Ton up Tornado

Are there any corroberated reports of an A1 achieving the 'ton' in the past ? or is Tornado the first...

 

This is terrific news.

 

Did 6233 never do 100 in service?

 

I was on board. Train timers agreed on a max of 98, the footplate inspector confirmed the speedo read 100 when he told the driver to shut the regulator.

 

IIRC the Duchess got to 96 on that run.

 

Wow!

 

Excellent news! Will 60163 be renamed 'Tonado'...?

 

Brilliant!

 

Some Kid with a stopwatch, Think his surname was Rous-Marten

 

Certainly looks like a proving run for the idea of 90mph pathing of steam engines, with it being 90mph +10%+1! While I'm not against the idea, I don't just see why it should only be Tornado.

In the future I would think engines such as Duke of Gloucester, Blue Peter, Bittern (as alas Union might not be around but would have been perfect for it), Clan Line and a King would all be candidates for similar treatment. Yes it might mean more stringent measures, such as use of air brakes that are more accurate than vac to avoid over running in braking distances, which is a lesson learned from a recent event, but I think if that's the case, then the future looks interesting if this starts to allow faster safe running on quicker paths, in congested areas such as London and some main lines.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08lfc43 - at 51:40 in.

 

Probably used someone more accurate than Rous-Marten.

 

Just listened to that and sure enough, Tornado is new vs other engines older getting mentioned. While I can understand this to some extent, its also true that worn parts have been replaced and that tolerances are tight still for engines that are 60, 70 years old.

Tornado could be a vanguard at this, but I don't see why it should be just them.

 

Nothing about this on the A1SLT website as yet, but http://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/ has quite a detailed newsflash about this morning's events.

 

A video from last night although not at 100mph. Even so its clear it had a decent load although apparently the 67 was dropped for the 100mph bit.

 

Graeme Bunker was making two points this morning on the radio. One was about Tornado being essentially new, as against other mainline locos being 80 - 90 years old (and maybe still having some components of that age).

The other more interesting point was that, according to him, a few years ago they could (as an example) run London - York in four hours, have four hours in the city and four hours back, making a nice day out. Now - because of extra trains on the network - it was typically taking 5.5hrs each way, which meant either the time in the city was too short, or the day uncomfortably long. Faster running was a way to help alleviate that issue.

Tom

 

I think talk like that starts the whole issue of them and us. Tornado being almost arrogant in saying that they imply they are the only ones who could achieve this. I'm sure Union would have had no problem reaching 90mph, or Clan Line or the Duchess. While some parts might be old, the main moving parts are likely to have been replaced if needed. They might be older, but the whole safety considerations needed for running mainline see that the same tight tolerances and maintenance regimes need to apply - otherwise you are not passes for mainline running at all. Some older engines are returning from storage in conditions that easily match Tornado, and I would think a pair of engines while slower and only doing 60mph I would think are in a condition that would be better than Tornado.

I'm not decrying Tornados fantastic achievement and believe that they have the right idea of faster running with better more suitable stock, but the approach should be that they have and engine that can do it, and others will be able to as well if they meet what is bound to be a higher maintenance and inspection regime to meet regular 90mph running, as clearly there is a considerable body of people and areas that believe and want that to be the future.

 

Don't shoot the messenger! I'm only paraphrasing what I heard in the discussion on the radio this morning.

I guess the A1 team can only really work in the interest of their own loco: it is down to the owners of other locos to make the case for faster running in those cases, and presumably they would only do so if they can see a business opportunity in going through the expense and effort of doing so. Which is partly why I think the second part of what Graeme Bunker had to say was, to me, more interesting.

Tom