graywolf wrote: > You are saying that 50 years later, diesel trains are faster than steam > trains were?
Quote ===================================================================== The record run of the "Mallard" on July 3rd, 1938 was made with a six car streamline set plus a dynamometer car, with a total tare of 240 tons. The Mallard was chosen because it was one of the four engines with Kylchap exhaust at that time. These engines had freer running qualities and higher speed than standard A4. I believe that the Mallard was the first A4 fitted with Kylchap exhaust and had had about three months of service at the time of the speed run. The run started from Barkston triangle, running southbound. The Mallard pulled the train over Stoke Summit at 75 mph, then accelerated downgrade at a gradient of 1:178 to 1:200 over six miles distance to attain a speed of 114 mph. It eventually reached a speed of 125 mph, with a peak at 126 mph for a few seconds. After that it ran at a speed of at least 120 mph for another three miles. By then the inside big end showed sign of overheating and the engine had to run light back to Doncaster for repair. ===================================================================== End quote From the late 1960s, UK intercity (diesel-electric) services travelled at a cruising speed of 125mph. They had probably been travelling at that speed for some time but it was then that the service was rebranded as Intercity 125. We would have done it sooner but we had a war to win. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
