Operation Smash Hit 1984 CEGB Original

17th July 1984 46009 achieves her considerably less than 15 minutes of ignominious fame - live as I saw it that day on the ITN lunchtime news. I wrote to the CEGB at 15 Newgate Street London, for a copy of their video that I had seen at the NRM York in June 1985 where the flask and flatrol (FNA 550019) were on display outside in the car park, and they sent me this! The only way of promulgating videos in pre internet YouTube days was the hardware of VHS. The quality of the video is in remarkably good condition considering the abuse over the last thirty years or so this VHS (technically inferior to Betamax)video cassette was recorded on a BASF tape has endured. Narrated by the late Peter Fairlie who was the ITN science correspondent in the 60s and 70s and was compere at the event. 46009 was built at the Derby works of British Railways as D146 with the frames laid in September 1961 and completion in the December (16th). The loco plodded the SW/NE route, Penzance Taunton Bristol Gloucester Birmingham Derby Leeds York Darlington Newcastle Edinburgh and return, with visits to Kings Cross and Glasgow, for some 22 years until withdrawn on 23rd October 1983 and became RTC departmental 97401. 46009s last classified overhaul (third to last class 46) was in October 1980, and therefore never amongst the stored 46s, though she did have a PU swap with 46004 in August 1983. In this respect its superior condition may have had a baring on the choice for this test. The coaches were Vacuum braked, steam heated MK1s SK E25154, SO M4514, SK E25564. The SKs were latterly based at Heaton. Suggested at the time was why BR not use a MK3 and crash test dummies to better understand the dynamics of high speed rail crashes. Watching this on the ITV lunchtime news changed my life completely, I wanted to know how 46009 worked, what made it go. Science and engineering has always interested me, how does that go - why does that work. Albert Einstein said science tells you what is, not should be. Edited versions of this video exist, as are the newscasts elsewhere on other channels on YouTube. This is a CEGB version of nuclear reprocessing with some over dubbing, particularly on the crash scenes, also bear in mind this was made during the Cold War. The intro and outro music is called Power Pack by Wolfgang Käfer.

• #autos_vehicles
• #cegb
• #46009
• #crash
• #test
• #dalby
• #central_electricity_generating_board_organization
• #d146
• #1984
• #nuclear
• #flask
• #fna550019