quote:Originally posted by Edward King:
Also documented are instances of Milwaukee F7 Hudsons straight-lining the graphs on their 120 MPH speed recorders for several miles on end. C. H. Bilty, the Milwaukee chief mechanical honcho at the time, estimated the actual top speed at 125 MPH.
N&W's Class J 4-8-4 610, with its 70" drivers, was documented as attaining a speed of 111 MPH by PRR supervisors who rode and ran it during its tests between Fort Wayne and Chicago. Although it is certain that other 4-8-4s ran faster than that, there is no other known DOCUMENTATION of a 4-8-4 running that fast. In other words, if anybody ever did, they never bragged about it . . .
EdKing
Ed,
I'm sorry but I can't remember what the name of this video was but I saw it around the time the 611 had just finished her rebuild for the first time.They had her on a 5 mile straight stretch somewhere in North Carolina.They said they got her up to 126 Point something.
I later talked to a retired N&W engineer that had run a J every day .He said that he had no doubt the J could run that fast but said back then after you pegged the speedometer you couldn't be sure how fast you were going.He went on to say that now that they have radar that he wasn't surprised that they got her to 126 MPH.
I remember the video because I live about 25 miles from the Va Museum of Transportation where the J and 1218 are and at the time the J being under steam again was as exciting to the folks in the Roanoke Valley as John Glenn circling the earth.I do remember that the Video was made by NS corporation and showed it in Birmingham being rebuilt.
David
