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What's the thing about deltics?

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DarloRich

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Not as much as 120, but Gerry Feinnes recorded one from a 'seven bell' stop to 103mph in 7 miles, and drinking a cup of tea on the footplate at 106mph, as steady as a rock. (I tried to run a railway p72).

Edit - just found this

Source Railway Performance society quoted here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_55

that is impressive running - they must have been really going for it! 113 mph between Darlington and York from, I assume, a standing start at Darlo is canny special.
 
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AJM580

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D9000 was quite something on Anglia metals. Had it in Jan 1999 and on the trip back from Liverpool Street it was doing 103 mph through Witham and maintained 86timings on the GEML (108 minutes) with stops at Colchester, Manningtree, Ipswich, Stowmarket and Diss
 

Ash Bridge

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D9000 was quite something on Anglia metals. Had it in Jan 1999 and on the trip back from Liverpool Street it was doing 103 mph through Witham and maintained 86timings on the GEML (108 minutes) with stops at Colchester, Manningtree, Ipswich, Stowmarket and Diss

I too travelled behind D9000 in August of the previous year Liverpool St-Great Yarmouth & back, seem to recall it avoided Norwich on the outward run (Wensum Curve?) the train was a full Anglia DBSO rake, it was a great run but I can't seem to find much detail about its performance online sadly.
 

coppercapped

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Some more background ma be found here - but the site navigation is a bit idiosyncratic...and the Deltic Preservation Society has info on what is currently going on.

Incidentally, the Deltics were never uprated, the apparent cases of super-power were found to be timing errors not allowing for slow deceleration on inclines and the person timing the run assuming that the speed was constant. Some simple maths shows that even a gentle deceleration of a few mph/min causes errors of several hundred horsepower.

That more Deltics were not built lies with the attitude of the British Railways engineering establishment at the time which was fixated on 'slow running' diesel power units as being more appropriate for railway conditions. Using the LDA28 Sulzers essentially limited locomotive output to 2,500bhp on six axles. The Western Region diesel-hydraulics and the Deltics showed that 'high speed' engines (revving to 1,500 rpm) were also suitable for railway use and paved the way, after the old guard had retired, for the HST.
 
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AJM580

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I too travelled behind D9000 in August of the previous year Liverpool St-Great Yarmouth & back, seem to recall it avoided Norwich on the outward run (Wensum Curve?) the train was a full Anglia DBSO rake, it was a great run but I can't seem to find much detail about its performance online sadly.

Outwards the run did Liverpool Street - Stowmarket in 67 mins 23 secs start to pass (70.4 mph), then after the delays at Diss, was up to 99 mph or thereabouts past Swainsthorpe. On the way back D9000 was up to a sustained average of 95 mph from MP 107 to Sproughton (on the outskirts of Ipswich), before another dead stand at Kelvedon. Within 10 miles or so D9000 was up to 94/95 mph again and made up 6 minutes from Witham to Liverpool Street.

The times were 130 mins 25 secs for the outward run (134.65 miles via Reedham and 129 mins 41 secs for the return via Acle (132.35 miles).

These timings are from my own records as I was on the train as well. It was a cracking day coming the day after the Toton open day as it did
 
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Cowley

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Outwards the run did Liverpool Street - Stowmarket in 67 mins 23 secs start to pass (70.4 mph), then after the delays at Diss, was up to 99 mph or thereabouts past Swainsthorpe. On the way back D9000 was up to a sustained average of 95 mph from MP 107 to Sproughton (on the outskirts of Ipswich), before another dead stand at Kelvedon. Within 10 miles or so D9000 was up to 94/95 mph again and made up 6 minutes from Witham to Liverpool Street.

The times were 130 mins 25 secs for the outward run (134.65 miles via Reedham and 129 mins 41 secs for the return via Acle (132.35 miles).

These timings are from my own records as I was on the train as well. It was a cracking day coming the day after the Toton open day as it did

I would have loved to have experienced some of those runs, what an experience.
 

AJM580

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It was absolutely hellfire. I remember reading a description of 55002 up Shap being like half a dozen Lancaster Bombers taking off all at once, and the noise D9000 made heading out of Norwich was just as evocative. Hairs stood up on the back of my neck!!
 

Cowley

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It was absolutely hellfire. I remember reading a description of 55002 up Shap being like half a dozen Lancaster Bombers taking off all at once, and the noise D9000 made heading out of Norwich was just as evocative. Hairs stood up on the back of my neck!!

That description just made mine stand up too.
I remember seeing a clip on YouTube called (I think) 'Deltic through the night', I'll see if it's still on there in a minute.
It's of one of the preserved ones going flat out and you can hear it coming for ages before it belts past the lit up station and back off into the night. Absolutely awesome, I used to watch it often... :)
 

Ash Bridge

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Outwards the run did Liverpool Street - Stowmarket in 67 mins 23 secs start to pass (70.4 mph), then after the delays at Diss, was up to 99 mph or thereabouts past Swainsthorpe. On the way back D9000 was up to a sustained average of 95 mph from MP 107 to Sproughton (on the outskirts of Ipswich), before another dead stand at Kelvedon. Within 10 miles or so D9000 was up to 94/95 mph again and made up 6 minutes from Witham to Liverpool Street.

The times were 130 mins 25 secs for the outward run (134.65 miles via Reedham and 129 mins 41 secs for the return via Acle (132.35 miles).

These timings are from my own records as I was on the train as well. It was a cracking day coming the day after the Toton open day as it did

Many thanks for providing this AJM580 it really was a great day out, the trip back home afterwards from Euston to Stockport seemed quite tame in comparison.
 

Cowley

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I found the clip, it's not filmed at a station, it's in the middle of nowhere:
Deltic after dark: Napier acoustic magic at 100mph.
I don't know how to link such things but it's worth a watch especially if you can play it though decent speakers...
 

Ash Bridge

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I found the clip, it's not filmed at a station, it's in the middle of nowhere:
Deltic after dark: Napier acoustic magic at 100mph.
I don't know how to link such things but it's worth a watch especially if you can play it though decent speakers...

Just played it Mr C, such a haunting sound and it really did seem to unnerve those dogs too!
 

delt1c

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Sitting here listening to Chris Rea (MR Ash Bridge will tell you the track) reminisising about 37 on North Wales line with MkII compartment stock (Still with NSE pictures)and the double header that arrived at Piccadilly as we gopt on the 309 to Birmingham, now they were powerfull.
 
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Cowley

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Sitting here listening to Chris Rea (MR Ash Bridge will tell you the track) reminisising about 37 on North Wales line qith MkII compartment stock and the double header that arrived at Piccadilly as we gopt on the 309 to Birmingham, now they were powerfull.

Speaking of which he did an album called 'Deltics' didn't he?

There certainly is a bit of 'a thing' about them I'd say... ;)
 

delt1c

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Speaking of which he did an album called 'Deltics' didn't he?

There certainly is a bit of 'a thing' about them I'd say... ;)
You beat Mr Ash, how many other diesel classes had a track written about them? Recommend listening to the track.
Nothing on the double header at Piccadilly
 

Ash Bridge

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Sitting here listening to Chris Rea (MR Ash Bridge will tell you the track) reminisising about 37 on North Wales line with MkII compartment stock (Still with NSE pictures)and the double header that arrived at Piccadilly as we gopt on the 309 to Birmingham, now they were powerfull.

Speaking of which he did an album called 'Deltics' didn't he?

There certainly is a bit of 'a thing' about them I'd say... ;)

Here we are, just for you guys the original vinyl version....
 

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