Number 4468 Mallard is a London and North Eastern Railway Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built in the 1930s by the LNER and designed by Sir Nigel Gresley in Doncaster, England. It was designed as an express locomotive with a wind-tunnel tested, aerodynamic body that allowed it to reach speeds of over 100 mph (160 km/h). It was in service until 1963 when it was retired after a lifetime distance of almost 1.5 million miles (2.4 million km). It was restored to working order in 1988 to celebrate its 50th anniversary, but as of September, 2003, it is out of service without a current boiler certificate. Mallard is now part of the national collection at the United Kingdom's National Railway Museum in York. Mallard is 70 ft long and weighs 165 tons.

The Record

Mallard is the holder of the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph (203 km/h). The record was achieved on July 3, 1938 on the slight downwards grade of Stoke Bank south of Grantham on the East Coast Main Line, and the highest speed was recorded at milepost 90¼, between Little Bytham and Essendine. It broke the German 1936 record of 200.4 km/h (124 mph).

Mallard was the perfect vehicle for such an endeavour; one of the A4 class of streamlined locomotives designed for sustained 100+ mph (160 km/h) running, it was one of a small number equipped with a double chimney and double Kylchap blastpipe, which made for improved draughting and better exhaust flow at speed. The A4's three-cylinder design made for better stability at speed, and the large 6 ft 8 in (2.032 m) driving wheels meant that the maximum revolutions per minute was within the capabilities of the technology of the day.

Stoke Bank had a descending gradient of between 1:178 and 1:200. Mallard, with six coaches plus a dynamometer car in tow, topped Stoke Summit at 75 mph (121 km/h) and began to accelerate downhill. The speeds at the end of each mile (1.6 km) from the summit were recorded at: 87½, 96½, 104, 107, 111½, 116 and 119 mph (141, 155, 167, 172, 179, 187 and 192 km/h); half-mile (800 m) readings after that gave 120¾, 122½, 123, 124¼ and finally 125 mph (194, 197, 198, 200 and 201 km/h). The indicator diagrams on the dynamometer car traced a momentary maximum of 126 mph (203 km/h).

Shortly after the attainment of this record speed, Mallard suffered an overheated inside big end bearing and had to limp back to Doncaster for repair. Inaccuracies in the machining and setup of the Gresley-Holcroft derived motion (which derived the valve motion of the inside cylinder from those of the other two, avoiding a hard-to-maintain valve gear linkage between the frames) meant that the inside cylinder of the A4 did more work at high speed than the two outside cylinders; this overloading was mostly responsible for the failure.

Rival claims

Mallard's world record has never been officially exceeded by a steam locomotive, though German locomotives came very close. Many rumours and stories exist of higher speeds, but Mallard's is the only one with adequate documentation. Other steam locomotives were probably capable of such speeds; the LNER's long, straight, slightly downhill raceway of Stoke Bank played as much of a part in the record as the locomotive or crew.

It is notable that, unlike world records for cars, there is no requirement for an average of two runs in both directions, and assistance from gradient or wind has always been acceptable in rail speed records.

Other locomotives that may have exceeded the 126 mph (203 km/h) record include the Pennsylvania Railroad's mighty S1 prototype which is rumoured to have reached 140 mph (225 km/h) and the Milwaukee Road F-7. The Milwaukee Road had the fastest scheduled steam-powered passenger trains in the world. Both it and the Chicago & North Western had timetables requiring running in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h); it is known that both railroads' locomotives exceeded 120 mph (190 km/h) on a frequent basis.

The belief is that—as far as can be ascertained—fear of lawsuits, and of a reputation for risk-taking through record runs, scared all U.S. railroad companies away from official record attempts in the 1930s and 1940s, in marked contrast to the constant record claims of previous decades.

Thus, Mallard still holds the crown; plaques affixed to each side of the locomotive commemorate the feat.

External links

• National Railway Museum
  • Mallard at the museum
  • Museum panoramas including view of Mallard footplate
• A4 Pacific Page in the LNER Encyclopedia

London and North Eastern Railway locomotives | Famous locomotives | 4-6-2 locomotives | Streamlined steam locomotives

The Mallard | Mallard (lokomotiv)