‘Baby Deltic’ was Barrow Hill anniversary centrepiece

NEWBUILD Class 23 Bo-BoDE No. D5910 was posed on the Barrow Hill turntable for much of the roundhouse’s 150+2 event on August 26-28.

It is now looking complete, but there is still much to do on the replica loco which is based on donor loco Class 37 No. 37372.

This has been cut down in length, fitted with Class 20 bogies and is now powered by the correct nine-cylinder Napier Deltic T9-29 engine, rated at 1,100bhp – hence the ‘Baby Deltic’ nickname.

Only 10 such locos were built at EE’s Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows in 1959.

They were not a success and all were withdrawn and scrapped by August 1973, apart from

No. D5901 which survived in departmental use, before being broken up in 1977.

Although work on the Type 2 started at Barrow Hill earlier, the project was officially launched in September 2010. There is no target date for completion and it will not be for main line operation... but will be certified for travel on the national network to heritage events.

The gala marking Barrow Hill’s 150 anniversary had been delayed by two years because of Covid-19. It was staged along the lines of the depot’s BR open days in the 1970s and 80s and resident locos, steam and diesel, were joined by a number of diesels from main line operators. Resident Class 45 ‘Peak’ No. 45105 (D86) was newly painted in BR blue.

NIGEL COCKBURN The embryonic Class 23 Type is well on its way to maturity at Barrow Hill. The progress made to date could be seen on August 26 when displayed on the turntable. It is being completed as the type was built originally, with disc headcodes, gangway doors and a nose-end ladder. Livery will be BR twotone green with a cream lower body stripe and red lower stripes on the nose ends.