The Paxman Valenta was an engine made by Paxman,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

for the

High Speed Train High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

, and is still in use in various marine applications, such as the ''Upholder''/''Victoria''-class submarines, additionally 4 Paxman Valenta engines provide the electrical power to propel and operate the Royal Navy’s Type 23 Frigates.

History

The Paxman Valenta was developed in the early 1970s for

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

with the aim of using in both freight and passenger locomotives. However the engine was only used in the two pre-production Class 41 and 197 production Class 43 powercars that were delivered to power High Speed Trains between 1975 and 1982. The engine as originally fitted to the HSTs was designated 12RP200L and was a V12

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either direct ...

turbo-charged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

intercooled An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines. Internal combustion engines Most ...

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engi ...

unit of 79 litres which developed 2,250 bhp at 1,500 rpm. The design of the Valenta was based on the Ventura which was fitted to the Class 29 diesel locomotives, amongst others. The engine is famous for the "Valenta Scream" on starting from rest, a distinctive high-pitched whine caused by the engine's turbocharger. In 1977, the Valenta received the

Queen's Awards for Enterprise The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting opportunity (through social mobility). They are the highest ...

. In 1985, four powercars (43167-43170) were fitted with Mirrlees MB190 engines. Beginning in 1995, a small number were fitted with

Paxman VP185 The Paxman VP185 is an engine manufactured by Paxman, Colchester. It is used in marine and railway applications and available as both a V12 and V18. History The VP185 was launched in May 1993 as a successor to the Paxman Valenta. It differed f ...

engines, however the majority retained Valentas. In May 2005,

First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Brush Traction Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec. History Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since ...

fit two with MTU 16V4000 engines. Judged a success, as part of a project to extend the lives of the HSTs, First Great Western decided to repower its entire fleet. GNER,

CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT ...

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's len ...

and Grand Central also decided to repower their fleets with MTUs. The only operator not to was

East Midlands Trains East Midlands Trains (EMT) was a British train operating company owned by the transport group Stagecoach, which operated the East Midlands franchise between November 2007 and August 2019. Following the Department for Transport (DfT) award of ...

, which opted to replace its Valentas with Paxman VP185s. Grand Central's 43084 and 43123 were the last two Valenta-engined powercars in service. They were taken out of traffic on 22 December 2010 for repowering with the latter named ''Valenta 1972-2010''.

Restoration

In May 2011, it was announced that the

125 Group The 125 Group is a railway heritage group in England dedicated to the preservation of the InterCity 125s. The 125 Group was founded in 1994 at a time when the InterCity 125 remained in daily use and under no threat of withdrawal. In 2006 it pur ...

would return prototype HST powercar 41001 to service. The powercar was at that time on static display at the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. It received a full overhaul, and was fitted with a reconditioned Paxman Valenta RP200L engine, number S508 installed new into

Virgin CrossCountry Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in the United Kingdom operating the InterCity CrossCountry passenger franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Virgin CrossCountry operated some of the longest direct rail services in t ...

's 43153 in 2001, before re-installation into First Great Western's 43143 after a spell in storage. It was one of about 10 engines that the 125 Group obtained. On 15 November 2014, 41001 hauled its first passenger train in preservation.

Australian XPT

The engine was also fitted to the

State Rail Authority The State Rail Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales, operated and maintained railways in the Australian state of New South Wales from July 1980 until December 2003. History The ''Transport Authorities Ac ...

's XPT, which was based on the HST power car design. Fourteen

power car In rail transport, the expression power car may refer to either of two distinct types of rail vehicle: *a vehicle that propels, and commonly also controls, a passenger train, multiple unit or tram, often as the lead vehicle; *a vehicle equipped ...

units were built in the 1980s by

Commonwealth Engineering Commonwealth Engineering (often shortened to Com-Eng, later Comeng was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams. History Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Commonwealth Engi ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

followed by four by ABB Transportation,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

in 1994. All were re-powered with VP185s in the early 2000s."Market" ''Railway Gazette International'' April 2000 page 10

References

{{Reflist Diesel engines by model Diesel locomotive engines Valenta V12 engines