Railway Performance Society Magazine - Milepost
A1 60163 Tornado - London to Edinburgh 'Top Gear' race April 25th
Forum / 1. General Discussion / A1 60163 Tornado - London to Edinburgh 'Top Gear' race April 25th
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baard Posts: 43 |
Sadly it appears that James May won the race in a Jaguar (without using any Motorways). Jeremy Clarkson's blackened face after several hours on the footplate is a sight to see - see the link to Video below. '' . wordwrap ('http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKRNKaqxru4', 70, ' ', 1) . '' Was Tornado allowed 90mph for this run? |
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29002 Posts: 1 |
Does anyone know what time Tornado achieved between Kings Cross and Edinburgh on this run, and more importantly, did it beat any previous steam records between the two cities? Unfortunately Tornado was not allowed to run up to 90mph, but it did achieve some long periods running in the low seventies and arrived on time in Edinburgh after 8 hours incliding three water stops. |
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Geoffk
Posts: 1 Location: Westyorkshire, UK |
Surely James used the present day A1, which includes several sections upgraded to A1(M). In 1949, the A1 road would have taken him through the middle of Doncaster, Darlington, Gateshead/Newcastle, and of course the Pacific would have had water troughs available. Geoff Geoff Kerr |
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heatonj
Posts: 3 Location: |
"Sadly it appears that James May won the race in a Jaguar (without using any Motorways)." True. The stated conclusion was that cars were better than trains even 60yrs ago. Pity they do not re-run the race with the most modern car at 70mph against a Class 91 John Heaton |
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baard Posts: 43 |
I also think that had Tornado been cleared to do 90mph - as planned for the future, it may well have been a different story - pathing permitting. |
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daveb0789
Posts: 2 Location: England |
Am I not right in thinking that the fastest steam loco's could do the run non-stop without taking on water? Thinking about the race, I'm unsure how good the A1 was in the day - but i'm pretty sure it wasnt dual carriageway as it is now. In the old days don't forget there were water troughs where steam locomotives could pick up water at speed. Werrington just north of Peterborough springs to mind. They would carry enough coal for the whole journey. I have no doubt whatsoever that a train would EASILY beat a car on the day in question given that provision of water troughs. |
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Sean Emmett Posts: 30 |
This included pick up at Stevenage (2 mins) and water stops at Grantham Goods Loop (11 mins), York station (17 mins), Tyne Yard (13 mins) and Berwick (8 mins). Also pathing stop for 5 mins at Wooden Gates. Considerable allowances need to be made for time lost entering/leaving the various loops. Highlights were topping Leys summit at 75 mph from 78 at Huntingdon, then a race with a Networker all the way to Holme, non stop through Peterborough at 78 mph and 2 minimae of 74 mph on the climb to Stoke. Minimum of 73 at Dukeries and 69 at Pipers Wood. Boiler pressure dropped during the stop at Tyne Yard but there was a rousing finish from Berwick, and we lost a few minutes waiting for an up Voyager to clear the up Calton Tunnel - steam no longer permitted on the down line. Sean daveb0789 said: baard said: |
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