The Mallard sped its way into the record books in 1938 to become the fastest steam train in history

EIGHTY years ago steam locomotive The Mallard broke a speed record that has yet to be officially bettered.

The Mallard, the world speed record holder for steam trains, heading from a London transport museum to a museum in York in April 1975.

WHEN L ocomotive 4468, the Mallard, rolled out along the British East Coast Main Line to test out new brakes, little did those involved realise it would become world famous. Eighty years ago today the steam locomotive powered along a track near Grantham in England and drove its way into the record books by reaching the fastest verified speed of any steam-powered train.

Although other engines have tried to claim the record, the Mallard’s top speed of 126m/h (202km/h) still stands. There have been faster electric- and diesel-powered locomotives but because designers stopped developing steam and moved on to other powered engines in the 1930s, there has been no quest to make steam trains faster.

The Mallard’s triumphant run was not the end of the steam era; steam trains still operated in Britain into the 1960s. But it was arguably the pinnacle of steam locomotive development — a line of progress and a push for more speed that began in the 18th century.

The first locomotives chugged along at speeds that now seem unbelievably slow, but the inventors were just glad to get their machines moving.

The Mallard, holder of the 1938 world steam train speed record, is now a polished exhibit in the National Railway Museum in York.

In 1769 Frenchman Nicolas Cugnot wheeled out a huge, bulky steam-powered trolley, intended for transporting artillery along road rather than rail. But the three-wheeled vehicle often ran out of steam, was difficult to control and only reached a top speed of 9m/h (14.5km/h). He unveiled a new, slightly improved model in Paris in 1770, but crashed it into a brick wall. According to legend, he was arrested for disturbing the peace.

Soon other engineers were trying to make Cugnot’s idea practical. Scottish inventor William Murdoch built a small model steam carriage and demonstrated it to the public in about 1784, but friends dissuaded him from wasting money on a larger version.

Richard Trevithick tinkered with several different steam carriages before accepting a bet to make a carriage that could haul coal along a tramway. He won the bet in 1804 with a machine that had a cracking pace of 2.4m/h (3.9km/h). He soon improved on that; his Catch-Me-Who-Can, built in 1808, had a top speed of 19km/h.

Stephenson’s Rocket on display at the London Science Museum.

A replica of Stephenson’s Rocket commissioned by a London science museum running on rails past the Albert Hall in 1979.

The first railways carrying passengers opened in the 1820s, by which time trains were picking up speed. British pioneers George and Robert Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1 carried passengers and cargo along the Stockton to Darlington line from 1825 and hit speeds of 12-15m/h (20-24km/h). It was beaten in a in 1829 by another Stephenson engine, The Rocket — with a top speed of 24m/h (39km/h).

Soon the Americans were trying to beat the British. The first train to reach 60m/h (96km/h) was the Antelope, which ran along the Boston to Maine line in 1848.

The record swapped between the two countries a few times over the ensuing decades; the Americans had trains such as the Empire State Express 999, built in 1893, that unofficially held the record for being the first train to break 100m/h (160km/h). But it was the London and North Eastern Railway’s (LNER) A3 Class 4472, known as the Flying Scotsman, that broke the 100m/h barrier in 1934.

Train designer Sir Nigel Gresley in 1936.

Designed by Nigel Gresley, the Flying Scotsman was built for LNER in 1923. It established Gresley as one of the great railway engineers.

In the early 1930s LNER considered buying German diesel trains, but diesel locomotives were still lacking power. Rather than investing money in developing more powerful diesels, Gresley knew he could still get more power out of steam technology. He designed the chic new streamlined A4 Class steam locomotives, the first of which, the 2509 Silver Link, went into service in September 1935. By then Gresley was already designing electric trains, but maintained an interest in improving his steam locos.

The Mallard, holder of the world speed record for steam trains, is being moved from a museum in London to one in York in April 1975.

In May 1936 a German diesel train became the first non-steam locomotive to establish a rail speed record. So the race was on for the A4s to outdo them. Gresley made improvements to the chimney and blast pipe to increase exhaust flow at high speeds. He also tested his train in a wind tunnel, refining the streamlining. In March 1938 the A4 class number 4468 rolled out of the Doncaster Railway Works. Gresley, who had taken up breeding ducks, named it the Mallard.

LNER allowed the engine to be run in for three months before attempting to push it for the record speed. On July 3, 1938, with experienced driver Joseph Duddington at the controls, the Mallard took its record run. It was clocked at a peak of 126m/h (202km/h), setting the record south of the town of Grantham, but shortly after a bearing overheated and it limped back to the workshop.

But the Mallard became famous and its record has never officially been beaten. Gresley had a train named after him and died in 1941.

The Mallard stayed in service until 1963, after which it was put in a museum.

Originally published as The Mallard sped its way into the record books in 1938 to become the fastest steam train in history