Screaming Valentas lamented

Someone asked me the other day what my favourite engine noise was. Without even having to think about it I replied "Paxman 12RP200L".

Now, those of you with a social life might be wondering what the hell I'm talking about. So, a primer for non-anoraks:

The Paxman 12RP200L "Valenta" is a 79-litre V12 diesel engine. It develops nearly 2,500hp. Just to put that into perspective, the engine in my car is an inline 4, 2 litre, developing 150hp. The Valenta was originally developed for the Class 43 High Speed Train in the 1970s, and is still in use in marine applications. And it looks like this:

Just to give an idea of scale, if I were to stand next to that thing the top of my head would be roughly level with the bottom of the cylinder bank. This, dear readers, is what a real engine looks like.

And, for that matter, what a real engine sounds like.

Oh, you want to hear it? Ok...

Or there's this one (thanks Wayne):

Sadly that's not a sound you hear any more. In 2005, Great Western experimented with installing the MTU4000 engine into its HST power cars. From an engineering perspective, the MTU engine is brilliant. It pushes out the same power as the Valenta, but is far quieter, uses less fuel, produces less smoke, and has a longer time between failures. Put simply, the Valenta is 1970s technology. The MTU4000 is 2000s technology.

However...

Anyone who has ever lived near a main line railway, or has regularly dropped off or picked up anyone from a station served by HSTs, will surely remember the amazing scream those things used to make. Nowadays they just sound like buses. See for yourself:

See how everyone cheers when the Valenta screams away at notch 5? And how the MTU is just... meh.

On the other hand, when you're sat on a Mk3 coach you can't hear the engine (even in a Valenta set), so from a passenger's point of view it's a good thing. Re-engining the HSTs with the MTU4000 has given them at least a 15-year life extension, and considering that so far nothing has come along to better (or even equal) them, that can't be bad.

However, the price to pay for that life extension is that a generation of small boys will grow up without ever having experienced hearing one of these things pulling out of a station on maximum throttle. Whereas my inner 10-year-old jumps up and down and grins with excitement every time I watch one of the many Valenta videos on Youtube.

Oh well, that's progress.

The good news for those who can't get enough of the aural assault of a Valenta at full power is that the remaining prototype HST power car has now been restored to full running order, complete with a Paxman Valenta power unit. So a huge cheer must go out to Project Miller and the 125 Group for undertaking this work. Maybe I'll get to see it in action soon.