After the Nord had already had 100 km/h fast Crampton machines built with a driving wheel diameter of 2,100 mm from 1849, the Est procured similar ones with a diameter of 2,300 mm three years later. The engines of the Est could then even reach 120 km/h, which was beneficial to the Cramptons' reputation as “greyhounds of the rails”. To do this, the maximum speed allowed on the French railway lines had to be increased by decree of Napoleon III.

After the twelve examples numbered 79 to 90 had been delivered by Cail in 1852, another 15 by Schneider-Creusot with numbers 174 to 188 followed in 1855. The first carrying axle had a larger diameter than the second and carried a significantly higher weight. The locomotives could pull up to 15 of the passenger cars of their time and usually reached an average speed of 55 to 75 km/h with nine to ten cars.

Since the adhesive weight of just over ten tonnes later turned out to be insufficient, as with most Cramptons, a rebuild took place from 1881. In order to shift the weight further to the rear, particularly massive and heavy wheel hubs and a smaller boiler were installed. To compensate, the boiler was now operated at a higher pressure. Together with other additions, such as the Westinghouse air brake, the adhesive weight could be increased by about 3.5 tonnes.

It was not until just before the turn of the century that other express locomotives were able to overtake the Cramptons. Number 80 “Le Continent” is the only example that has survived to this day. It was restored to its original condition in 1925 and initially exhibited at the Gare de l'Est in Paris. In 1946 it was made operational again, but has been standing since 1970. Today you can find the theoretically operational machine in the Cité du train in Mulhouse, but no renewed refurbishment is currently planned.

Although the Crampton locomotive enjoyed long popularity in France in general and with the Est in particular, it reached its limits in the late 1870s. Thus, Regray initially had seven locomotives made with 2-4-0 wheel arrangement. Since the Belpaire firebox ended with the rear on the second coupled axle and the 2.31 meter diameter wheels were still very large, the locomotives were referred to as “coupled cramptons” or “super cramptons”. On numbers 508 to 510, the firebox was pulled further forward so that it lay between the coupled axles. The locomotives had a double outer frame in which the cylinders were situated.

After the first ten examples had been manufactured in the Est workshops in Épernay in 1878 and 1879, the next 32 examples were ordered from commercial suppliers. The numbers 511 to 522 came from Cail in Paris in 1881 and the 523 to 542 in 1882 from the Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik. Their wheels were only 2.10 meters tall and the cylinders were slightly smaller. They also featured a conventional firebox that was larger than the previous Belpaire firebox. 

A third series of 20 examples was made again in Épernay in 1884 and 1885. These were given a larger boiler, which exceeded the 100 square meter mark for the tubular heating surface. This enabled them to achieve a boiler output that was greater than that of contemporary locomotives with a 2-4-2 or 4-4-0 wheel arrangement. Furthermore, they had received a larger tender that, in addition to the three tons of coal, could hold up to 13 cubic meters of water instead of the ten cubic meters of the older tenders. Traction was later increased on 48 of the 52 examples in the last two series by reducing the wheel diameter to 1.83 metres.

Numbers 508 and 509 were converted to a Flaman boiler in 1888, which could hold a maximum number of smoke tubes with two barrels. Since the front axle was heavily loaded after the conversion, the carrying axle was replaced with a bogie. Since the results of the conversions did not justify the high effort, no other engines were converted in this way. The engines with smaller coupled wheels were soon increasingly used in ordinary passenger train service and were partly used until 1936. The first of the non-converted examples, on the other hand, had already been retired in 1906.

At a time when attempts were being made to use the largest possible wheels to achieve high speeds while keeping the center of gravity low, some curious designs emerged. In 1855 Blavier and Larpent built the “L'Aigle” (“The Eagle”) with 9 ft 4 in wheels on the French Ouest. Their goal was to double the speed of the Cramptons. Since these had already reached 120 km/h at that time, this goal was hardly realistic to achieve.

With this wheel diameter, a boiler, which was usually above the axles, would have been very high above the top of the rails. At that time, everyone was convinced that a low center of gravity was the most important criterion for smooth running and developed many long boiler type locomotives, which had a thin and long, overhanging boiler to achieve the lowest possible center of gravity. Since this was not possible with the “L'Aigle”, completely new paths were taken.

The actual boiler, with a small diameter, lay below the axles and was connected to a second, cylindrical barrel, which lay above the axles. Although the boiler had sufficient volume, there were no smoke tubes in the upper boiler body. This made it impossible to produce enough steam for the large cylinders at higher speeds. Thus, the one-off never made it into commercial service and the allegedly achieved speed of 100 mph must be doubted.

Around 1960, the Reichsbahn was looking for a fast locomotive that could be used to test the running characteristics of newly developed passenger cars. The choice fell on the building of a new steam locomotive, which had to fall back on parts from other machines. Large parts of the frame were taken from the streamlined tank locomotive 61 001, which once reached 175 km/h with its 2,300 mm coupled wheels. Other parts of the running gear and the outer cylinders came from the not very successful high-pressure locomotive H 45 024, while the middle cylinder was built from scratch. The result was completed in 1961 at RAW Meiningen, had partially streamlined fairing and was painted green.

The machine was able to reach 160 km/h in an early phase of testing and managed 176 km/h on the Velim railway test ring in November 1964. In the first few years, road number 18 201 was regularly used in express service between test runs, but this was discontinued after a few years due to signs of wear. In 1967 the main firing was changed from coal to oil. With the transfer to the computer numbering system, it became 02 0201-0. In 1972 the record was improved to 182.4 km/h, making it the fastest operational steam locomotive in the world.

After the locomotive was no longer required for test runs, it was used in front of special trains from 1980. Later it got a second tender that made it easier to cover long distances. Derailments and a lack of lathes for the large wheelsets caused problems on several occasions. After it was decommissioned in 1997, number 18 201 was bought up and refurbished by Dampf-Plus GmbH, which was specially founded for this purpose, so that it was able to run again in 2002.

Between April 2002 and 2005 it was painted red with donations from the model railway manufacturer Roco, until it was given a green color again. In 2011, 160 km/h was reached again during a special trip. After several changes of ownership, the machine, which has since been registered as a monument, was stored again in 2018 after the boiler deadline had expired. The new owner gave the locomotive in November 2019 for another general inspection. As of today, it is not operational again.

In addition to the tank locomotives of the class 61, the need for more powerful express locomotives was also recognized in order to be able to transport regular, heavier express trains at higher speeds. A tender followed among various companies, the winner of which was a streamlined 4-6-4 locomotive from Borsig. In contrast to its competitors, some of which were also designed as steam turbine locomotives, the class 05 was created as a conventional three-cylinder steam locomotive, which was based as far as possible on the design of the standard locomotives. In 1935 road numbers 05 001 and 05 002 were built in the regular design, followed in 1937 by the different 05 003.

The locomotives had driving wheels measuring 2,300 mm (7 ft 6 1/2 in) and a two-axle bogie at the front and rear. The streamlining completely covered the running gear, it had a straight lower edge and went down to a few centimeters above the rail heads. The five-axle 2'3 T37 tender was also encased, but otherwise mostly corresponded to the standard design. The tender's casing was flush with the locomotive's casing, removable, and closed off the cab at the rear.

Test runs showed an indicated power of around 2,360 hp, but significantly more was possible for a short time. The regular maximum speed was 150 km/h, and 175 km/h was approved to make up for delays. A typical train weight for these speeds was given as 250 tonnes.

Calculations had shown that at 140 km/h a power increase of 385 hp at the draw bar had been achieved through the streamlining. As with all large standard locomotives, the problem was the large length of the boiler tubes, which here reached 7,000 mm and tended to lead to tension. In contrast to most other locomotives of this time, the driving wheels were braked on both sides and, in addition, a speed-dependent control of the brake was achieved by means of a centrifugal governor. This allowed a train of the usual weight to come to a standstill quickly enough 1,200 meters from the distant signal.

During the test runs and in the subsequent scheduled use of the first two locomotives, they often exceeded the requirements. The rule were trains consisting of five heavy express cars and together weighing almost 250 tonnes. On several occasions, sustained speeds well above the permitted maximum speed were reached on several occasions. On May 11, 1935, 05 002 ran between Hamburg and Berlin with only four cars. Although no record run was planned, the speedometer needle reached its stop at 200 km/h and stayed there for a long time. Using the milestones and time measurements, an average of 200.4 km/h or 124.5 mph was calculated over 5 km and 201 km/h or 124.9 mph for a short time.

In addition to a calculated output of 3,400 hp, this meant a speed record for steam locomotives, which is still disputed today. The record is often attributed to the English “Mallard” with 202.7 km/h (126 mph), but not only did this trip take place on a slight downward gradient, it also resulted in damage from an overheated bearing on the connecting rods and it is usually stated that the trip was not adequately documented. Some American locomotives also allegedly reached over 220 km/h, but in these cases there is no reliable documentation.

The third locomotive followed in a very unusual configuration, since at these speeds there were advantages in moving the driver's cab forward. In order to avoid separating the fireman and driver, the boiler was installed backwards. Since the firebox was now on the opposite side of the tender, pulverized coal firing was installed. The coal dust was transported through a pipe that ran through the entire frame and also had bends due to the inside cylinder. Another difference was the installation of a combustion chamber to allow the gases, which were very hot after the rapid combustion, to cool down a little before hitting the heating tubes. The design of 05 003 did not work, as there was a lack of combustion air in many situations and there were frequent blockages due to slag deposits. Finally in 1944, the boiler was rotated to the conventional position and converted to fire regular coal while the streamlining was removed.

In contrast to almost all locomotives available in small numbers, the Bundesbahn did not retire the three 05s because they could not do without these fast and powerful locomotives. During the rebuild in 1950, the remnants of the streamlining, which had already been damaged during the war, were also removed from 05 001 and 002. This did not result in any noticeable disadvantages because the network no longer allowed the highest speeds. However, the boiler pressure was reduced from 20 to 16 bars to reduce the wear.

In 1957 and 1958, the three units were replaced by V 200 diesel locomotives. Numbers 002 and 003 were then scrapped by 1960, with only the 001 remaining. The streamlining of the latter was then largely restored and the locomotive was taken to the Nuremberg Transport Museum.

In the 1930s, the German steam locomotive industry found itself increasingly under pressure from modern express DMUs. Starting in 1933, Henschel designed the Henschel-Wegmann train, in which both the locomotive and the four passenger cars were streamlined. The class 61 tank locomotive developed for this purpose was only produced twice in different versions, but it proved its efficiency and would probably have been mass-produced without the outbreak of war.

The 61 001, completed in 1935, was a 4-6-4T engine with two cylinders, designed to be as light as possible. For example, the supplies were just large enough to bridge the planned route from Berlin to Dresden. The design as a tank locomotive was chosen so that it could be placed onto the other end of the train at the end of the route without turning, so as not to have too great a disadvantage compared to the express DMUs in this respect. A special feature was the paintwork, which was silver-cream-violet in the same colors as the cars.

Instead of the usual long-tube boiler, a boiler based on Robert Garbe's principle was used, which provided for a long and narrow firebox. When using the usual alloys, this enabled a pressure of 20 bars and also withstood very high evaporation rates for certain time spans without damage. With the 2,300 mm large driving wheels, the locomotive reached up to 185 km/h, so that it was certified for 175 km/h.

Although 61 001 proved to be very efficient, the two-cylinder powerplant resulted in rough running at high speeds. For this reason, road number 61 002 was built in 1939, which had three cylinders. In addition, the rear bogie was extended to three axles in order to be able to increase the slightly too small supplies.

The cars, which were also lightweight and approved for speeds of 160 km/h, could cover the 176 km route Berlin – Dresden in just 108 minutes, which under today's conditions takes more than two hours. The train was able to reach its top speed with the four cars within six minutes. After a break from the beginning of the war, the 001 was only used as a heating locomotive, but the 002 was used again for express service from the end of 1940.

After the war, road number 61 001 came to the Bundesbahn, where the one-off was stationed in Bebra and, after the cladding was removed, was used until an accident in 1951. After that it was not refurbished and scrapped in 1957.

Road number 61 002 stayed with the Reichsbahn in Dresden and was increasingly used there for test runs at high speeds, since the repairs were too expensive for regular traffic. In 1961 it was converted to a tank locomotive, road number 18 201, which received a new boiler and parts of the test engine H 45 024. It reached speeds of up to 182.5 km/h and is still in regular use today.

The Great Central Railway Class 13 was the last single-driver express locomotive to be built in Britain and one of the last to see regular service. It was developed by Harry Pollitt, who called it Type X4. It had 7 feet 9 inches diameter wheels and had a boiler pressure of 200psi from the factory. Since, despite the sophisticated sanding system that was obligatory on the last singles, there was more power than could be converted into traction, the boiler pressure was soon reduced to 160 psi. 

When Pollitt retired in 1900 and John G. Robinson took over as chief engineer at GCR, the class 13 was just being produced. Anticipating the imminent end of the singles, Robinson reduced the order from ten to six. These locomotives initially ran the important route from Sheffield to London, but were moved to Cheshire in 1903 and replaced by the 4-4-0 Robinson class D4 locomotives. Four examples were fitted with a superheater between 1915 and 1919, but they were all retired between 1923 and 1927.

The first 19 locomotives that Brunel had procured in 1938 were partly adventurous designs to reach high speeds. On the one hand there were the “Snake” and “Viper” locomotives from the Haigh foundry, which were brought to higher speeds with a gearbox with a ratio of 2:3 and had the wheel arrangement 2-2-2. Less conventional were the two Hawthorn locomotives developed by Thomas Elliot Harrison, which used two cars to split the boiler and engine.

The first of these was the “Thunderer”, where the boiler and driver's stand were on a three-axle chassis. The cylinders were housed on another, two-axle chassis together with a gearbox with a ratio of 10:27. Here both axles with six feet wheels were driven. The live steam was routed to the engine chassis and the exhaust steam back to the smoke box via elastic pipes.

The “Hurricane” got rid of the gearbox by increasing the size of the driven wheels to exactly ten feet. For reasons of space, only one axle was driven, which is why two carrying axles were added and the engine unit was thus given the wheel arrangement 2-2-2. Both “Thunderer” and “Hurricane” were only used until December 1939 and their boilers were then used as stationary steam generators and for a freight locomotive. Thanks to the experience with the locomotives, gearboxes and equally divided locomotives were dispensed with in the future and high speeds were achieved in other ways.

The class 3031 of the Great Western Railway, also known as the “Dean Single”, was created by rebuilding of 30 members of the class 3001, which had been built by William Dean in the 7 feet 1/4 inch broad gauge and were rebuilt to standard gauge a short time later. Since an increase in power through a wider boiler was impossible with the standard gauge due to the limited space between the large wheels, the boiler was extended to the front. After the leading axle derailed in the middle of the box tunnel due to the increased weight, it was replaced with a bogie, resulting in the class 3031. Since the cylinders were located below the smoke box in class 3001, a special bogie had to be constructed. This could be pulled out after loosening four screws and slightly lifting the front part of the locomotive to ensure uncomplicated maintenance of the smoke box and cylinders.

First, two class 3001 locomotives were rebuilt in March 1894, the remaining 28 were rebuilt between June and December of the same year. A total of 50 more were factory built between 1894 and 1899. In service, the class 3031, like other locomotives with a 4-2-2 wheel arrangement, excelled with high sustained speeds. On May 9, 1904, a mail train was able to travel the 117 miles from Bristol to London-Paddington in just under 100 minutes for the first time, which corresponds to an average speed of around 70 mph. However, since one driving axle was soon no longer sufficient, they were withdrawn between 1908 and 1915. Today there is a replica of No. 3041 “The Queen”, which was completed in 1982.

Based on the success of the Firefly class, Daniel Gooch wanted to build an even more powerful and faster express locomotive. The driving wheels were increased from seven to eight feet and the largest possible boiler was installed in order to be able to take full advantage of the broad gauge. The wheel arrangement was still 2-2-2 and all wheels were mounted between the inner and outer frames. The cylinders were mounted between the inner frames.

The “Great Western” was completed in 1846 as the forerunner of the series. After just a short trial, the leading axle broke, which was attributed to the fact that the locomotive was too heavy to distribute the load over just three axles. The solution was to replace the leading axle with two axles that were also mounted in the frame. Although this made the locomotive heavier overall, the load on the driving axle fell. A further 29 series pieces were built in this form. The class was named “Iron Duke” after the first newly built machine and is said to have reached a top speed of 78 mph. The five-car express between London and Bristol is said to have averaged 68 mph on the 53 miles long section to Didcot.

In 1871 the “Great Britain”, “Prometheus” and “Estaffete” locomotives were converted to the Rover class. They received a larger boiler with higher pressure and a flat, elevated firebox instead of the previous haystack-shaped firebox. While the Iron Duke class locomotives were gradually phased out, their names were reused for 19 newly built Rover class examples, produced up to 1888.

The last engines of the Rover class did not have long lives, as broad gauge operations ceased in 1892. All pieces were then scrapped. It was not until 1985 that a working replica of the Iron Duke was built using parts from two Hunslet Austerity tank locos. It was not restored to service after her boiler life expired and now stands at the Didcot Railway Centre.