13 Fastest Steam Trains: Do You Know Their Record Speeds?

JJ

When you think of steam engines, you probably conjure up images of model railroads and steam trains from your children’s books like the “Little Engine that Could”.  But did you know that many steam trains have achieved speeds that are regularly attained by modern trains of the 21st Century?  Take, for example, the Mallard which is arguably the world’s first bullet train, featuring the same streamlined design you see on high speed trains today like the TGV, the Shinkansen, or the Acela Express.  Here’s a video of the Mallard:

 

 

Thanks to IN THE WORLD for the video!

 

 

 

 

? By Timothy E Baldwin - originally posted to Flickr as The Flying Scotsman, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4495323Question #1: The LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in the UK in 1923 and continued to be in regular service until 1963. Since then, it has toured in the US, Canada, and Australia before returning to the National Railway museum until 2016 when it’s been making special tours in the UK.

? By Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK - 4-2-4 B&ER 44, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15324116Question #2: Bristol and Exeter Railway 4-2-4T Locomotives: One of the earlier models (from the mid 1800s) to achieve quite impressive speed records.

? By Hugh Llewelyn - 3440Uploaded by Oxyman, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24389339Question #3: GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro: This train was first built around the turn of the 20th Century and the 8th of a batch of 10 locomotives in the GWR 3700 series.

? By Alan Wilson - LNER 4-6-2 A4 Class No 4468 'Mallard', CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26899902Question #4: LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard: This is the FASTEST steam locomotive ever built, thanks to its aerodynamic body which resembles that of today’s high speed bullet trains (the Mallard could be considered the first bullet train.)

? By Andre_de - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28384515Question #5: DR 18 201: This was one of the most “modern” steam engines built, appearing in the former East Germany in 1960 and achieving its record speed about 10 years later.

? By Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK - 2-4-0 L&NWR 955 Charles Dickens, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15322601Question #6: LNWR Improved Precedent Class: One of the fastest mass-produced locomotives of the 19th Century (a total of 158 built.)

? By O484 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33154452Question #7: PRR 7002: It’s the only survivor of a class of supposed record setters from the early 1900s.

? By Internet Archive Book Images - https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14758562894/Source book page: https://archive.org/stream/locomotiveengine10hill/locomotiveengine10hill#page/n9/mode/1up, No restrictions, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43252253Question #8: Empire State Express: One of the fastest trains connecting NYC and Buffalo in the later 1800s and early 1900s.

? By en:User:Doco, [email protected] - Digital still picture, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1022781Question #9: DRG Class 05: The fastest German steam locomotive ever built, also with a streamlined design.

? By Phil Sangwell - 60014 Silver Link,Doncaster Works, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7064586Question #10: LNER Class A4 2509 Silver Link: This bullet steam locomotive briefly went into service in the 1930s until the outbreak of WWII.

? By Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18675425Question #11: LNER Gresley Classes A1 and A3s: Though designed for mainline passenger service, these trains also pulled freight cars like in the photo above.

? By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3759447Question #12: Milwaukee Road class F6: 22 of these steam locomotives were built, primarily for use between Chicago and Minneapolis.

? By Photorapher-C. T. Steeb, North Sacramento, California - eBay itemfrontback, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28876742Question #13: Milwaukee Class A: One of the first streamlined steam trains to hit the US, also one of the earliest American bullet trains.

 

 

 

 

If you like to see more modern trains, please check out this quiz!

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