SPEEDY TRAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 98, 27 April 1935, Page 9

SPEEDY TRAIN

WORLD'S RECORD

ENGLISH PERFORMANCE

A London and North Eastern Railway train broke the world's authenticated speed record for a steam-driven locomotive recently, when it reached the remarkable speed of 108 miles an hour. The train made the return journey from King's Cross to Newcastle and back, and it set up the new record on its run southwards. The journey to Newcastle was hampered by the derailment of some goods wagons , near Doncaster, and a breakdown gang had to work at top speed to clear the track. THE RECORD RUN. The speed record was set up by a special train, and when instruments in the dynamometer car were checked at the end of the return run the maximum speed was announced as 108 miles an hotar, stales the "Manchester Guardian." ■ For a stretch of nearly twelve and a half miles, between Corby and Talington, the speed averaged 100.6 miles an hour—by far the longest distance ever covered at such a speed by a steam locomotive. ' An occasional jolt and the swing of the carriage was the only indication of the train's extraordinary speed. After its record-breaking dash the engine covered 27 miles of uphill gradient to Hitchin at a speed of 80 m.p.h. About thirty people took part in the run, the majority of them technical experts, who sat in the dynamometer car immediately behind the engine. Instructions were sent to the men on the footplate by means of a loud-speak-er installation. On the outward journey Driver H. Gutteridge was in charge of the locomotive,, and on the run back his place was taken by Driver W. Sparshatt. Both men are over sixty. DERAILED WAGONS DELAY. The train, which was about half the normal weight of an ordinary train, was drawn by the Pacific engine Papyrus, built seven years ago at Doncaster. It is engaged in ordinary express passenger work and had not been specially prepared for the occasion. Papyrus is the name of a famous Derby winner. The journey was made more noteworthy by the fact that an unexpected handicap was encountered at Arksey, between Doncaster and Shaftholme Junction, on the outward journey. Ten empty coal trucks on the up-track had been derailed earlier in the day, and only single-line traffic was operating. Seven valuable minutes were lost there. In spite of this the distance of 268 miles between Newcastle and London was covered on the outward journey in 3h 57min, and on the return journey in 3h oOJmin. The fastest train running in ordinary service between King's Cross and Newcastle takes 5h 6min for the journey. A speed of 88.6. m.p.h. was reached on the outward journey—at a spot just north of Hitchin, and again on approaching Selby. THE PREVIOUS RECORD. The previous highest authenticated speed for a steam-driven train is 974 miles per hour by the Flying Scotsman between London arid York last year, but as early as 1904 the Great Western City of Truro was reported to have reached 102.3 miles per hour on the run down from London to Taunton. The fastest trains in the world are the Diesel-electric M 10,001 of the Union Pacific Railroad in the United States and the German Hamburger Flyer, also a Diesel-electric engine. The first of these has reached over 120 miles per hour between New York and Los Angeles, and the second maintains the fastest regular service in the world of 77.4 miles per hour for thei 178 miles between Bei-lin and Hamburg. The fastest regular steam train is the Cheltenham Flyer in England.