Fast American Steam Locomotives

Hi Everyone,

In today's railway stories we'll look at fast American steam trains. These ran in the 1930's on a number of lines, including the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific Railroad, known as the 'Milwaukee Road'. In 1937 locomotive No.1, hauling the train they called the 'Hiawatha', completed the 85 miles from Chicago to Milwaukee in 76 minutes and 10 seconds, although this was 1 minute and 10 seconds over the scheduled time. This disguises the fact that parts of the journey, recorded by Baron G. Vuillet who rode on the engine, were run at over 100 miles per hour, including 9 consecutive miles through Lake, one of 6 separate occasions were the speed exceeded this figure. The late arrival was caused by restrictions at the start and end of the journey. This information comes from the book, Locomotive Practice and Performance, by O. S. Nock, published in 1949. This performance was not rare, but happened every day, and people turned out to see these trains go by at such great speed for those years. If you live in this area, maybe you or your ancestors were among them. More about this famous railroad can be found at the site of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association. www.oldmilwaukeeroad.com.

The first new steam locomotive to be built in Britain since 1960 was completed in Darlington (UK) in 2008. It's called Tornado, took 18 years to make and is now hauling long distance trains. I am one of its sponsors. Find out more at www.A1steam.com

Join me soon for more railway stories.

Charles.