18 201 at 99.7 mph today.

Heard from Dave Sprackland today. Someone I first timed steam locos with in 1964.

He recorded a max of 99.7 mph behind German pacific 18 201 today. On a run where at least 100 mph was the target.

Others have claimed 100 mph was reached, but until the detailed post mortem on stop watch times is over, I have no reason to doubt Dave.

That is about the most frustrating thing that could have happened. A lot of Brits went out for that train to get a steam 100 mph in the 21st century. So I am sure the crew would have been informed that 160 km/h was not enough, 162 km/h to be sure.

Just have to wait for Dave to return to get the full story. In the meantime I have my fingers crossed over the detailed stop watch times.

 

I said it was going to happen on this run.

http://railways.national-preservati...tential-100mph-mainline-steam-run-on-June-2nd

18201 is out again in a few days, though it is not booked as high speed.

18201 is a fantastic engine in very good shape.. and has both wheel size and boiler for the job

 

Dave would have been using a GPS, plus, (I imagine), continuous electronic stopwatch timing using km posts. That means a time every 400m.

These days timing tends to be very accurate, and most recorders will be well within the 0.5 mph you mention Ralph. Achieved by combining GPS use and modern digital stopwatches.

With continuous times put on a spreadsheet to give an average speed over the whole journey, or at least the high speed part of the journey, there is very little room for error or adjustment. So a wrongly twitched stop watch finger over one 400m section immediately shows up as an error at the next 400m time. As would errors in KM post distances.

Just have to wait and see what comes out of the post run analysis. If they have the exact metre distances from the KM posts, ( I have spent a lot of time with others in Germany on slow trains getting such distances from the small numbers on the bottom of KM posts for entire routes!) then the maximum speed should be ascertained via a spreadsheet.

And maybe, if that shows the magic ton was not reached with certainty, something can be done on the run planned for Saturday................

Gonna be a real shame if the ton wasn't reached and there isn't a chance to make sure later this week.

I've sent Dave text to find out the latest. To lose out on an authentic ton on such a rare 21st Century attempt is going to take some accepting. Especially with a loco that can, and has run up to 112 mph and above.

 

Wheel size has very little to do with it, look at the N & W class J as an example. Exhaust system and valve and associated gear design are far more important. If this were not the case then the Stirling single or some equivalent would be the world record holder.

 

I heard the stock on Saturday contains 4 wheelers, so probably not high speed, I may be wrong though.

 

But I believe it had a box on the back!

 

It did! 3 cars and an electric box for braking was the load. No doubt we will hear in due course of the attempts made to ensure it didn't push the train anywhere!

Dave tolds me late last night that the driver ran up to 160 km/h, (the train speed limit), on the loco speedo and then braked.

In all probabaility, ( I hope I am wrong), that could make any stopwatched 400 metre calculations looking for a 100 mph max of no use.

If the train accelerated up to 160 km/h and then was immediately braked the maximum would have been momentary only, and only long enough to record just the GPS speed of 99.7 mph, (if that is what Dave is quoting to me), with less over a full 400m stopwatched section. Well, that's what would usually happen in such circumstances.

Anyway, I am speculating now, (well it is Nat Pres after all! LOL!), so will have to wait until Dave is back in the UK and can provide full details.

 

Well you can't expect Germans to bend the rules. The driver had his orders - 160kph is 160kph! :nono:

 

Far from it! The 102 mph run with 18 201 in Austria on 5th May 2002, (164 km/h), was with a speed limit of 120 km/h. Albeit after the 160 km/h limit had been first allowed and then stopped.

 

But Austria is not Germany. ;-)

Though point taken, In Trier last year I had a very lively run with 01-0509.. which was progressively getting faster... until it tripped the speed trap and was swiflty brought to a stand.

 

[video=youtube;9y57NqOuycw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y57NqOuycw[/video]

and

[video=youtube;ws3--UaSJiM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws3--UaSJiM[/video]

 

Many thanks for that.

I couldn't pick up the on board announcement, (or perhaps the on board timetable), but if the on screen words were the same, then all on board must have known at the start that there was a good chance the maximum would fall just short of 100mph.

Real pity. Would have been fabulous to have seen a real, authentic steam 100 mph from a video camera held out of the window.

Not really much consolation, but at least that wasn't the only burst of high speed.

 

Does anyone know the load behind 18201?

 

I've heard this afternoon from Tony Streeter who was on the train that some GPS units did record 100 mph! A fleeting moment. One was from someone else I first recorded steam runs with in the mid 1960s.

I am itching to get another 21st Century steam authentic 100mph on the "list". But will have to wait until I hear what my peers on the train say. Under the circumstances of a fleeting moment it is unlikely that the timing logs will help much to decide if this was an authentic 100 mph, or if it just fell short.

Oh the suspense! But these things are very important to some of us.

 

The electric looks like a Taurus locomotive, which weighs in at 87 tons.
The coaches are OSShD-Y Type Eastern European coaches. These weigh in around 46 tons each.
So that would put the train weight circa 225 tons.

 

Couldnt afford the trip but great to see the vid and get a touch of the atmosphere - the wonders of ancient & modern technology combine! 80mph on the 2009 run from Eisenach to Bebra and back was fun (fastest since I did 94 behind a 60024 special in the 60s!) but this must have been a true moment to savour for the lucky ones on the spot.

 

Loco was a Type 183 Euro-Sprinter hired from the successors to the British Arriva company, which used to own the ALEX trains on Lindau-Munich and Munich-Hof services. Check out the turqouise-blue livery, they haven't bothered to change the Arriva colours. The Type 183's service weight is 80 tonnes. Stock were Avmz or ABvmz units at 42 tonnes each. Total therefore 206 metric tonnes.