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The CV-440 was a reliable workhorse for SAS on the carriers domestic routes for some 20 years. The last few remaining planes were retired in 1976. As of 2002 it is the only type operated by SAS to never have had a single accident. Still remember the magnificent sound of those P&W R-2800s when a 440 regularly passed over our house in the 70s.

I didnt realize the Deltics had 2 prime movers. Holy crap a single loco must have taken a years supply of piston production!

Damn, I never knew that australia of all countries would have been involved in high speed rail projects of the SRT. It's nice to see our railway getting some recognition :)

A beautiful loco. It's a shame Kestrel wasn't developed further, as I'm sure additional weight savings could be found over time and that home and overseas orders would have seen this as a commercial success.

4000hp! As the driven wheels are steel on steel rails, how much wheel slip is there at high speed?

I remember seeing this loco at Heaton Carriage sidings when it was allowed to work passenger trains. Very impressive.

She's a case of so near and yet so far, of the great one-offs, Lion, Falcon, Kestrel & Avocet, only the last survived into preservation. I'm looking forward to both the Falcon and Avocet videos when they arrive.

It is absolutely wild to me that this loco developed 4,000 HP well before anything else on just one engine. In BRITAIN no less. Apart from steam or electric locomotives, the only way to get that sort of power in the States was with a gas turbine! It took over a decade for us to have diesels that powerful. Hell even when the power race was spurred by western railroads, Kestrel beat any American offerings with one powerplant by 3 years. EMD had a small number of SD45X's that developed 4,200 HP from a 20-cylinder 645E3A. Shortly after that MLW made a single M640 with an 18-251F engine. Curiously, not only did the M640 use the only example I know of an 18 cylinder V-line engine, but it also became an AC traction locomotive in the 80's. Whereas Kestrel lost some tractive effort, the M640 lost a pair of traction motors, going from a C-C/Co-Co to an A1A-A1A. It very nearly lasted to the 2000's, and thankfully is preserved. Had Hawker-Siddeley expanded their locomotive arm to Canada like they did with aircraft, perhaps the LRC trains could've appeared earlier on Canadian rails. Something akin to how the HST was adapted into the XPT for Australia.

I recall 1997. I was fortunate enough to be on a flight in China that utilize the 747 SP. I recall embarking on the tarmac via ladder definitely one of the highlights of my worldwide travels.👍🥴

I'm always amazed how small and low power UK locomotives were, 3000hp is not that much, let alone needing 2 engines to even get there. North America at least in this regard was way ahead.

This is a fantastic account of the history and development and failure of the Budd Metroliner that goes much further in-depth that I had expected, and offers insights into the Zeitgeist of the passenger rail industry at the time that I was unaware of and are of key importance in understanding why this project ultimately failed. What a great contextualizing resource this video is for anyone seeking to learn more about this project. Many thanks to the author/creator for their hard work on putting this together, I look forward to viewing your other videos as well.

But interestingly, I wonder why Boeing never considered building a 747SP powered by RB.211-524H or GE CF6-50 engines. The higher thrust of these engines could have allowed Boeing to extend the range of the 747SP from 6,600 to circa 7,250 nautical miles, which could have made very long intercontinental year-round flights possible like between SFO and HKG, LAX and SYD and SYD to LHR (one stop) possible as early as 1982!

Thanks, great video, well explained. Lovely archive footage and Rail Blue memories! I miss those days!

Another brill vid. Thank you :)

I have this locomotive in OO Gauge. Its a beautiful model and a very attractive locomotive.

Nothing wrong with the Maxi ,worked on them from day one,easy to work on and repair 👍

The government insistence that the PRR and NYC maintain money losing passenger service doomed the two companies no matter what they did. Money-losing commuter service should have been taken over by the government and the railroads allowed to concentrate on freight service.

It really did deserve better than what it got.

I'm not convinced that 2 engines is that much of an issue in terms of maintenance. The engine on the Class 47 was a U-engine which is basically 2 separate engines stacked next to each other. 2 crankshafts, camshafts etc. Of course the Deltic had an opposed piston engines which are very complicated, though quite elegant and with very high performance.

Kestrel HS, was Green now Yellow? 125 HST because BR had a speed limitation then the 225 appeared but NOT 225 but just 155 to sound better. Labour DESTROYED British Rail. Thatcher destroyed everything else.

Exchange program with the soviet railways? You could see where this was going from miles away.... I bet they couldn't get hold of an engine directly from Sulzer

21:22 Wasn't it withdrawn in 1994, not 2001?

Wonder if it could fly on two engines? 🤔

Any plans on an episode on the SR and D (for Domestic) variants?

Good looking plane tho. 😊

I saw her at Hull Docks before her export to USSR

She was left to rust in the USSR and is now just scrap

Tbh the westerns were what the deltics to the eastern region sturdy,reliable and good looking both have the fate of being too unique but both serve reliable lives just that the former was use 10 years more than the latter

Not profane, I think you mean profound

6:08 Great Scotland Yard. It's The Eurostar Express Train. Thanks Mate. PS I Am Been On The Eurostar Express High Speed Electric Passenger Train From London St Pancreas In The City Of London In England In The United Kingdom To Disneyland Paris Near The City Of Paris In France Twice Back In September 2019 5 Years Ago And In June 2022 Just In Time For The Theme Park's 30th Anniversary Celebrations And It Was Super Awesome And It Was A Bit Like The Japanese Bullet Train In Tokyo And Osaka In Japan And A Bit Like LNER Gresley A4 Streamlined Pacific Express Steam Locomotives Mallard From The National Railway Museum In York In Yorkshire And Sir Nigel Gresley From The North Yorkshire Moors Railway And The Seven Valley Railway. Excellent. X

To offer much advantage over a Deltic , it probably needed to run at 125mph and it was too heavy to do that , plus there was no rolling stock suitable for that speed . Was always going to be more suitable for freight , but even that didn't really require 4000hp at that time . Beautiful loco though !

What a great documentary. And what a fascinating narrative. I would never have known.

Future me, did it get scrapped?

I would love to see the Kestrel born again with modern British technology and engineering. I could see it scare locos like the sheds

They should hire car designers elsewhere, how ugly the whole line-up was.

fantastic, thank you

another nail in the coffin of British Industrial decline, how depressing

They should have kept it as a Southwest hub like Houston Hobby or Dallas Love Field.

The Corvair of commercial airliners. By the time the problems were fixed and it was an outstanding aircraft, the damage had been done.

A sad end like so many other British projects.

wow 747

4400hp is about ubiquitous in North America these days….and we drag 30,000 tons all over the place…albeit up to three on head end, and maybe two or three in the middle

I love such old Diesels. They might look buttugly today, but they have character. Today's engines (or even worse MUs) are bland and soulless in comparison. (Nothing beats steamers in character, though!)

Back in a time when Hong Kong was a beacon of so many things. It's a shame to see what it is becoming.

You got your information about NBL 10800 somewhat wrong. It worked for 9 years not two, and had very conventional BTH DC transmission, its main failing was the use of aluminium cylinder heads of the engine, which whilst worked well for constant power outputs didn't work with stop start nature of railways. Brush bought it as it was the right size for their experiments and was available at the time.

Reminds me of a time when the British lent the Russians a battleship for their Baltic fleet and just didn't bother looking after it. When it was returned all of the main battery turrets had ceased completely, engines were virtually shot and was only fit for the scrap yard. Such a shame, and it seems a similar fate met this fine locomotive.

Please - aitch NOT haitch.

safety must not have been a high priority in the design of these vehicles. the suez crisis was in 1956 and the UK was still reacting to it in 1959?