British Long Distance Speed Record

The London “Evening Standard” of 30th November last contains particulars of the record run put up on that date by a “Flying Scotsman” engine and four carriages on the 186 miles run from King's Cross station to Leeds. The distance was covered in 151 minutes.

The previous best record for the same journey was 193 minutes by a Pullman train, so that the record is beaten by 42 minutes. The normal time, with stops, is just under four hours.

The fastest speed reached on the run was 94 1/2 miles an hour, and the average speed was 73.8 miles an hour.

The weather conditions, apart from local mist between Doncaster and Leeds, were so good that 14 minutes were knocked off the time schedules.

The four coaches were a special instrument coach, two ordinary coaches and a dining-car. Throughout the journey coffee and sandwiches were served.

The engine—No. 4472—has been on service for ten years.

The only passengers were railway officials.

The purpose of the experiment was to contrast a steam train with the German Diesel-engined “Hamburg Flyer,” which does the 178-mile run between Berlin and Hamburg in 138 minutes—an average speed of 78.4 miles an hour.

Previous record runs include that of the G.W.R. Cheltenham Flyer on July 6, 1932, when it covered the 76 1/4 miles between Swindon and Paddington in 56 minutes 47 seconds, an average speed of 81.6 miles an hour.

The fastest speed ever recorded by a British train is 102 miles an hour. It was reached by a Great Western Ocean special from Plymouth to Paddington on the decline east of the Whitehall Tunnel in 1905.