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Another attempt is underway to raise the land speed record and attempts are regularly made on solar powered, electric and other speed records often at great cost. How ever 1 record has stayed unchallenged since before the 2nd world war, the steam locomotive speed record. Lets assume for the moment that engineers still went after this record, maybe just for the challenge, maybe for prestige, maybe because their governments still saw a future for steam railways. How far could the record be raised, and how would attempts be reflected in usable technology? Would it be reasonable to expect a large increase in the record, or a small increase? Would any increase be possible at all?
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