For two decades the 3300hp 100mph Deltic diesel locos were the mainstay of the fastest and heaviest trains on the route from London Kings Cross to York, Newcastle and Edinburgh, also running to Leeds, Hull and Cleethorpes. This train will take us on some of those routes, where these locos were an everyday sight for twenty years, as well as a few other sections that were used when engineering work required diversions from the regular routes, and indeed to other lines where the appearance of a Deltic would have turned heads!

BR Class 55 No. 55009 (D9009) Alycidon heads this excursion from the start, via Derby and Sheffield to Doncaster (first call), then a circular trip around Pontefract, Gascoigne Wood and Selby back to Doncaster before the main line run to Peterborough. From there we take a ‘diversionary’ route, by way of Ely and Cambridge to Hitchin, and a run thence to ‘The Cross’, as London’s Kings Cross station is known to railway staff and enthusiasts alike (Kings Cross 1320-1605).

After this short break in London we return north on the main line, as far as Newark, there turning to the east, through Lincoln to Barnetby and to Cleethorpes. After a short leg stretch, an assistant engine will haul the train to Ulceby for a reversal, where D9009 will resume command for the return journey through Doncaster and Sheffield to Derby and Willington to conclude our day of enjoyment and nostalgia.

Named at Doncaster Works on 21 July 1961 before introduction to traffic, D9009 maintained the ‘racehorse’ tradition of the LNER by commemorating the winner of the 1949 Ascot Gold Cup. Alycidon was one of eight ‘racehorse’ Deltics stabled at London’s Finsbury Park depot until its closure in May 1981, when it moved to York. 55009 was one of four Deltics prepared to work a series of farewell railtours during their final six months of operation, its final outing in BR service being on 2 January 1982 as standby locomotive for the ‘Deltic Scotsman Farewell’.

Today, ‘Alycidon’ is owned and cared for by the Deltic Preservation Society, to whom we are grateful for their agreement to use this precious locomotive.

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ON BOARD FEATURES INCLUDE:
– Reserved seats aligned with the carriage windows
– A printed excursion and journey guide for everyone
– A travelling licensed buffet with refreshments, including alcoholic and soft drinks 
– The Premier Dining service includes The Great British Breakfast, Elevenses and four course Evening Dinner
– Cheerful, friendly and helpful Pathfinder Stewards!

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