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.
DRG Class 05
05 001 and 05 002 were mainly used for test runs from 1935 to 1936. Most of these runs were made on complete journeys between Hamburg and Berlin. On 7 June 1935 the 05 002 made a top speed of near Berlin. The same engine made six more runs with more than with trains up to weight. On 11 May 1936 it set the world speed record for steam locomotives after reaching on the Berlin–Hamburg line hauling a train. The engine power was more than ). This record was broken two years later by the British LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard engine on a slightly downhill line.