class-55-deltic

The BR Class 55 'Deltic' was a series of 22 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives built by English Electric at their Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, between 1961 and 1962 using the extraordinary Napier Deltic twin-engine installation — see the main BR Class 55 Deltic entry for the full story of the East Coast Main Line's most celebrated diesel locomotives. The Deltic's twin Napier D18-25 engines, each a triangular opposed-piston two-stroke producing 1,650 bhp, combined to give 3,300 bhp — making the Class 55 the most powerful diesel locomotive in Britain at the time of its introduction and giving it performance on the ECML that no other diesel could match. Six examples are preserved: D9000, D9002, D9009, D9015, D9016, and D9019.