What is the most powerful British locomotive?

Gresley Class P2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales It was the most powerful express passenger steam locomotive ever built for a British railway. Designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER who also designed the famous class A3 No. 4472 Flying Scotsman and world speed record holder class A4 No.



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The first Gresley class P2 No. 2001 was completed in 1934 by the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) at its Doncaster works. It was the most powerful express passenger steam locomotive ever built for a British railway.

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On 3 July 1938, the A4 class locomotive Mallard raced down Stoke Bank at 126mph to set a new steam locomotive world speed record. That record still stands.

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On 3 July 1938, Mallard broke the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph (203 km/h), which still stands today.

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The Big Boy has the longest engine body of any reciprocating steam locomotive, longer than two 40-foot buses. They were also the heaviest reciprocating steam locomotives ever built; the combined weight of the 772,250 lb (350,290 kg) engine and 436,500 lb (198,000 kg) tender outweighed a Boeing 747.

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Power plant capacity is far greater than any individual locomotive uses, so electric locomotives can have a higher power output than diesel locomotives and they can produce even higher short-term surge power for fast acceleration.

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The 67-mile long High Speed 1 (HS1) line connects London to the Channel Tunnel, with international Eurostar services running from London St Pancras International to cities in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands at 186 mph (300 km/h).

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The class J-1 and J-3a Hudsons of 1927 had 79 inch drivers. They were fast, powerful, very well proportioned, good looking, and may have been the best known steam locomotive. Honorable Mentions: CMStP&P Class F7.

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Arguably the most famous train ever to grace the track, the Flying Scotsman was a pioneer of the late 1800s and put Great Britain on the map in terms of engineering. During its heyday, it would shoot up the East Coast Main Line connecting London Kings Cross with Edinburgh Waverley station.

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Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. Of the eight remaining Big Boys in existence, No. 4014 is the only one operating today. The Big Boys were about 133 feet long and weigh 1.2 million pounds.

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The Big Boy has the longest engine body of any reciprocating steam locomotive, longer than two 40-foot buses. They were also the heaviest reciprocating steam locomotives ever built; the combined weight of the 772,250 lb (350,290 kg) engine and 436,500 lb (198,000 kg) tender outweighed a Boeing 747.

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The Big Boys were built for power. They did the work of three smaller engines, pulling 120-car, 3800 ton freight trains at forty miles per hour in the mountains of Utah and Wyoming. With power, though, comes weight - larger cylinders, pistons, drive rods, boiler and firebox.

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On 30 November 1934 his Flying Scotsman, an A1 Pacific, was the first steam locomotive to officially exceed 100mph in passenger service, a speed exceeded by the A4 Mallard on 3 July 1938 at 126mph, a record that still stands.

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They were designed to be very fast and had a very sleek shape. One of them, 4468 Mallard, is the fastest steam locomotive ever made. It set a world speed record of 126 mph (202.7 km/h) on July 3, 1938. Six A4s still exist today.

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In September 1955 workings of the Cornish Riviera Express were timed and speeds of up to 108½mph were recorded on trains hauled by King class locomotives. This is the fastest authenticated speed achieved on the GWR (although 6001 King Edward VII is claimed to have achieved a speed of 109mph in 1951).

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