Railway Herald
Sunday 11th May 1986 finds Class 55 No. 55016 'Gordon Highlander' unusually sitting outside on BREL Doncaster Works. Unusual because No. 55016 had been withdrawn by BR when they ceased using Class 55s at the end of 1981. No. 55016 had been held at the Works after withdrawl for possible preservation which eventually happened nearly 2 years later in October 1983. A departure to the Nene Valley Railway followed during July 1984, then a spell at Peak Rail, Rowsley and finally to the East Lancs Railway at Bury where she can be found today. Delivered new to Haymarket MPD Edinburgh during October 1961 as No. D9016 she was named 'Gordon Highlander' in a ceremony at Aberdeen in July 1964. She was the first Deltic painted in BR Blue and dual braked during a visit to Doncaster in October 1967, fitted with ETH equipment on another visit in October 1971 and later become No. 55016 under TOPS during March 1974. A Haymarket loco from new, apart from 6 months at Finsbury Park London in early 1968 No. 55016 was transferred to York MPD in May 1979 and remained there until withdrawn at the end December 1981 along with the surviving members of the class.
Bob Woolnough
