Starting at the beginning when the G.W.R’s City of Truro was claimed to have achieved 102 m.p.h. in 1904, faster than any aircraft of the time, I illustrate with examples from “The Big Four” (G.W.R., S.R., L.M.S. & L.N.E.R.) a selection of locomotives currently in preservation, representative of which, in B.R. days and before, reached or exceeded the “Magic Ton”.

I have used track level shots where possible to emphasise the drama of such high speed with a few longer shots for contrast and only locations where high speed running is possible for authenticity.

Calculating actual speed from original footage and factoring video speed to match maximum speed is only half of the story as sound needs to be re-worked and “pitch-shifted” in order to prevent a “squeaky” and unrealistic sound-track.

Hopefully I have achieved something convincing and exciting.