Peppercorn A1 Tornado was tested at 100 mph. Who said steam was dead
For those unfamiliar with the history behind this superb locomotive:
Twice in June and once in July I will have the pleasure in seeing this loco. It wont be doing 100mph. where I will be but to be honest it gives me a chance to be very close to it. I have seen it a few times before but always welcome its visit my line.
It was part of a “working up” exercise towards being certified for high speed running on UK mainline ‘specials’
(You know the ones…every coach window having someone with a camera hanging out of it! )(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
Talking with some steam guys at the ww&f over the weekend, it sounds like some US locos have recently done some fast steaming too, not that fast but fast enough to get ticketed on the highway. It sounds like the engines ride really rough at medium speeds then smooth out at higher speeds…certainly depending on their design speeds. 7470 which is a 0-6-0 will rattle your teeth an anything above 20. And our steed for the day in Maine, Monson #3 shook some at 15! Of course our track isn’t perfect!
Soon we may see replica engines here in the US which will offer 100+mph speeds, thinking of the T1 project…Pennsylvania 2-2-2-2. Don’t know their schedule but a truly interesting project!
Dang, man, hit 100 and it’s even dragging along a diesel on the rear end, https://youtu.be/20ayS3AT7nA?t=1m49s
I would have thought its maximum speed would have been 87 mph as at 88 it would have vanished and re-appeared in 2117!
That’s only if Doc Brown’s at the throttle…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Here in the colonies, 75 mph IS highspeed rail. 
Vic Smith said:
Peppercorn A1 Tornado was tested at 100 mph. Who said steam was dead https://youtu.be/SVJ44-hqgF4
Someone said steam is dead? How dare they?! Steam is not dead! Ask anyone who runs steam, and they will tell you its “Live Steam”. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
You probably heard the comment from the reporter: due to the high speeds of most current scheduled trains, it’s getting harder to fit a slow (75mph) train in the schedule.
Most UK inter-city passenger trains on the mainlines are running (and scheduled) at up to 125mph. A steam train travelling 50 mph slower just gets in the way - hence Tornado’s attempt to get certified at 90-100 mph.
Back when it was built, there were several videos of certification runs at 75-90 mph in the middle of the night. It was also used recently on 3 days of regularly scheduled trains over the scenic Settle & Carlisle line.
125mph? Sheesh, depressing…as Steve said, outside of the NEC here in the states your dam lucky to get anything north of 75mph.
Welcome to America, 1st world country with a 3rd world infrastructure.
Some of the European high speed trains are running on new rights of way. Unfortunately amtrak is running on old right of way through the new York and Connecticut northeast corridor route…sharp curves, lots of bridges switches and stations keep speeds down. Other stretches of the northeast corridor are pretty good and speeds are higher. Many amtrak routes are on commuter or freight lines where high speed should be possible, but I think they do not get priority on the rails and end up waiting for other trains.
Having recently taken both Amtrack and a high speed Cinese train I am embarrassed to say the Chinese train was significantly faster, smoother, and quite a bit quieter. It’s honestly a shame we let our system lag so far behind. I’d take a bullet train over an airplane any day of the week.
Cynnthia Verbrugge said:
Having recently taken both Amtrack and a high speed Cinese train I am embarrassed to say the Chinese train was significantly faster, smoother, and quite a bit quieter. It’s honestly a shame we let our system lag so far behind. I’d take a bullet train over an airplane any day of the week.
You too can have the same IF you had a government such as the Chinese…do it or else!!(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
It is said the French got hold of a map and drew a straight line between Paris and Lyon and said “thats it…the route of the new line”…bulldozing through farms and villages in the way…
We have the same idea coming up in the UK…HS2 (Hi Speed 2) Stage 1 London to Birmingham…saves all of 15 to 20mins on the journey. Many people consider this sheer madness for such a small saving in time…and guess what…it is going to cost billions…
The French have run one of their “stock” TGV’s at 574 kph/357 mph on a regular route. OK, there was a bit of prep involved to the TGV, track and catenery but it was a regular unit (cut from 10 to 4 cars).
Just to make you guys outside the UK a little bit more green we have over 50 steam locomotives certificated (not all operational at the same time) to go out on the main line and mix it with the modern diesels and electrics. The team who built Tornado, an A1 class Pacific, are now in the process of building a “P2” class loco. It’s a Mike and shares a lot of characteristics of Tornado as it was originally built by the same railway company, the LNER. Tornado took 18 years to build - The P2, Prince George, will take 7 they say (or possibly less by the way things are going).
I wonder how much of a factor in the overall equation this nature of thing is, https://ctmirror.org/2017/04/16/an-old-lyme-academic-aims-to-stop-federal-railroad-agency-in-it-tracks/
His grassroots rebellion stops a federal railroad plan in its tracks##### By: Ana Radelat |
That proposal from the Federal Railroad Administration included construction of a bypass from Old Saybrook to Rhode Island that would have resulted in running high-speed trains through his town of Old Lyme — a plan he says would ruin the artist colony’s historical nature and unique culture.
Using social media, mainly Facebook, Stroud rallied his neighbors in Old Lyme to oppose the plan. But he did not stop there.
Stroud reached out to historical societies, preservationists and local officials in Rhode Island who were unaware of the proposal, resulting in opposition to the bypass in that state as well
Then he expanded the rebellion against the FRA’s NEC Future plan to towns along the Connecticut coastline and into Fairfield County, where the rail plan proposes to lay new tracks. He ran the entire campaign with about $15,000 collected from sympathetic donors.
Although NEC Future is a blueprint for the entire Northeast Corridor, from Washington, D.C., to Boston, the greatest pushback to the plan came from Connecticut, thanks in large part to Stroud’s efforts. The resistance movement he led is likely to result in significant changes, including the elimination of the proposed Old Saybrook to Rhode Island bypass.
Among other things, the campaign also resulted in Stroud’s appointment as the director of special projects for the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. The Mirror spoke to Stroud about his metamorphosis from academic to activist.
Vic Smith said:
125mph? Sheesh, depressing…as Steve said, outside of the NEC here in the states your dam lucky to get anything north of 75mph.
Welcome to America, 1st world country with a 3rd world infrastructure.
Vic, I would point out that outside the NEC, Amtrak runs on freight railroads that are operating around 53 mph. No use going 100 mph on a single track - you just catch up with the intermodal that much faster.