A Merchant Navy at 140mph + other speed record myths.

[Bobwill]

Last year there was a brief and interesting discussion about claims that a Merchant Navy Class has reached 140mph - and whether even the claim itself was just a piece of railway mythology. Comments are now closed but I can confirm that there was indeed a claim.

The driver in question was my maternal grandfather, Charlie LeBreton. Charlie drove the Waterloo to Exeter express for many years. He frequently made that claim that on the Honiton Bank (a major decline between Honiton and Exeter), he clocked 3.5 miles in 1 minute 30 seconds, equating to 140mph. The family has various stories about his frequent use of the Bank to make up for delays and lost time, reputedly to ensure that he arrived in Exeter before the pubs closed at 10pm. Charlie liked his cider and driving locos was hot work. My uncle, Charlie's son, told me of an occasion returning to Exeter of being shaken violently from side to side while travelling down the Honiton bank. When he mentioned this to a fellow a passenger, the passenger - a frequent traveller - stated that it must be Charlie LeBreton driving that night. Two other stories have survived. There was an occasion that on the Honiton bank he was going so fast through stations that he sucked all the newspapers off the stands. More seriously, there's a story that on at least one occasion he departed five minutes early from Waterloo to make sure that he got to the pub on time.

The original Forum discussion puzzled over the fact that the original informant talked about "an Exmouth driver". That's an understandable confusion for several reasons. Charlie was born in Exmouth, but lived in Exeter. Also Charlie was based at Exmouth Junction, which is not in Exmouth but in Exeter close to the Southern Rail terminus in the centre of the city. Exmouth Junction was essentially the Exeter base for the Southern Railway. So he was an Exmouth Junction driver. Finally, there are a stories within the family that he was ultimately disciplined for his continued flouting of speed rules (and possibly his trade union activities). The disciplinary action removed him from his Waterloo to Exeter role and demoted him to driving trains on the Exeter to Exmouth branch line. Hence he became an Exmouth driver.

All good yarns and parts of the stories the family tells. We will never know what really happened of course.

 

[Taunton]

Unfortunately for the main story, ensuring arrival at Exeter before the pubs close, Honiton Bank is UPHILL going west. Starting at Axminster, which is almost at sea level, the climb starts up the hill, and through the tunnel at the top which comes out on the east side of Honiton town.

Lovely old railway stories though. Long may they continue to be told. There's a nice sequence of photos of trains, including Merchant Navies, storming up Honiton Bank, here. Perhaps if you close your eyes a bit you can almost see your grandfather at the regulator

Beyond Honiton to Chard Jct Excl

Beyond Honiton to Chard Junction (Exclusive)

www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk

 

[Magdalia]

I am going to be sadly analytical on this!

Speed is a function of distance and time. In order to get an accurate measure of speed both distance and time need to be measured accurately. The faster the speed, the greater the need for accuracy.

I am intrigued that the distance quoted is 3.5 miles. That's probably two landmarks not mileposts. Looking at the gradient profile and a map the distance from Honiton station to the River Otter bridge just before Sidmouth Junction is approximately 3.5 miles, but actually a bit shorter than that. I have Honiton station as 154m55ch and a source suggests that the bridge is near MP158. It looks like the distance could be about 3m25ch but does anyone have an accurate distance for the bridge?

In order to measure the time a watch of some sort would have to be used, but how accurately did it read? One and a half minutes estimated on a wristwatch or pocket watch without a second hand could be much longer than that if measured accurately.

But even taking all of this into account it does sound very fast! Three and a quarter miles in one and three quarter minutes is still about 8 seconds per quarter mile and more than 110 mph. Are there any documented instances of Merchant Navy Pacifics doing that much over 100 mph?

But the story does require a down train arriving at Exeter just before closing time and not stopping at Honiton - was there ever such a train in the timetable?

Unfortunately for the main story, ensuring arrival at Exeter before the pubs close, Honiton Bank is UPHILL going west. Starting at Axminster, which is almost at sea level, the climb starts up the hill, and through the tunnel at the top which comes out on the east side of Honiton town.

I think of Honiton Bank as being on the west side of the tunnel, which is all downhill going towards Exeter until the River Otter bridge.

 

[Harvester]

Unfortunately for the main story, ensuring arrival at Exeter before the pubs close, Honiton Bank is UPHILL going west. Starting at Axminster, which is almost at sea level, the climb starts up the hill, and through the tunnel at the top which comes out on the east side of Honiton town.

Lovely old railway stories though. Long may they continue to be told.

I think Royal Mail’s record (106 mph near Fleet on 26/6/67) still stands!

 

[hexagon789]

Are there any documented instances of Merchant Navy Pacifics doing that much over 100 mph?

At least 105, but possibly 106?

Edit - see @Harvester's comment above

 

[70014IronDuke]

Last year there was a brief and interesting discussion about claims that a Merchant Navy Class has reached 140mph - and whether even the claim itself was just a piece of railway mythology. Comments are now closed but I can confirm that there was indeed a claim.

Driving a steam locomotive with 6'-2" drivers at even 110 mph would put enormous strain on the reciprocating parts. It would be unimaginable at 140 mph, the motion would likely begin to disintegrate. And this is not to mention the risk in terms of signal sighting, braking and track issues.

Bulleid pacfics were timed at 100 mph and a bit (like 105 mph, I believe) at times, particularly in the last weeks of steam in May-June 1967, but these runs were remarkable for their rarity. The max permitted speed on the Southern was 85 mph. (Might have been 90 mph for EMUs, not sure.)

The driver in question was my maternal grandfather, Charlie LeBreton. Charlie drove the Waterloo to Exeter express for many years. He frequently made that claim that on the Honiton Bank (a major decline between Honiton and Exeter), he clocked 3.5 miles in 1 minute 30 seconds, equating to 140mph.

I wonder if he made a genuine mistake, and it was 2 minutes 30 seconds? That would still be 84 mph. Bulleid pacifics certainly attained 85 mph on a day-to-day basis (and it is pretty fast) - however, an experienced driver would easily tell the difference between 85 and 140!

The family has various stories about his frequent use of the Bank to make up for delays and lost time, reputedly to ensure that he arrived in Exeter before the pubs closed at 10pm. Charlie liked his cider and driving locos was hot work. My uncle, Charlie's son, told me of an occasion returning to Exeter of being shaken violently from side to side while travelling down the Honiton bank.

Note Taunton's post

When he mentioned this to a fellow a passenger, the passenger - a frequent traveller - stated that it must be Charlie LeBreton driving that night. Two other stories have survived. There was an occasion that on the Honiton bank he was going so fast through stations that he sucked all the newspapers off the stands. More seriously, there's a story that on at least one occasion he departed five minutes early from Waterloo to make sure that he got to the pub on time.

If the papers were loose, rather than bundled, that might well be true - especially under certain wind conditions in the first place.

Leaving Waterloo early? Hmmm. Exeter expresses were alloted the 'flagship' spot on the clockface, the hour mark. As you will know, Waterloo is one of the busiest stations in the UK, and 'paths' have always been hard to find. That is to say, chances are there will have been a train due to depart (or arrive - blocking the way out of the station for Charlie's train) at around xx.55, so leaving early would be no easy matter to signal a route. Unless late at night (too late for the pub in Exeter!) or early morning. It could have been possible with a parcels train, but again, most likely after, say, 20.00 hrs.

In addition, the guard is in charge of the train. Charlie would have had to persuade him to agree, and (somehow) Waterloo control to give him the road early. Seems a good myth to me. (Sorry)

The original Forum discussion puzzled over the fact that the original informant talked about "an Exmouth driver". That's an understandable confusion for several reasons. Charlie was born in Exmouth, but lived in Exeter. Also Charlie was based at Exmouth Junction, which is not in Exmouth but in Exeter close to the Southern Rail terminus in the centre of the city. Exmouth Junction was essentially the Exeter base for the Southern Railway. So he was an Exmouth Junction driver.

Yes. An easy misunderstanding for those unaware that 72A shed was Exmouth Jcn MPD.

Finally, there are a stories within the family that he was ultimately disciplined for his continued flouting of speed rules (and possibly his trade union activities). The disciplinary action removed him from his Waterloo to Exeter role and demoted him to driving trains on the Exeter to Exmouth branch line. Hence he became an Exmouth driver.

I am not an expert on the area, but I think he could still have been based at Exmouth Jcn shed and still have driven the branch (and other branch) workings. It's also possible his eyesight was not what it had been, and that was the reason for any change of duties. And don't forget the diesels - see comment below.

All good yarns and parts of the stories the family tells. We will never know what really happened of course.

Whilst there are several knowledgable posters on SR matters in this forum, I suggest you post Charlie's stories to the Southern e-Mail Group, where there are, I don't know, 30 -40 highly knowledgable folks on the LSWR. If Charlie made a name for himself, I'm pretty sure a few in that group will know of him, and could help with confirming some myths while debunking others (sorry!).

You can access it here:

The Southern Railway E-mail Group

Incidentally, what years are we talking about when Charlie was doing his exploits? I'm guessing the 50s and early 60s? (Exeter - Waterloo went diesel in September 1964, and most of the 'expresses' became semi-fast trains stopping at principal stations. So, unless he was trained on Warship diesels, he would not be put in a link to work such trains.)

 

[30907]

The obvious candidate would be the 7pm Down, whose booked load (1960) beyond Salisbury was 6 plus a 4-wheeler PMV, and didn't stop at Sidmouth Jn (expresses didn't stop at Honiton anyway). There's a long downhill stretch from the tunnel to Broad Clyst or so, where high speed could be expected.

Unfortunately the train was booked to stop at Axminster at 9.44pm, which makes a 10pm arrival at Central unlikely in the extreme (27m in 16min!).

The 1pm down would be the other possibility, but it loaded to 9 beyond Templecombe, so less chance of topping Honiton Incline at a decent speed.

 

[341o2]

In addition, the guard is in charge of the train. Charlie would have had to persuade him to agree, and (somehow) Waterloo control to give him the road early. Seems a good myth to me. (Sorry)


Yes. An easy misunderstanding for those unaware that 72A shed was Exmouth Jcn MPD.


I am not an expert on the area, but I think he could still have been based at Exmouth Jcn shed and still have driven the branch (and other branch) workings. It's also possible his eyesight was not what it had been, and that was the reason for any change of duties. And don't forget the diesels - see comment below.

Regarding the guard and getting the road early, in full agreement. Guard's duties include ensuring all doors are properly closed and noone is attempting to board or alight from the train before giving right of way The same applies to platform staff, or the stationmaster. They give right of way to the guard, but it is still the guard's responsibility regarding safety before giving right of way to the driver
If there was an accident, the guard would be held liable
Exmouth Junction shed was THE shed for the area, and would have had several links, the top one being express passenger, so he could well have been demoted to the second link, which only gave him the right to drive stopping or branch line trains

 

[Magdalia]

Leaving Waterloo early? Hmmm.

I agree that leaving Waterloo early would be very unlikely.

The obvious candidate would be the 7pm Down, whose booked load (1960) beyond Salisbury was 6 plus a 4-wheeler PMV, and didn't stop at Sidmouth Jn (expresses didn't stop at Honiton anyway). There's a long downhill stretch from the tunnel to Broad Clyst or so, where high speed could be expected.

Unfortunately the train was booked to stop at Axminster at 9.44pm, which makes a 10pm arrival at Central unlikely in the extreme (27m in 16min!).

But leaving Axminster early is not quite so unlikely.

 

[Taunton]

Was it the practice at Exmouth Jc, as at some other places, that as drivers passed age 60, heading for retirement at 65, they would be taken off strenuous top link work and given the easier, daytime, jobs on locals for their last few years? There was a means by which their main line earnings would be broadly protected.

 

[zwk500]

While it's a wonderful family tale, I struggle to accept that a Merchant Navy broke the verified record by 15mph. They could do 100mph (and did, frequently), but were not the all-out speed machines of the A4s.

The driver in question was my maternal grandfather, Charlie LeBreton. Charlie drove the Waterloo to Exeter express for many years. He frequently made that claim that on the Honiton Bank (a major decline between Honiton and Exeter), he clocked 3.5 miles in 1 minute 30 seconds, equating to 140mph.

Mallard's verified record is 126mph on Stoke bank with a special run, and that broke her big end. 140mph is very hard to believe especially if no contemporary accounts mention it.

Two other stories have survived. There was an occasion that on the Honiton bank he was going so fast through stations that he sucked all the newspapers off the stands. More seriously, there's a story that on at least one occasion he departed five minutes early from Waterloo to make sure that he got to the pub on time.

These two stories also throw doubt on the credibility of the 140mph claim. To disturb a newspaper would be a fairly simple task, but to remove every single one from the stands would require some doing, especially as the stall was likely at the back of the platform. Equally five minutes early from Waterloo would have been difficult to achieve as even in the 60s the station was busy at the throat and signals would have been unlikely to be cleared so early ahead of a departure.

Of course, on both counts it is not possible to disprove the claim completely, but I will just say it seems far-fetched.

All good yarns and parts of the stories the family tells. We will never know what really happened of course.

All the fun of myths and legends.

 

[randyrippley]

As far as I can remember, in the 1970s Devon closing time was 10:00 Sunday, 10:30 Monday-Thursday, 11:00 pm Friday-Saturday and I wouldn't have thought that had changed since WWII.
But even if during the week in the 50s/60s it was 10:00, Fridays and Saturdays would have been half an hour later at 10:30, making a sprint for a drink feasible

 

[devon_belle]

While the bank is steeper between Honiton and Axminster, a 60 mph PSR just before Seaton Junction in the up direction would preclude any 140 mph speed records.

As for Honiton to Broad Clyst, it's fairly consistent downhill and I believe 90+ mph was said to be common. Certainly, on my rendition of the route in Train Simulator I routinely reach such speeds. However, postwar there were 70 mph restrictions on the tight curves between Sidmouth Junction and Whimple, so 140 mph is again unlikely.

The real consistent grade is Crewkerne Tunnel to just past Axminster - something like 13 miles of uninterrupted descent. This was used to build up momentum prior to Honiton Bank (about 6-7 miles of consistent 1:80 or steeper).

Someone with their sectional appendix handy will recall the exact grades more accurately than me.

 

[30907]

I agree that leaving Waterloo early would be very unlikely.


But leaving Axminster early is not quite so unlikely.

Agreed, but a stopping train arrived at Axminster at 9.33 and had to shunt into the yard to clear the platform, so more than about 3min early would be a challenge, even though the number of passengers boarding would be tiny.
And the earliest you could make Central would be about 10.10 because the 6pm down due 9.59 would still be in the platform....still time for a quick one before 10.30 though

 

[Taunton]

Some of us here are fortunate to have been told these family stories of the past. My own grandfather was not a driver, but was a professional locomotive engineer (membership certificate still on my wall here), almost wholly overseas. Returning to Britain in 1926, right into the General Strike, he got to Paddington and went to offer his volunteer services. He told me he "went on the engine". But away from his hearing, the family story, developed to him "driving the express to Taunton". Never having driven the line before, of course ... now I can just about believe he acted as fireman, but that's not such a good story, is it? And so, when I pass on to Little Miss Taunton the story as we next head down the line there, I may be tempted to miss out the fireman bit myself.

 

[Bobwill]

Really enjoying Charlie’s story being discussed. We think someone in the family still has his pocket watch. Does it have a second hand? Also we were going to check the train and pub closing times so thanks for that detail.

I should have been clear about the dates. Charlie died in 1956 at the age of 72. So he would have retired in the late 1940s. So we are almost certainly talking about the 30s and 40s for his exploits. He appeared briefly as the train driver in Richard Attenborough’ film The guinea pig in 1948 driving the Peninsular and Orient which is still operational. We have a photo of him taken by the southern region publicity department leaning out of the cab of the Canadian Pacific also still in operation The photo is stamped and dated 18 August 1947. So the evidence suggests he was still driving expresses in his 60s.

Anyway keep the stories going.

 

[zwk500]

I should have been clear about the dates. Charlie died in 1956 at the age of 72.

The first rebuilt Merchant Navy was only completed in 1956, so he would have been doing those speeds on an Unrebuilt 'Spam Cam', which is even more impressive!

 

[DelW]

The first rebuilt Merchant Navy was only completed in 1956, so he would have been doing those speeds on an Unrebuilt 'Spam Cam', which is even more impressive!

Could that chain driven valve gear have ever coped with anything near that speed?

 

[Merthyr Imp]

Reminds me of the old joke in 'Laughs Along the Lines':

"Once in a train at Euston I drew back my first to hit an insolent porter - and struck the Station Master at Rugby!"

 

[30907]

The first rebuilt Merchant Navy was only completed in 1956, so he would have been doing those speeds on an Unrebuilt 'Spam Cam', which is even more impressive!

And the 7pm Down didn't start till 1956 or 57.
And the condition of track post WW2 was such that a speed limit of 60 was in force in the mid-40s....
Pre WW2 an Arthur or Nelson would have been the motive power.

 

[Harvester]

If Charlie retired at age 65, in 1948/49, and prior to that worked locals on the Exmouth branch for a few years, his MN Pacific exploits would have been during WW2!

 

[Bobwill]

The photos and appearance in the movie suggest he was still driving the express trains in the late 1940s. The family story is that Charile was only temporarly demoted to the Branch line, either for his wrecklessness regarding speed, or his trade union activities. He was a lifelong communist, took a major role in the 1926 General Strike and was indeed beaten up on at least on occasion because of his very outspoken political views. He loathed Churchill, and used to argue with him on the radio. On one occassion he threw the radio out of the window during one of Churchill's speeches. Radios were expensive and a rarity in working class households in the 30s. This one was built from scratch by my father. But I guess he had to be pretty strong willed - he worked up his way from being a station cleaner to express driver. Apologies if this has gone a bit off topic, but it suggests that Charlie, to say the least, was a bit of a character. It would not be a surprise for him to make the 140mph claims. But the fact that the claim was relatively widely known suggests it wasn't a one-off blurt after a few jars of cider but a story often told (and of course maybe embellished). Many thanks to IronDuke for the suggestion to contact the Southern email group. It will be interesting to see if anything else about him has survived the past 70 years. I will report back if anything relevant turns up. Meantime many thanks to all of you and your amazing collective knowledge to fill in the gaps in the family knowledge.

 

[devon_belle]

The first rebuilt Merchant Navy was only completed in 1956, so he would have been doing those speeds on an Unrebuilt 'Spam Cam', which is even more impressive!

Were not the original merchant navies more powerful, with a higher boiler pressure?

Fascinating stories everyone, it must have been amazing to experience these times.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Jun 2023 ==

If Charlie retired at age 65, in 1948/49, and prior to that worked locals on the Exmouth branch for a few years, his MN Pacific exploits would have been during WW2!

Remarkable I'd say (and brave, given the reduced track maintenance during the war!!). I once read that there were blanket speed limits during the war itself, lifted in 1945 (with others taking years longer to be relaxed). Is there any truth to this?

 

[zwk500]

Were not the original merchant navies more powerful, with a higher boiler pressure?

Not sure about the pressure, but as mentioned above the valve gear would not have been happy!

 

[341o2]

The boiler pressure definitely was lowered from 280 (from memory) to 250

 

[Irascible]

Yes, rebuilt ones were 30psi lower & 3 tons heavier ( most of which has to be in the motion, surely ). I'd be surprised if the chain drive had a problem, provided it was a well maintained example.

 

[70014IronDuke]

While it's a wonderful family tale, I struggle to accept that a Merchant Navy broke the verified record by 15mph. They could do 100mph (and did, frequently), but were not the all-out speed machines of the A4s.

Not from the records of runs that I've seen. Typically - and these were already exceptional runs for them to be published - a Bulleid, MN or light - might be recorded at 90-92 at places like Andover (or maybe it was Axminster, sorry, I forget) anyway the bottom a dip - but rarely much more, maybe 95 mph, but certainly not 100 mph. (Of course, I'm not saying it never happened, perhaps 95 was rare, and 100 mph was exceptionally rare would be the way to put it.)

100 mph running was not only difficult to reach (with the heavy trains typical of the 50s and 60s) and risky in terms of being caught well over the 85 mph limit, it was simply not needed to keep to schedules and, at least in the up, early running would almost certainly mean signal checks between Worting Jcn and Waterloo.

Really enjoying Charlie’s story being discussed. We think someone in the family still has his pocket watch. Does it have a second hand? Also we were going to check the train and pub closing times so thanks for that detail.

I should have been clear about the dates. Charlie died in 1956 at the age of 72. So he would have retired in the late 1940s. So we are almost certainly talking about the 30s and 40s for his exploits. He appeared briefly as the train driver in Richard Attenborough’ film The guinea pig in 1948 driving the Peninsular and Orient which is still operational. We have a photo of him taken by the southern region publicity department leaning out of the cab of the Canadian Pacific also still in operation The photo is stamped and dated 18 August 1947. So the evidence suggests he was still driving expresses in his 60s.

If his eyes were ok and he wasn't disciplined for reckless driving, I think that would be quite normal (but I don't know Southern practices in any detail on older footplate crew).

However, as others have noted, the railways were in a poor state come 1945. The Merchant Navy pacifics were still newish in those days, but not that new, and I'd guess that the track and signalling had had almost no new investment and limited maintenance for much of the 1939-45 period.

Maybe someone on the SeMG group will come up with evidence to the contrary, but I'd say hitting even 85 mph would be fairly unusual with trains between 1945 - 50 (again, maybe with exceptions in spots like Axminster). I'm not sure of the loads allowed at those times, but again I would guess 13 coaches would have been quite common. That's something like 470 tons with passengers - an awful lot of mass to work up to 85 mph with steam.

Pre-WW2, using Arthurs, I think 85 mph would be exceptional. I know they had Nelsons then too, but weren't they diagrammed mainly on the Southampton route? In any case, I have never seen any record of either class reaching 100 mph.

Yes, rebuilt ones were 30psi lower & 3 tons heavier ( most of which has to be in the motion, surely ). I'd be surprised if the chain drive had a problem, provided it was a well maintained example.

Well, as I understand it, the whole purpose of Bulleid's use of the chain drive was to do away with the much of the reciprocating and unbalanced mass of the good Egida Walschaert's invention of the early 19th C . So yes, if anything, an unrebuilt Bulleid has that advantage at high speed - if, as you note, it was well maintained. There would still be various forces acting on the chain links well above their design specification, however.

Chain gear or not, at high speeds (meaning, here anything above about 95 mph) this still leaves eg the actual valves whizzing back and forth at a rate way beyond their designed acceleration and deceleration rates - and consequent increase in forces they must bear.

I have no idea of the theoretical design strengths of these components, nor the forces they would have to endure at high speeds, but my gut tells me I wouldn't want to be on the footplate of a Bulleid pacific trying to exceed 110 mph, and even then, only on well maintained track and with a clear road guaranteed. It just doesn't feel good to me. (I know it's from a totally different age and purpose, but think Titan submersible.)

Remarkable I'd say (and brave, given the reduced track maintenance during the war!!).

I think the railway inspectorate would have chosen another adjective if there has been any accident originating from excessive speeding.

I once read that there were blanket speed limits during the war itself, lifted in 1945 (with others taking years longer to be relaxed). Is there any truth to this?

Yes. I've read the same. It was 60 mph, and it was imposed by some body or committee led by, er, someone from the Southern Railway! (Possibly Missenden?)

The other railway companies, ie LMS, LNER and that other one running through Swindon complained because the Southern was least affected in terms of impact on timetablng because they had far less scheduled running involving speeds above 60 mph.

Good luck with the Southern Group, @Bobwill ! Perhaps you could report back here if you get any significant new info.

 

[Gloster]

Really enjoying Charlie’s story being discussed. We think someone in the family still has his pocket watch. Does it have a second hand? Also we were going to check the train and pub closing times so thanks for that detail.

I should have been clear about the dates. Charlie died in 1956 at the age of 72. So he would have retired in the late 1940s. So we are almost certainly talking about the 30s and 40s for his exploits. He appeared briefly as the train driver in Richard Attenborough’ film The guinea pig in 1948 driving the Peninsular and Orient which is still operational. We have a photo of him taken by the southern region publicity department leaning out of the cab of the Canadian Pacific also still in operation The photo is stamped and dated 18 August 1947. So the evidence suggests he was still driving expresses in his 60s.

Anyway keep the stories going.

The location filming of the The Guinea Pig was done at Sherborne School in May 1948, but it looks as though the rest of the filming had started in January 1948. If his appearance on the loco was at Sherborne station or nearby it was probably done at the same time, but if it was at Waterloo, for example, it would probably have been sometime in the spring or summer of 1948. (Source: Old Shirburnian Society website.)

 

[zwk500]

Not from the records of runs that I've seen. Typically - and these were already exceptional runs for them to be published - a Bulleid, MN or light - might be recorded at 90-92 at places like Andover (or maybe it was Axminster, sorry, I forget) anyway the bottom a dip - but rarely much more, maybe 95 mph,

Sorry, I could have been clearer - 100mph was recorded anywhere for the MNs. Perhaps not frequently, but there are a number of recorded 100mph runs on the London-Southampton trains.

 

[D6130]

Did Exmouth Junction loco crews go all the way through to Waterloo? I thought they changed over at Salisbury with local or Nine Elms men.