Mainline steam trains in Great Britain
The most famous steam locomotive operating on the British main line is the 1923 built "Flying Scotsman". After being taken into public ownership in 2004, following a decade long refit it returned to mainline service in 2016. The fastest steam locomotive ever built, the 1938 built "Mallard", was also certified for main line operation briefly in the 1980s.
4-8-4
With three cylinders, large diameter coupled wheels, a high boiler pressure and of tractive effort, they were capable of a maximum speed of and could haul a 650 tonne train at . Many parts, such as the boiler, were standardised with that of the DRG Class 45 heavy freight locomotive. The streamlined Class 06, the only German , was the biggest steam locomotive ever built in Germany. The two locomotives were shedded in Frankfurt and were placed in service on the line to Erfurt. No. 06.002 was bombed and destroyed during the hostilities and no. 06.001 survived until 1951, when it was retired and scrapped.