Class 55 Deltic

The **Class 55 Deltic** is a diesel locomotive in the game Railroad Tycoon II. It becomes available in 1961, and is a fast locomotive good for long distance passengers at a relatively low running cost. It has decent power for a fast locomotive, so it can optionally be used as a cheap alternative for fast freight services instead of the faster but more expensive F9. While hauling of 6 passenger cars, the Class 55 Deltic can maintain a speed of over 80mph.

## Strategy

As mentioned before, the Deltic is a good foil to the F9, as it is only slightly less powerful and fast, while being significantly cheaper to maintain. So, in situations where the F9 is hampered like if the route was had a high traffic volume in sections, or if the extra speed and power of the F9 is never really well-utilized, it is well worth it to use the Class 55 Deltic instead. When in European and World scenarios, some players tend to prefer the Deltic over the FP45 as a replacement of the F9, due to the former's lower cost, reliability and better hauling power. The main problem with using the Deltics are the very high initial costs, and also irritatingly low acceleration, with the Deltic taking nearly 50 tiles to reach high speeds. With this problem, often the Deltic is actually the locomotive that is causing the blockages, especially when it pulls out of stations. It's recommended to make sure the route lengths are long distances when using the Deltic, so that the Deltic is able to utilize it's high top speed effectively. The Class 55 Deltic does however have the great advantage of having great reliability, considering that it will likely be covering plenty of ground in a lifetime. There is no direct replacement for the Class 55 Deltic when it retires in 1981. The player can use either the SDP45 or FP45, but these two locomotives are both much more expensive option. Otherwise, the player can opt to use either the ever-reliable, but slower Class E111 or the E656 FS as a replacement (electrification will be required for both locomotives).

## History

**The British Rail Class 55** was a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric. They were designed for the high-speed express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and Edinburgh. They gained the name "Deltic" from the prototype locomotive, British Railways DP1 *DELTIC* (the running number DP1 was never carried), which in turn was named after its Napier Deltic power units. Twenty-two locomotives were built, which dominated express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), particularly London – Leeds and London – Edinburgh services, until 1978 when InterCity 125 'High Speed Trains' were introduced. 1978–81 saw them gradually relegated to semi-fast or newspaper–parcel–sleeper services along the ECML (destinations including Cambridge, Cleethorpes, Harrogate, Hull, Scarborough and Aberdeen) plus occasional forays 'offline' such as York – Liverpool Lime Street semi-fast, and Edinburgh – Carlisle via Newcastle stoppers. The fleet was withdrawn from service between January 1980 and December 1981. Three locomotives were retained for a few days, until 2 January 1982, to work the farewell special, all being withdrawn immediately on arrival back at York. Six locomotives entered preservation during 1982 and 1983: one by the National Railway Museum, two by the Deltic Preservation Society, two by the Deltic 9000 Fund and one privately owned. Two cabs were also privately purchased.