3 ms·
Since this is getting to be a bit popular, I'm going to push the "technology really doesn't matter" point a bit more here: in 1955 the French built this [0] (ju
by owenversteeg 6y ago
Since this is getting to be a bit popular, I'm going to push the "technology really doesn't matter" point a bit more here: in 1955 the French built this [0] (just look at the picture!) and sent it down a traditional (wooden sleepers, rocks for ballast) rail line between Bordeaux and Irun [1]. It got up to 333 km/h, which is faster than any TGV currently operates in the year 2020 on their fancy concrete HSR tracks.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SNCF_BB_9004_photo_1.JPG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SNCF_BB_9004_photo_1.JPG
[1] Side note: that bit from Bordeaux to Irun is quite possibly my favorite train line in the world. Absolutely beautiful views towards the Irun end.
- ant6n 6y agoTo be fair, That was a test run, where the locomotives and infra where specially prepared and did take some damage. This was a long way from operating at 320km/h every day - and today there is a 10% safety Margin, so tgvs have to be able to run at 352km/h without special prep or damage in order to be allowed to run at 320km/h during normal operation. For comparison, a tgv test run in 2007 got up to 575km/h on fancy new track, also with some prep but no damage, but operating at this speed would make little economic sense at this point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGV_world_speed_record https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGV_world_speed_record
- simonebrunozzi 6y agoGreat! Even better, this steam-powered train, reaching 126 mph (203 km/h) in year 1938! [0] Why do I know about this? Because I played Railroad Tycoon as a teenager in ~1990, and got fascinated by trains. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4468_Mallard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4468_Mallard