Napier engines

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 28. Chapters: Napier Deltic, Napier aero-engines, Napier Sabre, Napier Lion, Napier & Son, Napier Nomad, British Rail Class 55, Ton class minesweeper, Dark class fast patrol boat, British Rail Class 23, Tjeld class patrol boat, British Railways DP1, Hunt class mine countermeasures vessel, Napier Oryx, Napier Dagger, Napier Eland, Napier Rapier, Deltic 9000 Fund, Napier Cub, Napier Scorpion, Napier Javelin, Napier Culverin, Napier Gazelle, Napier Naiad. Excerpt: The British Rail Class 55 is 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, DP1 Deltic, which in turn was named for its Napier Deltic power units. Twenty-two locomotives were built: they 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 Cleethorpes, Harrogate, Hull, Scarborough and Aberdeen) plus occasional forays 'offline' ¿ York - Liverpool Lime Street semi-fast and Edinburgh - Carlisle via Newcastle stoppers. Withdrawal came at the end of 1981. Six locomotives were preserved and are still running today. A sectioned Napier Deltic engine at the National Railway MuseumFollowing trials with the prototype DP1 Deltic locomotive, an order was placed with English Electric for a production fleet of 22 units (reduced from the originally-planned 23 ), replacing more than twice that number (55) of Gresley Pacifics. A first, was that the locomotives were purchased under a service contract, English Electric agreeing to maintain them, including their engines and generators, for a fixed price. Additional Deltic engines were produced to enable engines to be swapped out regularly for overhaul while keeping the locomotives in service. The locomotives were assigned to three locomotive depots: Finsbury Park in London, Gateshead over the Tyne from Newcastle, and Haymarket in Edinburgh. They arrived from the manufacturer painted in two-tone green, the dark BR green on top, with a narrower strip of a lighter, lime green along the bottom. This helped to disguise the bulk of the locomotive body. The