For many people the pinnacle of railway achievement was Mallard’s 126mph dash down Stoke Bank in July 1938, but since then this high-speed record has been broken many times with most of the subsequent attempts being much less well known, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES found out.
On November 1 1987 HST power cars 43102 and 43159 cemented their position in the record books when they achieved 148mph during testing of new Mk 4 carriage bogies. Both power cars have since passed into preservation. On May 4 1990 43102 leads the up ‘Highland Chieftain’ from Inverness-London King’s Cross out of Moncrieffe Tunnel as it approaches Hilton Junction, Perth. Brian Robbins/Railphotoprints.uk.
Britain's railways were at their lowest ebb in the years following Nationalisation.The war years had robbed the system of adequate maintenance, assets were run down and the infrastructure was badly in need of investment. Even express trains ran at speeds which would today be considered to be positively pedestrian, with journey times bedevilled with delays caused by speed restrictions, a backlog of track maintenance and outdated civil engineering structures. It is therefore not surprising that when British Railways set about putting things right breaking speed rec…
