Latest Appeal

Following the success of our previous Appeal - to raise funds for the return of 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier to main line certification – as recently reported, the DPS board has been discussing where our next appeal should be focussed.

 

By early 2026 all three of our locomotives will be serviceable, each operating with two power units, a position not seen for several decades! Some of those serviceable power units do however have relatively high engine hours and our greatest challenge going forwards is to have replacement power units to swap in when the time comes – much as was the case in BR days. Our next Appeal is therefore ‘The Power Unit Appeal’.

 

In the first instance we are looking to fund the repairs to return long-stored Napier power unit 423 to operational order. PU 423 was last used in 55007 Pinza until withdrawal on 31 December 1981. Pinza had failed the previous day whilst working the 1A08 08.07 York-King’s Cross when it expired at Doncaster. If you are one of those whose favourite Deltic was Pinza, you can help keep alive its memory by contributing here!

 

A start has already been made on returning PU 423, stored for 44 years, to operational condition by our Engineering team.

 

A target of £40,000 has been set which can be broken down as:

 

• £17,000 Phasing Case (the end of the power unit containing the huge cogs which marry the three crankshafts to a central shaft and which drives the main generator bolted to the end of the power unit, is away with a specialist contractor for repair).

• £11,000 Fuel Pumps (all 18 fuel pumps will be sent to a specialised contractor for overhaul).

• £12,000 Main Generator (this five-ton item will also be sent to a company specialising in overhaul electrical motors of an industrial scale).

 

Funds raised by our Friends of the DPS and our GoFundMe appeal launched in January to repair phasing cases have already contributed over £8,000

 

Do please consider helping towards this worthy cause. The return to operational status will be a major contribution to keeping our fleet of three Class 55s in full working condition for years to come.

 

Thank you so much for considering contributing. The DPS board is most grateful for your continued support.