108 MPH - at last week's PRR Techincal and Historical Society convention, Mike Crosby gave be an excellent presentation showing just how fast the PRR T1's ran everyday(not just on special occasions) Below is a copy of a 1947 tower log from Junction Tower (just West of Fort Wayne, IN) to Vandal Tower 18 miles West. The T1's averaged 10 minutes to cover 18 miles. That translates to an average speed of 108mph. What makes this even more special is there was a 30 mph curve before Vandal Tower that the T1's would of slowed down for. To achieve these times, they would have been running 120 mph a large percentage of the run.
These were typical times everyday on the PRR. We do not believe any other steam locomotive ran over 100mph on a daily basis without any additional shop time. This was just another day on the PRR.
You will also see below a speedometer we purchased for the 5550 showing the 120mph speeds. This is orginial to the steam era and the highest speed readout available for a steam locomotive.