Milwaukee Road class F7
The F7s are major contenders for the fastest steam locomotives ever built, as they ran at over daily. One run in January 1941 recorded by a reporter for "Trains" magazine saw achieved twice—in the midst of a heavy snowstorm. Baron Gérard Vuillet, a French railroading expert, once recorded a run between Chicago and Milwaukee where the locomotive reached and sustained an average for . However, the British locomotive LNER Class A4 4468 "Mallard" is officially accepted to be the world's fastest, with a run recorded at but authenticated at 126 mph in 1938.
History of steam road vehicles
In 1858 Thomas Rickett of Buckingham built the first of several steam carriages. Instead of looking like a carriage, it resembled a small locomotive. It consisted of a steam-engine mounted on three wheels: two large driven rear wheels and one smaller front wheel by which the vehicle was steered. The whole was driven by a chain drive and a maximum speed of twelve miles per hour was reached. The weight of the machine was 1.5 tonnes and somewhat lighter than Rickett's steam carriage.