Railway Herald
BDZ TP (Tovarni Prevosi) Class 55 diesel-hydraulic type BBs are captured during shunting duties at Iliyantsi on 15th March 2024. Both had previously arrived from Sofia MPD coupled together in a L/E move. Numbers have been vastly reduced from the original 263 examples that were originally delivered for service in Bulgaria between 1969 and 1991 but despite that the surviving members can be observed just about anywhere across the Bulgarian Railway system. The external appearance of 55-034 and 55-093 leave a lot to be desired but the type still play an important role on shunting, tripping and even some branch line passenger services. Many were fitted with boilers for passenger work when during the winter months the type has proved to be invaluable when the SIEMENS Class 10 DMUs failed to get through heavy snow drift conditions on some of Bulgarias more demanding branch lines.
Stephen Ginn
