railography photo galleries : United Kingdom : Class 55 Deltics : 81-UK-0610 : (7 of 23)

Pinza

55 007, "Pinza", was one of eight Deltics to carry the names of racehorses in true East Coast tradition. As the oily patch indicates, it wasn't in the best condition by the time it reached King's Cross with 1E40 on 24 December 1981. Pinza only made four more trips and had engine problems on three of them, culminating in a total failure at Doncaster on 30 December.

This was the last picture I took of a Deltic on a normal service. The rest of the Christmas period was spent in the cold, wet hills of northern Spain trying to photograph the remaining steam operations on the Ponferrada Villablino Railway.