1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class. It's production of I Heart Radio. Hello. 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to this Day in History class, where we dust 3 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: off a little piece of history every day. Today is 4 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: July Threeten. The day was July three, ninety eight. The 5 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: London Northeastern Railway Class A four number forty four sixty 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: eight Mallard set the record for highest speed ever ratified 7 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: for a steam locomotive when it reached one hundred and 8 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: twenty six miles per hour or two hundred and one 9 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: kilometers per hour. Mallard was of the thirty five A 10 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:51,839 Speaker 1: four class of express locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gressley 11 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: when he was the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London 12 00:00:55,320 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: and Northeastern Railway or l n e R. It was 13 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: built in March of nineteen thirty eight and it had 14 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: a streamlined wedge shaped design. It usually operated on the 15 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: East coast line. The A four class of locomotives were 16 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: more efficient than previous locomotives, shortening the trip time from 17 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: London King's Cross to Newcastle. The l MS Coronation held 18 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: the disputable British theme record as it was claimed to 19 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: have reached one and fourteen miles per hour, and in 20 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty six, Germany's d r G Class five locomotive 21 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: set the world speed record for steam locomotives when it 22 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: reached one hundred and twenty four point five miles per 23 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: hour on the Berlin Hamburg line. Gressley and a team 24 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: of engineers began modifying the locomotive to beat the speed record. 25 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: Mallard was chosen to set the world speed record because 26 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: it was one of three A four locomotives that had 27 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: special exhaust arrangements, which included a double blast pipe chimney. 28 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 1: Mallard also had a Fleaman speed recorder, a device that 29 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: indicated the current speed of a vehicle and recorded it 30 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: on paper tape. On Sunday, July three, night driver Joe 31 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: Duddington attempted to set the world speed record for railways 32 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: with Mallard. The attempt was carried out during trials of 33 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: a new quick acting break. The test run would be 34 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:26,519 Speaker 1: between Grantham and Lincolnshire and Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. Mallard was 35 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: hauling seven coaches waning two hundred and sixty seven US 36 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: tons or two hundred and forty three metric tons, with 37 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: officials and equipment aboard. There were three twin articulated carriages 38 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: and a dynamometer car which contained instruments that recorded the 39 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: locomotive speed. Fireman Thomas Bray was also on board. The 40 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: remaining crew and technical team weren't told that the trip 41 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 1: was an attempt to beat the world speed record until 42 00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: after the trains northbound run from wood Green, North London. Notably, 43 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: nobody from the l n e R magazine was aboard, 44 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: so the magazine had to use an account from the 45 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:10,399 Speaker 1: Railway Gazette. Mallard went through Grantham station at twenty four 46 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,799 Speaker 1: miles per hour, then accelerated up to sixty miles per 47 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,919 Speaker 1: hour over the next two and a half miles, eventually 48 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: reaching seventy five miles per hour. As a Mallard went 49 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: down Stoke Bank, the dynamometer card recorded the speed at 50 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty miles per hour, beating the British 51 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: theme record. The train would soon have to slow down 52 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: at the S and Dine curves, but there was a 53 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: little time to accelerate before that point, so the crew 54 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: did and the train made it to one and twenty 55 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: six miles per hour, beating the world record. It maintained 56 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: a speed between one drew three and one and twenty 57 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: six miles per hour for nearly two miles. It was 58 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 1: possible they could have gone faster had they not had 59 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: to slow at s and Dine. Shortly after Mallard set 60 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: the record, the force from the brakes caused Mallard's big 61 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: end bearing for the middle cylinder to overheat and it 62 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: had to go slow into Peterborough. It then had to 63 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: go into the workshop for repairs. Mallard retired from service 64 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty three. Between nineteen eighty two and nineteen eight, 65 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: it was restored to working order and completed runs until 66 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: nineteen nine. Mallard still officially holds the world record, though 67 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: others have made unsubstantiated claims of reaching faster locomotive speeds. 68 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: I'm Eve step Coo and hopefully you know a little 69 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If there's 70 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: something that I missed in an episode, you can share 71 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:44,039 Speaker 1: it with everybody else on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. At 72 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:49,160 Speaker 1: t D I h C podcast, We'll be back with 73 00:04:49,200 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: more history tomorrow. For more podcasts from I at Radio, 74 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 75 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.