‘Royal Scots Grey’ was the first of the ‘Deltic’ series to be built, although the second unit to enter service. The Class 55 locomotives were assigned to three locomotive depots: Finsbury Park in London, Gateshead in 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 cab window surrounds were picked out in cream-white. Although delivered without it, they all soon sported the bright yellow warning panel at each end common to all British diesel and electric locomotives, to make them more conspicuous. Very soon, all were named; the Gateshead and Edinburgh Haymarket locomotives after regiments of the British Army from the North-East of England and from Scotland, respectively. The ‘Royal Scots Grey’ is currently based at Crewe.

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Photo by: Geoff Griffiths