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Reading to Paddington record

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irish_rail

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Just wondering if any of the recorders out there can tell me what the recorded best time start to stop for Reading to Paddington. I did 21.27 recently and got me thinking how that stands in grand scheme of things? Does the rail performance society hold the data for best times?? (I know mine isn't a best just want to know how far off it is!)
 
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irish_rail

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Ah I tried opening the spreadsheets but I don't have excel and it won't install on my phone.
 

irish_rail

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Not sure how much it can be bettered as the record is pre-Ladbrooke Grove and the speeds approaching Paddington are more restrictive since then.
I was gonna say! Must of been some serious speeding there! The only improvement I could legally of made in my run would of been to go off plat 10 and not 11 at Reading.
 

irish_rail

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Would be interested to know the IET record mind you (as speeding is impossible now with ATP)
 

hexagon789

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I was gonna say! Must of been some serious speeding there! The only improvement I could legally of made in my run would of been to go off plat 10 and not 11 at Reading.

I think the maximum recorded was 128 so not really that much of an overspeed.

Would be interested to know the IET record mind you (as speeding is impossible now with ATP)

I think that's about 21.5 mins.
 

hexagon789

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Just to further that info, the IET record is 21 mins 25.823 mins (maximum speed 124mph).
 

irish_rail

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Just to further that info, the IET record is 21 mins 25.823 mins (maximum speed 124mph).
Ha ha in that case i beat it, as I did the maths slightly wrong due to leaving Reading 2 seconds after the start of the minute, by my calculations i did it in 21.25 , not 21.27 but admittedly I didn't record to that degree of accuracy to those decimal places. I didn't even go off plat 10 at reading. I'm surprised the record is actually that slow , sure others have done it quicker just not been recorded.
 

hexagon789

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Ha ha in that case i beat it, as I did the maths slightly wrong due to leaving Reading 2 seconds after the start of the minute, by my calculations i did it in 21.25 , not 21.27 but admittedly I didn't record to that degree of accuracy to those decimal places. I didn't even go off plat 10 at reading. I'm surprised the record is actually that slow , sure others have done it quicker just not been recorded.

It's very likely been superceded, the most recent timing I have was from 2018 iirc but I hadn't seen anything to point out it had been broken so I took it that it still stood.
 

irish_rail

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It's very likely been superceded, the most recent timing I have was from 2018 iirc but I hadn't seen anything to point out it had been broken so I took it that it still stood.
Interesting. Well in my mind I can be a record breaker anyway!! Thanks again for the info!
 

InOban

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Ah I tried opening the spreadsheets but I don't have excel and it won't install on my phone.

For future reference, there are plenty of apps for phones which will open Excel sheets. Google sheets, for example.
 

hexagon789

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Interesting. Well in my mind I can be a record breaker anyway!! Thanks again for the info!

I'm sorry to disappoint you but I have since managed to find that an IET has not only broken the 22 minute barrier to Reading but actually surpassed the previous HST record. The record is now 21 mins 26 seconds (average 105.24mph).

And apologies for not checking the RPS logs sooner and just trusting my memory.
 

popeter45

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if the GWML every actually gets ETCS L2 and >125mph areas i wonder what that could do to the reading record?
 

irish_rail

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I'm sorry to disappoint you but I have since managed to find that an IET has not only broken the 22 minute barrier to Reading but actually surpassed the previous HST record. The record is now 21 mins 26 seconds (average 105.24mph).

And apologies for not checking the RPS logs sooner and just trusting my memory.
So my time of 21minutes and 25 seconds is technically the record (unverified obviusley)
 

irish_rail

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It's having hardly any pax on board that makes it possible! :D
The reason I was able to have such a good run was due to fewer trains running meaning whereas normally if you are running early you get held at royal oak whilst a HEX slowly makes it's way out of Paddington. The day in question I literally had all greens except for the single yellow at royal oak.
 

brad465

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Probably not as much as you think, its only 3 seconds a mile quicker.
Rough estimates here: if by that logic 140mph (I assume that's what ETCS L2 will permit) was achieved for 25 of the 36 miles between Paddington and Reading, that would save 75 seconds, which while not huge, could make the record around 20m10s, threatening the 20 min line.

Happy to be corrected if acceleration to 140 (plus Paddington to Acton Mainline being lower line speeds) and deceleration into Reading requires more than 11 miles in total.
 

irish_rail

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Rough estimates here: if by that logic 140mph (I assume that's what ETCS L2 will permit) was achieved for 25 of the 36 miles between Paddington and Reading, that would save 75 seconds, which while not huge, could make the record around 20m10s, threatening the 20 min line.

Happy to be corrected if acceleration to 140 (plus Paddington to Acton Mainline being lower line speeds) and deceleration into Reading requires more than 11 miles in total.
I think you'd definitely be able to get below 20 minutes with 140mph. I reckon I could have saved about 25 seconds on my time if going off plat 10 instead of 11 at reading plus if I'd approached the 100 restriction at acton and the 40 at westbourne park harder.
If doing 140 much of the way that would surely then save a minute , so I'd say sub 20 would definitely be doable in the circumstances you describe.
 

hexagon789

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Rough estimates here: if by that logic 140mph (I assume that's what ETCS L2 will permit) was achieved for 25 of the 36 miles between Paddington and Reading, that would save 75 seconds, which while not huge, could make the record around 20m10s, threatening the 20 min line.

Happy to be corrected if acceleration to 140 (plus Paddington to Acton Mainline being lower line speeds) and deceleration into Reading requires more than 11 miles in total.

Bearing in mind the previous record (1988) was pretty much scrupulously observing the limits and that in pre-limiter days HSTs exceeded 130mph (possibly even 135mph) I wonder if there's an "unofficial" faster record?

I've seen a few references to a '140 club' but how much that is simply inflated tales of yore is not easy to say.
 

hexagon789

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I think you'd definitely be able to get below 20 minutes with 140mph. I reckon I could have saved about 25 seconds on my time if going off plat 10 instead of 11 at reading plus if I'd approached the 100 restriction at acton and the 40 at westbourne park harder.
If doing 140 much of the way that would surely then save a minute , so I'd say sub 20 would definitely be doable in the circumstances you describe.

Braking rates could save more time. I assume the driver of the IET run adhered to a defensive driving policy and so only used a proportion of the full braking performance available.
 

irish_rail

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Braking rates could save more time. I assume the driver of the IET run adhered to a defensive driving policy and so only used a proportion of the full braking performance available.
Well seeing as the driver of the record IET run was slower than me I'll give my thoughts. Mainly due to ATP warbling at me if I brake too late , I am forced to brake earlier than I could do if driving further west on none ATP lines. Another adverse factor i forgot to mention, I came into platform 3 at paddington which is now 30mph compared to 5 to 9 which are still 40mph. So that's a couple more seconds which could have been saved given the right platform allocation. I adopted a degree of defensive driving throughout (as all drivers will do nowadays) , but i did push it to a point that i knew still to be safe but perhaps a little more adventurous than usual!
Also at no point did I use full service brake or even more than about 50 percent brake. So for sure there is definitely more seconds that could be shaved off.
 
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BrianW

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Are we talking passenger safety here, or the thread re 'exhilarating station approach', or something more akin to Le Mans 1955 or racing into Crewe in 1937 ...
Sorry to pour on cold water- it's just sounding a bit gung-ho to me.
 

irish_rail

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Are we talking passenger safety here, or the thread re 'exhilarating station approach', or something more akin to Le Mans 1955 or racing into Crewe in 1937 ...
Sorry to pour on cold water- it's just sounding a bit gung-ho to me.
Drivers nowadays cannot be gung ho. All we can do is push the limits whilst driving safely and professionally.
 

johntea

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I've always found Reading a fascinating destination - for some reason most of my work courses end up taking place in or around there! (although I work in IT and since Microsoft have a HQ there it makes sense!)

20-25 minutes out of a central London station and you're whisked away back to the £40 Travelodge rooms and beer costing around what it would here in the North :D
 

Dren Ahmeti

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I think you'd definitely be able to get below 20 minutes with 140mph. I reckon I could have saved about 25 seconds on my time if going off plat 10 instead of 11 at reading plus if I'd approached the 100 restriction at acton and the 40 at westbourne park harder.
If doing 140 much of the way that would surely then save a minute , so I'd say sub 20 would definitely be doable in the circumstances you describe.
By the way some *cough* Bristol *cough* drivers brake for Reading (triple digits onto the flyover on the Up, signal off at the end of the platform) or the 40 by Gantry 6, I’d love to know whether Stoke Gifford’s discovered a secret bit of braking force past full service, but not emergency!

A lot of my runs as a passenger tend to run in the area of 22 minutes with a clear path, all depends on particular variables - as you’ve mentioned - but definitely, a sprightly start in Notch 5 out of Paddington is essential to getting anywhere near 20-22 minutes.
 
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