I thought some of you might appreciate this one. The current steam locomotive speed record was set by the British in 1937 with the streamlined passenger locomotive "Mallard" at 127 MPH. A group associated with the University of Minnesota hopes to break that speed record with a rebuilt and modified 1937 U.S. steam locomotive.
The locomotive to be used is the former Atkinson, Topeka, & Santa Fe locomotive #3463. It's a 4-6-4 wheel arrangement- 4 small wheels at the front, 6 very large (84 inch diameter) driving wheels in the middle, and 4 small wheels under the firebox at the rear, and is considered a "modern" steam locomotive in U.S. terminology. All the axles are equipped with roller bearings, it has a "cast bed" frame ( a HUGE one-piece steel casting that includes the frame, all cross members, and the cylinders), and it has a high-pressure (300 PSIG) boiler. This locomotive burned heavy fuel oil when it was in service but the project will convert it to burn "bio-coal", a fuel being developed by the University of Minnesota as a replacement for coal. Bio-coal is made from plant material but has handling and burning characteristics similar to coal. The project is known as "Project 130" for the speed in MPH they hope to achieve. Here's a photo of the locomotive when it was new:
Now in case any of you think achieving 130 MPH with a 1937 steam locomotive is a pipe dream, be aware that very similar "stock" steam locomotives in the U.S. routinely operated at 120 MPH in passenger service (google the Milwaukee Road's "Hiawatha" passenger trains for info). The modifications will be in line with development work done on steam locomotives by Argentinian engineer Livio Dante Porta and other engineers who worked with him over the last ~30 years. Apart from the conversion to "bio-coal" firing, many of the modifications planned for the locomotive will be pretty familiar to many of you- reducing flow restrictions in the intake and exhaust tracts, providing free-flowing valves, increasing the compression ratio (actually reducing the clearance volumes in steam engine parlance), providing light-weight alloy rods and pistons, etc.
Read more about the project here:
http://www.csrail.org/If you want to learn more about modern steam locomotive technology, check out my webpage at
http://www.trainweb.org/tusp