Re: Steam speed in Australia

["Robert Lee" <robsl@ozemail.com.au>]

Emphasis on the 'reasonably' part in this response.  The highest booked and
authorised speed in stema days was 70mph.  This applied fairly widely in NSW
and Victoria and was permitted by locos such as the 35s, 36s and 38s in NSW,
and the A2s, Ss and Rs in Victoria.  Higher speeds of course were reached,
especially in NSW where steam locos didn't have speedometers.  How
high??...well there we have a real debate.  Certainly speeds in the low 80s
are well documented, notably on 3801's record-breaking trip to Newcastle in
June 1964, where an average of 81mph was maintained for a mile near
Warnervale.  (This is based on a log recording milepost times.)  Similar
sorts of speeds were recorded on a number of occasions on tours in the late
1960s and early 1970s.  Morisson's Hill coming into Cootamundra was a
regular location for 80mph plus speeds.  Mal Park claimed to time a 36 at
over 80 on the Fish near Werrington in the late 1930s, and I'm prepared to
believe him.  Personally, I've never timed a 38 at over 78mph, but I can
vouch for that speed as it was sustained over 3 successive quarter miles.
Very few people timed the 38s in their heyday, but it seems reasonable to
assume that speeds of 80mph plus were reasonably common.  THe up-and-down
nature of NSW main lines encouraged in a sense very high speeds in the dips.
SO, of course, did the lack of speedometers, let alone Flaman speed
recorders.  I suspect that in Victoria, where the S-class had high booked
average speeds on heavier loads but more evenly graded track, that sustained
running at a little over 70mph was common, but that speeds rarely reached
80mph.  Their crack train (the Spirit) was too heavy for really high speeds
on  level track.

I'd love some better informed comments on this issue.  I've drunk many a
glass of red with friends pondering it and am delighted that it's been
raised here.


hannah wrote in message <38d2b183@nntp>...
>Does anyone have any reasonably accurate information on highest speeds
>(Passenger or freight) attained by steam in this country.
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>Steve
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