Great informative video of the 10 fastest American steam locomotives. My favorite two in the video are the Southern Pacific streamlined 4-8-4 GS-4 number 4449 in Daylight colors that was built by the Lima locomotive works in Lima, Ohio in 1941 and the Norfolk & Western railroad Streamlined 4-8-4 J class number 611 that the Norfolk & Western railroad built in their Roanoke, Virginia shops in 1950. Ther is another favorite steam locomotive which was built by the Baldwin Locomotive works which is the Southern Pacific cab forward 2-8-8-4 AC-12 locomotive number 4294 which is on display at the nations very best state railroad museum in Sacramento, California at the California State Railroad Museum .
Another honorable mention on this list is the B&O Cincinnatian P7 Pacific, They pulled the Royal Blue to speeds up towards 80 mph on the route between Jersey City and Washington
C&O 614 was owned by Ross Rowland. She was the last 4-8-4 built and was designed to run all day at 125mph with very little maintenance. Check out "614T coal train". She was brought back for tests and then ran excursions for years. She still exists.
The old railroaders always boasted of achieving ludicrous top speeds. I for one choose not to doubt them. Also the "Living Legend" part of UP 844, comes from the fact that it's never been retired or taken out of service. Certainly the only mainline steam locomotive that can boast such.
The N&W J class were NOT designed for speed. I have read that the engine was designed to pull a1500 ton passenger train up a grade which is a description of the old alignment up Elkhorn Mountain between Keystone WV and Bluefield. 70 in drivers are for pulling power, not speed.
I have the DORLING KINDERSLEY DK EYEWITNESS GUIDES Book of TRAIN. Discover the story of railways - from the days of steam to the high - speed, sophisticated trains of today. In association with THE NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM.
The Duluth Missabe & Iron Range "Yellowstones" were bigger and hauled heavier than the "Big Boys." The "Yellowstones" only were used for hauling iron ore cars from the Iron Range ore pits to the ore docks in Duluth and Superior Wisc. The Yellowstones were 2-8-8-2 mallets with smaller drivers than the Big Boys. They were designed for sheer brute pulling power and not used for any other rail traffic.
The Drefuss Hudson (Used for the 20th Century limited) is sometimes argued to be faster than Mallard since the Hudson can be run at 123 mph with no issues while the Mallard was known to sustain damage from constant speeds over 100.
From what I remember, there were stories saying that the drivers of the F7s would be told to run as fast as possible. Some claims of 130mph on the F7s existed though none were officially documented as a record i think, correct me if I'm wrong
Title is "fastest" locos yet first loco shown is a Big Boy? MANY steam locomotives not talked about in this video could go faster than a UP freighter at 80 mph. Example CB&Q Hudsons were rated at 112 mph. Santa Fe's 3560 class were rated at 120 mph. In a race I would never take the Big Boy over the 3985 Challenger (a passenger locomotive).
The PRR T1 represents the pinnacle of steam locomotive design in the United States. These locomotives had the capability of achieving speeds in excess of 120 mph, and anecdotal reports indicate that speeds of up to 140 mph were attained. None survive today. However, the T1 Trust is raising money to build a brand new T1 from original plans. They plan to do steam railfan trips with it.
Love your video , But you need to speak more clearly and more slowly : ) Your Topic is "STEAM LOCOMOTIVES" not steam trains . The LOCOMOTIVES are what gives the "TRAINS" there Speed Cheers and Thanks Again !
for as small of a channel as this, this is SOME OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY CONTENT TO COME OUT OF A SUB 1,000,000 SUBSCRIBER CHANNEL! ive seen worse quality videos come from 10,000,000 subscriber channels! keep up the high quality!!!
It is widely known that the two fastest locomotives with proven speed records, in N. America, then and now, are the PRR Atlantic E-6 and the Canadian Pacific Jubilee Class 4-4-4. The latter has a proven record of 112 mph during a brake test. The Class J and the NYC S1-b Niagara were the only two Northern types delivered with roller bearings throughout. It was only after their proven records of reliability and lower fuel use that other roads began to order theirs, or had their existing locomotives converted. But, the J only had/has 70" drivers, and is therefore limited to how fast it can run, not because of the driver diameter but because of 'tribology'. That means how the lubrication works at high temps and pressures, which a fast running J would certainly impart to its valves and cylinders. The Pennsy trialed a J and ran it up to 100 mph. Upon inspection, the mechanics found that one of the two valves was burnt. No known records exist, that I know of, that show a high speed in the T1 Duplex that is mentioned, but I will grant that they must have made up time by exceeding 105 mph. All steam locomotives' rides begin to suffer, with increasing crew anxiety, at speeds above 60 mph (the Norfolk & Western Y6-b Mallets, as an example, roller bearings notwithstanding) and upwards of 105 mph for the other Northerns.
The last 2 you introduced would have almost qualified as _bullet trains_ (200km/h). Word has it that there is at least one (quite probably more, probably younger) that can go that fast.