and yes it was 1982 and not 81 folks. Nice one PinzaC55 the Deltics had a following all of there own abit like the WESTERNS
Like most people i always thought that the 'race horse' names suited them VERY WELL with there association with speed!!!. I always liked the names BALLYMOSS, NIMBUS, CREPELLO, PINZA, st PADDY, MELD, TULYAR & ALYCIDON. The Deltics named after Scotish army regiments and the others named after English army regiments strangely enough suited them as well, all in all i liked all there names guy's.
