Memories

[skipepsi]

Thought I would start something just to start people talking. My love of deltics was started by walking under Crepello as she? waited light engine outside Wakefield Westgate station as I went to the county library from school. That was 68 to 75 and I then met the engine type again when I joined the Royal Navy and we started learning about diesels in general.

[RedgateModels]

I was fortunate enough to attend a Grammar school and being church aided we had two "saints days" a year - we all turned up to church in Nottingham in the morning, then once the service was over the rest of the day was our own. A friend and I used to run as fast as we could to Nottingham station to get a "bug" to Grantham in time to catch the 11:11 from Peterborough that was always a Deltic.

 

Chocolate from the vending machines and a day's spotting on the platform copping as many Deltics as possible. Happy days.

['CHARD]

I reckon most of us of a certain age will have some special Deltic memories. My first encounter was seeing NIMBUS at Grantham in 1977, and the noise when she lifted that set of aircons up towards the Cross left an indelible impression. Two years later, my dad had been given some weekend break tickets as a gift from his work, and the family spent Friday and Saturday nights in the Royal York, where a teenage 'Chard had a bird's eye view across the station. Delight doesn't begin to describe the emotion when, on waking, I copped my last one, MELD, at about 0730 Saturday. What awe-inspiring machines. Great thread.

[AMJ]

My first encounter was one of my first spotting trips. I walked over the bridge to the far side of York and there was Tulyar parked near to where the bridge to the NRM is now.

 

During the last year of operation had a few trips with dad on an evening to York or Donny. At York one evening the regular stopper was sat in the bay with 55004 at the front. Asked driver if I could cab it and he let me fire up the engines - the noise was bliss!

 

Cheap days out as kids spotting was a West Yorkshire Dayrover (still available). One day we were waiting to the Transpennine in Leeds to go to Huddersfield to do the Clayton West branch before it closed and the train was getting later and later. It turned up with 55011 running on one engine 55 minutes down. The thrash through Morley tunnel stood by the door with window open was music. A school friend that was with me on that trip is currently DPS sales officer!

[Jon020]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for sharing your memories, which we all have I think... mine were from a very young age but somehow they have remained strong and include watching Nimbus scream through Finsbury Park on a cold bright morning headed to the cross with its train of passengers all getting ready to stampede onto the platform. That said... I admit I've been a little tardy in getting my welcome message set up.. and this I now intend to address. I've enjoyed reading your memories on this tread; it's great to share memories, and I admit that it was my intent here to focus on the locomotive, details and modelling aspects; there are other forums that oft discuss memories of locos in traffic e.g. Yahoo Deltic class 55 group... so I intended to try to keep clear from that as much as possible.. because it seems that can get overly emotional and opinionated at times... and I don't really want that to creep in here too. However, I agree with the intent already shown here and would love to leave this thread running... and we can discuss everything else that is mighty and Napier - and related to modeling and details etc etc etc on the rest of the groups. So now, with the pythonesc echos of "get on with it", I'll sign off here and get on with the proper set up stuff.

Thanks for joining, and I hope we all get something useful and enjoyable from this group.

 

best wishes.... Jon

[John B]

My first was "Pinza", newly arrived at Hull Paragon on the "Hull Executive", literally making the ground shake and that glorious overall roof reverberate with aural massage. Nothing diesel-shaped, before or since, has come close.

[Hugh Flynn]

Hi All

Well this takes me back to my transporting days I was more into model railways and taking photographs so trainspotting was short lived but i have to confess I regularly went

to Doncaster station and after buying a ticket to York ride all day back and forth until our ticket got punched then that was it?

 

I was still at school so taking photos used all my pocket money and yes milk round as well.My camera was a zenith E but here is a few early year shots.

 

I even have to admit i bought the deltic 12" record.

 

As far as Deltic go yes i have a favorite 55004 Queens own highlander followed by 55001 St Paddy don't ask me why but they brought a smile on my face when i seen them at Doncaster.

 

Highlight for me was a Deltic on Pullman train

 

I have bought a set of QOH nameplates in 7mm ready for Heljan release. (blue)

 

Hugh

[stewartingram]

55004? You mean D9004 surely - and unnamed? I saw this loco (my 1st Deltic) many times for weeks on end on the down "Aberdonian", mainly at Offord, Sandy, etc. No yellow panels either. Always my favourite Deltic, though of course I got fed up at the time with not copping others! And no-one else at school had seen it either; we organised a coach trip to the London area, visiting sheds (including Finsbury Park), on the way home we stopped for a "comfort stop" at Stevenage and guess what came through on the Aberdonian? Everyone copped it apart from me........

Stewart

[Jon020]

Hugh, some nice period shots there - very atmospheric! Thanks for sharing these and the memories.

[Hugh Flynn]

Hi

 

found another old one at Dony works

 

 

Hugh

[Jon020]

Hi

 

found another old one at Dony works

 

 

Hugh

 

That's an interesting shot... presumably late 1970s - Domino headcode and sanding covers still fitted (shown here removed)... and temporarily on a Bo-Bo chassis .

[Hugh Flynn]

Looking through some of my photos and found these good few years ago i think.

 

Hugh

[DaveF]

My first Deltic was D9003 (later Meld) almost brand new at Newark when the Dad was taking us for Sunday lunch with his boss!

 

I spent many Saturday afternoons at Pilmoor in the 60s and then later on at Swayfield watching (and photographing) them climbing to Stoke Tunnel.

 

My last BR Deltic was on the last day, a dismal wet January day, at Damdykes near Cramlington.

 

And then this year 55022 very near home working Alcan trains - delightful.

Edited June 25, 2012 by DaveF

[Hugh Flynn]

hI

today i have been looking through some of my late uncles photos and found this one,

 

unknown location and year guess 65-68 perios.

 

Hugh

[boxbrownie]

My memories start from the Cross and watching my Uncle take out the Scotsman, he was toplink at the Cross so I regulary visited Finsbury Park and wandered in and out from signing on to taking them into the Cross for a run on the ECML, I love them and the totally unique sound and feel, and by feel I mean the aural feel. I have cabbed everything from 08s and DMUs right up to the 91s......from being a tiny squirt up into my early 20s. It all started to change though, it got harder and harder to beat the system (and the inspectors! ). Great days.......and my Uncle retired after 50 years service about 20 years ago, boy do I miss those days out!

[Moxy]

My first memory is of PINZA coming into York station in about 1976, the driver was coming in to the platform too fast & he slammed on the brakes. It slid to a halt in a shower of sparks from all 12 wheels, very impressive to a 13 year old in the gloom of York's trainshed!

 

I saw another Deltic (can't remember the number) at Wolverton Works open day around 1987/88. It was parked next to Princess Elizabeth, which was steaming gently. Then they fired the Deltic up, that generated far more smoke and noise than the steamer sat next to it!

 

Many years later when commuting daily in to Manchester Piccadilly (late 1990's) I remember walking over the footbridge from platform 13 one day and the whole of Piccadilly station was vibrating, I thought "there's a Deltic here somewhere" and sure enough, there was in platform 6 surrounded by a crowd of enthusiasts.

 

Thanks for starting this thread, brings back happy memories.

 

Regards

 

Paul

[beast66606]

See my SmugMug for some Deltic pictures, plenty more to come when the time for scanning becomes available.

 

I was at Sheffield Uni in the late 1970s, used to travel to Doncaster for the Deltics, and we had a University Transport Society who arranged a trip around the works, Nimbus and St Paddy were there having been withdrawn, did Donnie - York and back a few times.

 

Had some fun riding them between Liverpool and Leeds when they were cascaded to the Trans Pennine routes.

[trisonic]

Seeing the prototype at Euston whilst I was pulling out on a trip to Scotland - really had a profound effect on me at age 9 (or so). Bright colours after drabness.

 

Best, Pete.

Edited November 17, 2011 by trisonic

[silverlink]

I am proud to say I was there at the beginning in 1961 & at the end 1982. My first cop was D9001 which you can see on my thread 'In the beginning' around Easter 1961 followed by D9000 shortly after. I was there at York on that freezing day was it Dec 1981 or early Jan 1982 for the last run north & return. I then visited Doncaster to see them all lined up on the scrap line. I always liked the BR Green best.

D9000 YORK 1961 COMPLETE WITH HEADLIGHT

55022 SCARBOROUGH 1981

[Tay Bridge]

Hi

 

Can't provide photos as I didn't get custody of them (not that I am bitter.....)

However

 

My memories are from 1980 on when we used to listen from Monifieth High School to see what was passing Monifieth heading to Aberdeen ex Kings Cross. (While studying hard of course.....) The distinct Deltic sound led to a swift bus journey/car to Dundee Tay Bridge.to get photos/haulage. My personal favourite following a cab ride was 55 002 when in two tone green guise. I was on my own that day too! I remember some long faces when I got off at Dundee

My best mate from those days,Ken Joy went on to buy a few locos through Diesel Group at Brechin including 27 024 etc.

We were a great crowd at Dundee then but time has fogged the memory re names. If you were there drop me a line!

I remember some Nestle Chocolate eating.......you will know if you were there!

Great Deltic days indeed!

Edited November 23, 2011 by Tay Bridge

[pH]

I have to say Deltics were the only diesels I was interested in. I can't remember which was the first one I saw, but it was probably one of these (D9004, D9006 and D9000) at Haymarket in June 1963:

 

 

and this is the only other picture I ever took of a British Railways diesel locomotive - D9016 at Haymarket in August 1964:

 

 

As an indication of how much I liked Deltics, I stopped noting numbers in September 1968, except for my last three Deltics, which I saw in 1976/77 (and one EE type 4, only because I had been chasing it for years in order to get a run of about 30).

 

In the mid-1970s, I travelled fairly frequently from Harrogate/Leeds/York to London, usually behind Deltics. Leaving Kings Cross through the tunnels in the first coach behind one, after it had sat idling at the platform, was an experience. There were times when it was hard to see the other end of the coach through the blue haze.

 

But my strongest memories are from a couple of years later, when I used to change trains at Peterborough. I don't know exact figures, but I believe there were speed restrictions over Holme Fen south of there, and over the curves before the station, so locos weren't being worked very hard over these stretches. Then track speed on the down through road went up to 125MPH in the middle of the station. As a Deltic-hauled train entered the station, the driver would open the engine up. The resulting howl, plus the rolling clouds of blue smoke, added to the impressive sight of several hundred tons of train already doing about 70MPH, was an almost-overwhelming experience. It would be quite a few seconds after the train passed before the station stopped vibrating, as the tail-light disappeared swiftly towards Stoke.

[deltic21]

My first memory of the Deltics was as a child with my dad at Finsbury Park. My grandparents lived in Kent and when we used to visit them my dad would take me all around London and the South East spotting. I was very young for most of it and don't really remember seeing the locos at KX but i definately recall standing, head tilted skywards as i took in the sight of 55004.

 

From the rough dates i would have been around 4 years old and obviously the sheer size of the noisy beast has left a lasting impression on me! i still get the tingle whenrever i hear a deltic, be it screaming along the mainline, shunting at the ELR or even putting out fires on the GWML!!!!

[slilley]

My memories are two-fold, firstly hearing the drone of them as the worked they way up the hill through Oakleigh Park whilst visiting my Grandparents. Their house overlooked the line between there and New Barnet.

 

Secondly is the last day on 2nd Jan and the visit of ITN to KX. I will leave the rest of you to fill in the details on that one

 

Regards

 

Simon

[roythebus]

Just wondering who BoxBrownie's uncle is.

 

My memories of Deltics as a secondman at Kings Cross from december 1975 till about August 1978 when I got promoted to driver at Addiscombe. some promotion...

 

But, the thrill of the twin engines pulling out of the Cross, the chance to race along the main line at speeds in excess of the ton (see my thread about fastest Deltics elsewhere on here).

 

They gave a good ride, a good view from high up, but the cab seats, oie most EE locos, were bloody uncomfortable. and the draughts from the side windows were something else. the Deltics took a good bit of skill especially when pulling away; you had to open up then sut off as the amps went up, or the overloads would trip out and you'd have to start again!

 

But they were a legend and a good replacement for the Gresley pacifics they replaced.

[Welly]

My very first encounter with a Deltic was 55009 Alycidon which was at NYMR in 1986 - you can see that I only learnt of them after BR let them go!

 

But my best encounter was when I was held at Lincoln High St LC for a loco hauled Xmas Market special that was leaving Lincoln some 10 years ago. To my delight I realised it was a Deltic ( D9000 RSG ) at the head and the driver applied full bore to the Napiers just before passing the LC so I got the full "throb"!

 

The next year I got hauled behind the same loco from Lincoln to P'boro via the GN&GE Joint Line when it worked a fill-in railtour after working an Xmas Markex from somewhere in the Midlands. She looked great standing on the fast tracks at P'boro whilst running round in the evening light! And listening to the sounds through the droplight whilst running through deserted stations in moonlight....