Prototype Deltic
 

When looking at photos of the preserved Prototype Deltic, the blue paint used in preservation looks much darker than it was when I worked on Deltic on B R in the 1950s/60s. Has anyone else noticed this, do you think a loco should be preserved in original condition.

Sorry can't help with your question for definate but it is great for people like me who wern't around or too young to see the prototype in service to have it preserved. I was under the impression (don't know but think I must have read this somewhere) that EE works prepared it for the NRM before handing it over to them so I assumed the livery is authentic(don't think BR actually owned it) .
Regards

Most of those blues seemd to fade quite quickly - they are not 2-pack like the blues on cars so any new paint job will stand out brilliantly for a few of months/year before signs of weathering set in. Having said that I do recall the pale blue/white lines which didnt give the impression of a modern diesel blue (more man.city than chelsea I suppose?)

I recall the prototype coming through bletchley and it was a lighter blue Im sure

Hi Alan,
I haven't seen the preserved loco "in the flesh" recently so I did an image search on the web. Unfortunately the photos show various shades of blue from light to dark so I can't really come to any conclusions.
I seem to remember it being quite a light blue when I saw it working the Liverpool-Euston trains in the late 50's. Some of the photos look OK whilst some of them look totally wrong.

I believe the prototype deltic was trialed in the United States in the hope of some export orders but i don't think any interest was shown.

Now the United states are exporting loco's to the UK, sadly ironic.

Foxwall: My copy of the Locomotive Directory, published sept.1983 by the Diesel and Electric Group, gives the following details for DELTIC.
Built 1954 by EE at Preston. Run on LMR from 1955 then on ER from early'59. Withdrawn 03/1961 after failure, Preserved 04/1963 at Science Museum, Kensington. Originally to have been DP1 ENTERPRISE.
I believe that EE were hoping for orders from the U.S.A., but I guess that their home based manufactures had the US lines pretty much sewn up and had been in the diesel business far longer than any of the British firms.
Cheers, 62440.

You've probably got it right. When the new "British Railways" were started, express locomotives were painted blue. Unfortunately after a while it looked terrible. It could not be matched, and when faded and touched up paint were together it looked awful.

Some years ago now when I worked over the road from the Science Museum I asked them about the paint colour for DELTIC. I was building a kit at the time. They very kindly gave me a paint sample on a piece of cardboard. The sample came from a tin supplied by EE when the loco arrived in South Ken in 1963. I looked at it and thought it was too dark so held it up against the loco itself and guess what?It was a perfect match. The paint colour is actually darker than many people think. Somewhere in the loft is the sample along with a description of the livery from the Science Museum including the colour of the drivers seat etc etc.

Thanks class47 for the info on the Deltic Prototype colour, maybe it just looks darker to me. Well it is about 50 years ago since I was secondman on her. It certainly looked a lighter shade of blue in 1960 from my memory