For 2026, the Great Central Railway has confirmed a special visitor for the season.
Class 55 Deltic D9015 Tulyar, owned by the Deltic Preservation Society (DPS), will be hauling passenger trains for the first time in 29 years.
D9015 first entered service in 1961 and had a busy career, amassing around 2.25 million miles working throughout the years.
The locomotive entered preservation in the 1980s and was withdrawn in 1997 for mechanical and bodywork attention.
DPS has since spent £450,000 to restore it, with thousands of volunteer hours invested to return it to good condition.
Huge progress was made last year when it was successfully started for the first time since withdrawal. Following this, it also appeared at The Greatest Gathering in August 2025.
The locomotive will appear during some limited operating days as well as driving experiences.
It will also appear in their Spring Diesel Gala in April.
Further information will be available on their website.
“To see D9015 return to passenger service after 35 years is genuinely historic, and we’re delighted that the Great Central Railway will play a part in that story. There’s something uniquely special about a Deltic in full voice on a main line heritage railway, and Tulyar is a locomotive with enormous significance. We know this will be a major moment for diesel enthusiasts — and for everyone who has supported the Society’s remarkable restoration effort over the years.”
Malcolm Holmes, General Manager of the Great Central Railway
Responses
Great. And the 2 tone green is the best for a deltic, and others.
Great news. But 1997 was 29 years ago, not 35!
It was withdrawn in 1997 – 35 years is in regard to the last time it hauled passengers. This is what was written in our press release.
It last hauled a passenger train 29 years ago, on the weekend of 12th and 13th April 1997 at Butterley.