The steam train world speed record has stood for 87 years: yes, you can beat it in the new Thomas the Tank Engine game

Sir Nigel Gresley and Mallard's pre-World War 2 clip relegated to 2nd place, astatine slightest successful the virtual world

He's a truly utile engine. So sayeth the ineffable texts surrounding prima of astatine slightest 1 cardinal mods Thomas the Tank Engine. He's besides a truly accelerated engine. Or, astatine slightest 1 of his mates is. So demonstrateth the societal media clips I've been watching of folks going arsenic accelerated arsenic imaginable successful Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor. One of them's confirmed that it's imaginable to bushed the existent beingness satellite velocity grounds for steam trains - which has stood since 1938 - successful the freshly released bid game.

If you don't support way of the fastest speeds ever achieved by outdated tech, the worldwide grounds for steam-powered locomotives is held by Mallard - LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard to springiness it its authorities name. On July 3rd 1938, this bid was clocked going 126 miles per hr down Stoke Bank, a agelong of UK railway enactment betwixt Peterborough and Grantham. No steam bid has beaten that people since, leaving the Mallard to bask successful its glory arsenic it sits successful York's National Railway Museum, a abbreviated bid thrust from wherever I live.

However, I presume the speedy bluish loco's felt a disturbance successful the unit since Dovetail Games released Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor yesterday. While a batch of the clips going astir the socials since the crippled pulled into the presumption person been of trains being spectactularly spaghettied by abrupt glitchy derailings, a fewer players person acceptable their sights connected seeing conscionable however speedy they tin get Thomas and co chugging along.

Cue the supra tweet from bid enthusiast Chandlers_Railway declaring "I’ve officially breached Mallard's velocity grounds successful Wonders of Sodor with Percy", which I saw astatine astir 8AM this greeting and instantly began readying this story. Remarkably, and seemingly without the assistance of mods since Wonders of Sodor doesn't adjacent person a Nexus Mods leafage yet to my knowledge, they've gone connected to deed 143 MPH with the small greenish engine.

That's nuts.

Not slightest due to the fact that Wikipedia tells maine Percy's based connected the GWR No. 1340 Trojan, a locomotive that doesn't boast an aerodynamic streamlined plan similar Mallard. The fastest a non-streamlined steam loco's ever gone - astatine slightest successful Britain - looks astatine a glimpse to beryllium 108 MPH, which LNER Class A3 2750 Papyrus deed going down Stoke Bank successful 1935. For reference, the Thomas beingness does diagnostic trains of akin specs to these 2 record-breaking locomotives. Spencer, a Mallard-style LNER Class A4, has rocked up successful Sodor astatine assorted points. Meanwhile, the Papyrus' much celebrated sibling the Flying Scotsman has showed up successful the Thomasverse alongside Gordon, who's besides based connected LNER Gresley Class A1 and A3 trains.

Sadly, Spencer doesn't look to person made it onto Wonders of Sodor's playable bid database arsenic of launch, truthful I can't spot conscionable however overmuch faster than the grounds a Mallard-esque streamlined loco could get successful the game.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to acceptable up a notification reminding maine to cheque for Thomas crippled DLC announcements connected a regular basis.