Steph,
Without access to the (KGB?) archives , there is apparently little information available. In the DSO a book about Kestrel from 1974 is referred to, without mentioning the title or the author. Maybe some information from the documents you possess would be worth publishing here.


There was a request for Kestrel to be exhibited at the 1971 USSR Railway Exhibition at Shcherbinka, near Moscow, during the July. But Brush was reluctant to incur additional costs with the locomotive although they did approve the idea of Kestrel being exhibited. It was suggested that the locomotive could be sold to the USSR, then take part in the exhibition and be formally handed over there. This was agreed and Kestrel finally ended its Shirebrook operations in the early part of April, 1971. By April 22, she had arrived at Crewe Works for preparation, having accrued 136,646 miles of UK service. After leaving Britain through Cardiff Dock, Kestrel arrived at Leningrad, and then travelled overland for the exhibition at Shcherbinka.


Once clear of the exhibition, Kestrel no doubt was subjected to the most thorough examination and testing by Russian engineers because Shcherbinka has the world's most advanced railway testing establishment, rejoicing in the title: "Order of Red Banner of Labour All-Union Rail Transport Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Railways" which means that anything from a humble bolt to a complete locomotive has to be proven by it. The largest experimental facility it has is the closed-loop test track, and Kestrel underwent running trials on this, having been provided with an unwieldy cab roof-mounted headlight at one end.



Some time after 1976 news of Kestrel filtered through, to the effect that the locomotive had been dismantled to provide practical experience for trainee engineers.


http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/4375/prototype/KestRE.htm

Alan