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The Deltic Preservation Society is a
railway preservation A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
group based in England. The society is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the remaining Class 55 "Deltic" diesel locomotives operated by British Rail from the 1960s to the 1980s.


Formation

The Deltic Preservation Society (DPS) was founded in 1977 following the entry into service of the Class 43
High Speed Train High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
. A group of Class 55 enthusiasts made the decision to join together to ensure that a working locomotive was kept running, forming the DPS to raise funds to this end. By 1982, when the Class 55 was withdrawn, the Society numbered over 1,500, with the result that it was able to purchase two locomotives, D9009/55009 (''Alycidon'') and D9019/55019 (''Royal Highland Fusilier''), from British Rail. These two units were moved immediately from
Doncaster Works Doncaster Railway Works is a railway workshop located in Doncaster, England. Also referred to as The Plant''", it was established by the Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston and Peterborough. Until 1867 it u ...
and put into service on the
North Yorkshire Moors Railway The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Geor ...
. A third locomotive, D9015/55015 (''Tulyar'') was added to the inventory in 1986 when it was purchased from a private owner. For the first few years, the DPS provided its locomotives to run on a number of private railways. However, following a change of policy by British Rail in 1991, a few years before its privatisation, it became possible for private operators to run trains on the mainline rail network. With this in mind, the DPS sent ''Alycidon'' for a major overhaul, completed in 1998, which allowed the locomotive to gain a certification for running on the public railway. ''Royal Highland Fusilier'' was given a less extensive overhaul, receiving its certification at the same time. Both locomotives re-entered passenger service in May 1999, operating railtour services for the Society. At the same time, both were also used on many occasions by Venice-Simplon Orient Express to haul the ''Northern Belle'' charter train. In 1997, ''Tulyar'' was withdrawn from its private railway services and sent for an overhaul along the same lines as ''Alycidon'' to restore it to mainline service.


''Royal Scots Grey''

D9000/55022 ''Royal Scots Grey'' is a further preserved Class 55. Along with D9016/55016 ''Gordon Highlander'', she was purchased by the
Deltic 9000 Fund The Deltic 9000 Fund was a locomotive preservation society set up to ensure that at least one example of the British Rail Class 55 diesel locomotives was preserved following their withdrawal from service in 1981. It was placed in receivership in ...
on withdrawal from British Rail service, and operated for several years on charters and railtours. In 2004, DNLL went into liquidation, with its locomotives sold. ''Royal Scots Grey'' was purchased by DPS member Martin Walker to be operated as a chartered locomotive for railtour operators. In 2009 Walker purchased ''Gordon Highlander'' reuniting the two locomotives. The two locomotives ran at the
East Lancashire Railway East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, , Summerseat and Ramsbottom, with ...
for many years but have now left for other railways. In December 2017, both were sold to
Locomotive Services Locomotive Services Limited is a train operating company in Great Britain. The company operates rail tours using heritage steam, diesel and electric locomotives with support from associated companies and trusts. History In August 2017, Locomo ...
.


Operations

Under the name 'DPS Railtours, the DPS operated
railtour A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not normally available using timetabled passenger services. The 'unusual' aspect may be the route of the train, the destination, the occasion, ...
s pulled by its Class 55 locomotives. It has also provided its locomotives to other railtour operators for their services. In addition, under the name DPS Commercial Services, the DPS operates a depot at Barrow Hill near
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, where it contracts out to perform maintenance and repairs not only its own locomotives, but also the other preserved Class 55s, D9002/55002 (''King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry'') (owned by the
National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...
) and D9000/55022 (''Royal Scots Grey'').Deltic Preservation Society opens depot at Barrow Hill ''
Rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...
'' issue 471 1 October 2003 page 26
In addition, the DPS also owns a preserved cab of D9008/55008 (''The Green Howards''), which has been converted into a simulator for the
Trainz ''Trainz'' is a series of 3D train simulator video games. The Australian studio Auran (since 2007 N3V Games) released the first game in 2001. The simulators consist of route and session editors called ''Surveyor'', and the ''Driver'' module, ...
East Coast Main Line computer program. In August 2006, the DPS also obtained the cab of D9021/55021 (''Argyll and Sutherland Highlander''), which it intends to restore and put on display at its depot; however, the cab has now left the DPS depot and is now part of The South Wales Loco Cab Preservation Group.


See also

*
Railway enthusiasts societies in the United Kingdom A railfan or railway enthusiast and sometimes also called a trainspotter is a person interested, recreationally, in rail transport. Railfans of many ages can be found worldwide. To support the hobby in the United Kingdom, railway enthusiast societ ...


References

{{British Railtour TOCs Engineering preservation societies Preservation Society