Deltic Scotsman Farewell
Deltic 55015 'Tulyar' arrives at Edinburgh on the 1982 Deltic Scotsman Farewell railtour, the last northbound Deltic working under British Railways.
A new photograph from Iain Flynn
Class 55 Deltic 55015 'Tulyar' draws into Platform 21 at Edinburgh station at 14.06 on 2nd January 1982, at the head of the 'Deltic Scotsman Farewell' railtour. The weather that day was awful, and it showed on the faces along the platform: passengers and enthusiasts alike wore the same sombre mood, the two groups for once indistinguishable in what they had come to see off.
There is a particular quality to a locomotive arriving in weather bad enough to be remembered afterwards, the way the rain or the sleet becomes part of the story rather than an inconvenience to it. A Deltic easing into a platform under a grey Edinburgh sky is not a scene that needed embellishing.
This was the last northbound Deltic working under British Railways ownership before preservation took over their story. 55015 had come up from King's Cross on the down working into this platform, and it was from Haymarket depot that she then became the last Deltic ever to leave. For the return south, it was 55022 'Royal Scots Grey' that took the train onward, not 55015; the locomotive that had carried the farewell north was not the one that carried it back.
Her own onward move that day was a quieter one. 55015 went light engine from Haymarket to York, travelling via Gateshead depot rather than back down the main line under her own working. The following day, at York, her nameplates were taken off. Whatever formality remained after that was administrative rather than dramatic: on 5th January she was towed away to Doncaster Works for scrapping, coupled with three other Deltics, 55009, 55016 and 55022, the same locomotive that had worked the up train south.
Seen from the platform at Edinburgh, none of that yet mattered; what mattered was that a Deltic was leaving, and leaving for the last time in that particular capacity. But the wider picture around this one photograph belongs to four locomotives, not one. All four had entered service within months of each other back in 1961, part of the same small class built to do a job that only the Deltics could do on the East Coast Main Line. Now, at the start of 1982, their working lives under British Railways were ending within days of one another, and the withdrawal notice for 55015 herself was dated to this same day, 2nd January.
A tow to Doncaster Works for scrapping was, for most locomotives that made that journey, exactly what it sounds like. It was not, in the end, what it meant for these four. 55015 was preserved privately and later passed to the Deltic Preservation Society. 55009 went to the Deltic Preservation Society as well. 55022 and 55016 both found their way into preservation through the D9000 Fund, later the Deltic Locomotives company, and both are now in the ownership of Martin Walker. Four locomotives went to the scrapyard together in the first days of January 1982, and four locomotives came back from it.
Why this photograph?
None of that was certain on the platform at Edinburgh on 2nd January. What was certain was the weather, the crowd, and a Deltic arriving to end something. The photograph holds that uncertainty rather than the outcome, which is why it still repays a second look: a sombre farewell to a class of locomotive that, against the odds of that particular week, never actually went away.
Available as Prints and Frames
| Format | Sizes | Finishes | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 x 9", 16 x 12", 24 x 18" | Lustre, Gloss, Velvet, Photo Rag | £15 | |
| Matted Print | 14 x 11" mount (12 x 9" image), 20 x 16" mount (16 x 12" image) | Lustre, Gloss, Fine Art Pearl, Photo Rag | £32 |
| Sanctuary Framed Print | 14 x 11" frame (12 x 9" image), 20 x 16" frame (16 x 12" image) | Lustre, Gloss, Fine Art Pearl, Photo Rag | £109 |
| Fine Art Tray Frame | 16 x 12", 24 x 18" | Fine Art Pearl | £150 |
| Limited Edition Fine Art Float Frame | 20x16" Frame (16x12" Image) | Fine Art Cotton Smooth | £200 |
Browse the Deltic Scotsman Farewell print and framed editions, or see more of our Deltics Class 55 photography.
The photograph
- Locomotive: Class 55 Deltic 55015 'Tulyar'
- Location: Edinburgh station, Platform 21
- Date: 2nd January 1982
- Working: 'Deltic Scotsman Farewell' railtour, arriving 14.06
- Photographer: Iain Flynn
Copyright Notice
This photograph is the copyright of Iain Flynn. It is reproduced here by permission and offered as fine art prints and framed editions by Memories of Motion.
The image may not be copied, reproduced, redistributed, transmitted or used in any form, in print or digitally, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.