Dear rail lovers, welcome back to Railways Explained. Today we’ll talk about Top 10 speed records achieved by the steam locomotives. The idea of this video is the following: we will rank locomotives by the speed records they hold, and, for each of them, we will show some basic technical characteristics, as well as the company, the year and the place where the record was achieved. By the way, keep in mind that precise and 100% accurate list of fastest steams is practically impossible to make, due to fact that some of the records have not been officially recognized, in some cases record breaking speeds were not measured precisely or not at all, or the event of was just not well documented or published as such. However, we tried to be as accurate as possible, so, were legitimate, we carefully included some of these records on our list. In that sense, , feel free to write in the comments bellow if you think we missed some of the records. Also, if you are not subscribed to our channel, now is the right time to do so! And, before we go back to the past to rediscover the magic of steam trains, , let’s just introduce one term that, for some, might be helpful during this video. This term is so called Whyte notation. Whyte notation is a method of classification of locomotives according to its wheel arrangement. This notation, in its basic form, consists of the 3 numbers separated by dashes: first one represents the number of leading wheels, second one the number of driving wheels, and finally, the third one, the number of trailing wheels. You'll see some examples right away. We start with Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive number 7002. This locomotive is an E7 Class with a Whyte notation of 4-4-2 Which means it has 4 leading wheel, 4 driving wheels and 2 trailing wheels. It is "Atlantic"-type steam locomotive and it was built in 1902. This locomotive was used to haul passenger trains on the Pennsylvania Railroad. On June 15, 1902, the Pennsylvania Railroad inaugurated its new 18-hour train service branded as Pennsylvania Special running from New York City to Chicago. Now we come to record breaking issues: train crew on this service claimed to have achieved 127.1 miles per hour which is 204.5 kilometers per hour near Elida, but this speed was based solely on the two passing times recorded by separate observers at two different points, In this case it was difficult to obtain even a general indication of train's speed from the signal box registers. Anyway, this locomotive was placed on exhibit as the "world's fastest steam engine" at the 1939 New York World's Fair and the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1948, even though the record was never verified and often disputed. We decided to take a deeper look into the issue and found out that for example The New York Times believed these claims have been exaggerated with the speed being closer to, a still respectable, 110 to 130 km/h which is 80 to 100 mph. There were even rumors that the engine was clocked at 127 mph but, bearing in mind unreliability of information, and all previously said, we put this locomotive on the 10th place. We now go to the Great Britain. Locomotive branded as the City of Truro was one of the very first major and mass-produced types of steam locomotives that was built for standard-gauge tracks. This locomotive had a mass of 92 tons with 4-4-0 wheel arrangement, which means, can you guess? Four leading wheels on two axles, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and a lack of trailing wheels. It is also one of the contenders for the first steam locomotive to travel more than 160.9 km/h which is 100 mph and its maximum speed has also been the subject of much debate over the years. The latest research examines the evidence and uses computer simulation of the locomotive performance to show that a speed of 100 mph was actually possible and that recorded timings do indeed support such a claim City of Truro was operated by Great Western Railway which was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest and west of England, the West Midlands, and most of Wales. This company was, by the way, founded in 1833 and ran its first trains in 1838, just 15 years from the beginning of so called railway mania. We stay in the Great Britain. The famous Flying Scotsman is a type of Pacific steam locomotive. It has a wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle, or simply - 4-6-2. Although this locomotive reached the same speed as previous one, reliable evidence of that event ranked it 8th in our top 10 video. Flying scotsman was produced for standard gauge railway lines. He had a mass of 96.3 tons, a length of 21.34 meters and a height of 3.90 meters. The locomotive set not one, but two world records, becoming the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated at reaching 160.9 km/h or 100 mph on 30th November 1934, and a few decades letter, to set a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive when it ran 679 kilometers or 422 miles on 8th August, 1989, in Australia. The operator of this railway line was London and North Eastern Railway which was one of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act in 1921 in the Great Britain. Locomotive branded as Milwaukee Road class F6 was a monster. 170 tons of steel with a 18 tons of coal capacity. Water cap for this locomotive was 57.000 liters. Total tonnage of this locomotive could have been about 240 tons, with a Whyte notation of 4-6-4. On July 20th, 1934, Milwaukee Road class F6 Baltic Number 6402 participated in a test run to prove the feasibility of a high-speed service, which was launched as the Hiawatha service in 1935. The test used a regular service train from Chicago to Milwaukee. With a five-wagon train of 380 t, #6402 completed the 137 km (85 miles) in 67 minutes and 37 seconds, The locomotive was fitted with a speedometer which indicated that a maximum 166.6 km/h per hour or 103.5 mph was reached The fastest inter-station average speed was 153.9 km/h, which is 95.6 mph between Oakwood and Lake The train branded as "Papyrus", is the same type of locomotive as the Flying Scotsman, and it has been used for some time on the Flying Scotsman service. Papyrus was named after the British Thoroughbred racehorse which won the Derby, a type of famous horse race in England. Anyway, on 5th March 1935, the Papyrus became the holder of the World’s Speed Record for Steam Locomotives with 168,9 km/h (105 mph), which is the first authenticated record breaking run at over 160.9 km/h (100 mph) with a complete, surviving documentation. Side note: Incredible Papyrus hit its top speed while hauling 243 tons of cargo. Silver Link was the first London and North Eastern Railway A4 Class locomotive, built in 1935, to pull a new train called the Silver Jubilee. This is the first of two Class A4 locomotives to be found on this list. Actually, the Silver Link was the first Class A4 locomotive to be ever built. Class A4 is a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive. Its streamlined design gave it a high-speed capability and also made it instantly recognizable. Weight of locomotive was about was about 102 tons with a length of 22 meters. Silver Link made its inaugural journey from London’s station King's Cross to Newcastle on 29th September 1935. it reached the speed of 112 mph or 180.2 km/h which was a little bit less than our next steam. The Milwaukee Road class "A" was a class of high-speed, streamlined 4-4-2 "Atlantic" type steam locomotive, built by the American Locomotive Company in 1935 to 1937. It hauled the Milwaukee Road’s Hiawatha express passenger trains. Numbered from No. 1 to No. 4, they were among the last Atlantic type locomotives built in the United States, and certainly the largest and most powerful. These were the first locomotives in the world built for daily operation at over 100 mph or 160.9 km/h and the first class built completely streamlined bearing their casings their entire lives. Speed record was made on May 15th, 1935 between Milwaukee and New Lisbon in run with a dynamometer car behind the locomotive No. 2. Over a 23 km (14-mile) stretch, the speed of 181.1 km/h or 112.5 mph was recorded This was the fastest authenticated speed reached by a steam locomotive at the time, making No. 2 the rail speed record holder for steam and the first steam locomotive to top 110 mph or 180 km/h Just imagine this monster with a mass of 244 tons operating at speed of 180 km/h. The Deutsche Reichsbahn or German National Railways was the name of state-owned railways in the German Democratic Republic better known as East Germany, and after the German reunification, it was the name of national railways of Germany, until the 31th December 1993. The express locomotive with number 18 201 on 11th October 1972, during a trial run, attained a top speed of 182.4 km/h or 113 mph Consequently, it is the fastest still operational steam locomotive in the world, and it also holds the world record for the biggest driving wheels ever to be fitted to an engine with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement. The diameter of those wheels is 2.3 meters. The Germans were possibly the first to see the advantage of aerodynamics, so they begun developing special accessories for their steams. The Deutsche Reichsbahn's Class 05 was such German class of three express passenger steam locomotives with 4-6-4 wheel arrangement. Locomotives with numbers 05 001 and 05 002 were used for test runs from 1935 to 1936. Most of these runs were made as complete journeys between Hamburg and Berlin. On 7th June 1935 the Locomotive number 05 002 made a top speed of 191.7 km/h, which is 119.1 mph which happened near Berlin the same engine made six more runs achieving more than 177 km/h or 110 mph hauling the wagons with total weight of 254 tons. However, on 11th May 1936 it set the world speed record for steam locomotives after reaching 200.4 km/h or 124.5 mph on the Berlin–Hamburg line hauling a wagons of 197 tons. The london and northeastern railway locomotive number 4468 The London and North Eastern Railway locomotive number 4468 named Mallard is a Class A4, with a wheel arrangement of 4-6-2. It was a Pacific steam locomotive, built in 1938. The wind tunnel tested aerodynamic body and high power allowed the class to reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), although in everyday service it rarely attained this speed. Regardless it is historically significant as the holder of the world speed record for steam locomotives with 202.7 km/h or 126 mph. This record was achieved on 3rd July 1938 on the slight downward grade of Stoke Bank south of Grantham on the East Coast Main Line, and the highest speed was recorded between Little Bytham and Essendine. The record attempt was carried out during the trials of a new quick-acting brake developed by Westinghouse. Speed was recorded by dynamometer car pulled by Mallard, and it’s interesting to mention, that boiler of this locomotive has been damaged during this run. This record's validity was originally opposed by some, because allegedly Mallard only ran this speed for a few meters, it was going downhill and the speed documentation isn’t reliable. According to the train driver Joe Daddington, Mallard ran consistently for approximately 400 meters at 201.2 km/h or 125 mph and peaked at 202.8 km/h or 126 mph. He also believed locomotive was even capable of reaching 209 kilometers per hour which is 130 miles per hour. It is believed that another run was planned in September 1939, in order to reach those 209 km/h, but unfortunately, Second World War prevented this attempt. However, the Germans did not complain that the British locomotive broke their record by 2.3 km/h, which only proves that this event did happen, but they did mention that their Borsig DRG-Series 05 002 reached its record speed without the help of the downhill and that it did not suffer any damage during its run. Even though the Germans would probably find a way to outdo their rivals, the World War II stopped all new ventures, making the Mallard, and not Borsig, the world’s fastest steam locomotive ever. So, with this amazing story, we came to an end of this video. Fully aware that this is a hot topic among railway fans we must say one more time that it is not possible to make completely accurate list of speed records of steam locomotives. We are aware that there are some other magnificent steams that are not included in our video such as Princess Coronation, for example for which there are claims it achieved incredible 183.4 km/h, which is 114 mph But simply taking into account all available information regarding this event, this speed record is at least disputed. However, thank you very much for your attention And of course hit the Like button share the video with your real loving friends and for more interesting railway stories Don't forget to subscribe to our channel. Goodbye
