Re: Steam speed in Australia

["Graham Smith" <dysonsmith@hunterlink.net.au>]

I was on the Cootamundra tour with 3827 - attempting to move through the
train selling icecreams from the buffet. I had to give up when we were
running down Jerrawa bank towards Yass, as the carriages were bouncing
around so much. The top speed which was mentioned by those with stopwatches
over that short stretch was 93mph. The memory is still vivid after 30 years.

Graham Smith

Hennessy, Mason <masda@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
z0KA4.51286$3b6.210043@ozemail.com.au">news:z0KA4.51286$3b6.210043@ozemail.com.au...
>
> hannah <hannah@pacificblue.net.au> wrote in message 38d2b183@nntp">news:38d2b183@nntp...
> > Does anyone have any reasonably accurate information on highest speeds
> > (Passenger or freight) attained by steam in this country.
>
> In the published "Diary of the Bicentennial train" there is a picture of
the
> "ticket" which S.A. police gave 3801' s crew base on radar gun reading -
> from memory the figure given was 143 km/h.
>
> I was too young to be there but the first ARHS Cootamundra "speed tour"
> (there and back in a day) with 3827 was reputed to have reached 89.6 mph,
> supposedly  as confirmed by tape of passenger calling the 1/4 mile
osts  -
> can any of the older hands confirm this?
>
> While 90 mph may seem high for a loco with 69 inch drivers, it needs to be
> recalled that the UK "9Fs" recorded an authentic 90mph in passenger
service
> with 60 inch drivers ... and the ratio of say 90mph to Mallard's 126 mph
is
> way under the ratio of 69 inches to 81 inches of the driving wheels
> concerned - that is, if Mallard had 69 inch drivers then all else being
> equal (such as tracks suitable for high speeds) you would expect a maximum
> around 105 mph.
>
> Obviously high speeds for engnies with smaller wheels implies high
rotation
> speeds and consequent wear and tear - but for 3827 in late 1969 that was
> sadly no longer a real issue with scrapping imminent whatever the
condition
> of the engine.
>
>