Description: The route covers York to Darlington in 1969 along the East Coast Mainline in the post steam era but before the introduction of class 43 HSTs 1976. In BRs rush to get of rid steam (all gone by August 1968) and scrap the many express 4-6-2s still in good working order and capable of hitting 100 mph (Gresley A3, A4, Peppercorn A1, A2, Thompson A2/3), it was primarily up to the Class 55 to perform express passenger duties along the ECML. However, with only 22 of them built, not all services could be covered and class 47s and 40s also shouldered the load (as did various other classes). Route Length: ~43 miles Notes: Its quite difficult to get a manageable route length along the ECML that's between significant hubs. For instance Kings Cross to Peterborough is ~72 miles, Edinburgh to Newcastle is ~92 miles. I would have preferred to have Kings Cross, Newcastle Central or Edinburgh Waverly included so that the Finsbury Park, Gateshead or Haymarket depots could be included. York to Darlington seems to be the best compromise. Locomotives: Class 55: The flagship class of diesel locomotive on BR in the period, 8 were based at Finsbury Park, 8 at Haymarket and the remaining 6 at Gateshead Depots. Capable of doing a 100mph and would be used on frontline express passenger duties. Class 47 Could be used for express passanger and freight traffic along the route. Capable of up to 95mph, although this was often exceeded apparently from accounts I've heard, especially when running late on express passenger services. Class 40 Could be used on secondary passanger duties and freight along the route. Could also substitute for Class 55 with a double header as a they were underpowered and could a single loco could not keep up with a 55.
