'Deltic' D9000 With Virgin Trains

"And as the summer of '99 drew to a close, early signs began to suggest that Virgin's future imperative for hiring 'Deltics' might be heading for the buffers."

1999 was the summer you didn't want to end, and this was one of the reasons why. 'Deltic' D9000 arrives at Coventry with its weekly 12:10 Ramsgate - Glasgow Virgin CrossCountry service.

It was such an optimistic time. The notion of a 'Deltic' returning not just to the main line, but to regular service passenger trains, was one that no enthusiast seriously contemplated when British Rail withdrew the type from traffic at the start of 1982. But the late 1990s would see D9000 Royal Scots Grey play a starring role in the early history of Virgin Trains. Although the loco - then owned by Deltic 9000 Locomotives Limited (DNLL) - powered a variety of services for Virgin, it's most famous for its weekly trips from Birmingham to Ramsgate and back, throughout the summers of '98 and '99.

Info-Pictorial: East Midlands Ranger in the ‘Deltic’ Era

"For the final period of ‘Deltic’ operation, starting on 5th October 1981, there were five ‘Deltic’ diagrams left, covering fifteen passenger trains on a weekday."

The primary focus of many an East Midlands Ranger ticket-holder in the 1979 to 1981 period: English Electric's Class 55 'Deltic' diesel. This is 55014 'The Duke of Wellington's Regiment' at Doncaster, on Sunday 26th July 1981.

It was one of the best value weekly area tickets of its time. At an average of less than a tenner between 1979 and 1981 (and less than a fiver for kids), the East Midlands Ranger presented a diesel haulage fanatic with an incredible opportunity to dive into the thick of ‘Deltic’ operation. Imagine that. A full week of intensive ‘Deltic’ haulage for less than a tenner. But that wasn’t all the East Mid offered. There was more. Much more…