Bachmann 32-529C Cl 55 D9010 ‘The King’s Own Scottish Borderer’ BR

OO Gauge

Bachmann

32-529C Cl 55 D9010 ‘The King’s Own Scottish Borderer’ BR Green Small Yellow Panels

Brand new model from our new shop

History

The Class 55 ‘Deltic’ diesel locomotive was built in 1961 and
1962 by English Electric for British Rail. They were designed specifically to
power the high-speed express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line
(ECML) between Edinburgh and London King’s Cross, most notably the Flying
Scotsman, taking over from the large roster of Pacific steam locomotives on the
route.  They also worked famous named trains such as the Hull Executive
and Yorkshire Pullman.  They gained the name “Deltic” from the
prototype Deltic locomotive which was named after its Napier Deltic power
units.  Their striking original livery of two tone green emphasized their
length and powerful bulk.

Twenty-two locomotives were built, which dominated express
passenger services on the ECML, particularly from London to Leeds and
Edinburgh, until 1978 when High Speed Trains (HSTs) were introduced. They were
subsequently relegated to semi-fast services on the Kings Cross to York,
Edinburgh and Hull routes whilst continuing on sleeper services along the ECML.
Other occasional destinations, although with no officially diagrammed work,
included Cleethorpes, Stockport, Liverpool Lime Street and Aberdeen. They could
be found on diversionary routes such as Newcastle to Edinburgh via Carlisle and
the Waverley Route, and Doncaster to Peterborough via Lincoln and Spalding.
During the latter years organised Railtours took them further afield to
Worcester, Cardiff, Bognor Regis, Dover, Norwich and Exeter. The class was
withdrawn from service between January 1980 and January 1982.

By the time of the class’ withdrawal they had garnered a
fanatical following. Six locomotives entered preservation during 1982 and 1983,
and several have subsequently operated on the main line, both on railtours and
for Virgin Trains on its Cross-Country network, in place of the diagrammed
Class 47s.