Originally posted by normhead The Concorde. proof that bigger , better, faster isn't always cost effective, or sustainable.
An experiment that had to be done, like the "spruce goose" and perhaps the Stanley Steamer. There is a one-of steam locomotive on display at the Franklin Institute (Philadelphia). An experimental prototype which, if I perceived the design correctly, had three pistons driving at the front, the third located in the center under the boiler. It was one of the largest steam locomotives*, with of course one of the highest traction forces ever built, but it was too late, so only the one copy was made.
*The biggest steam locomotive ever, I believe, was the Union Pacific "Big Boy" which I think is now on display somewhere in Pennsylvania (it was displayed at "Steam Town" in Vermont where I saw it many years back, but that museum went bankrupt). However, the Big Boy was an articulated, very long with four pistons powering two sets of drivers, one behind the other. The length of the locomotive, even with articulation, limited it to systems with large-radius curves, suited to the track layouts in the southwest. I think the one in Phili was intended for freight hauling on the east coast where there were too many small-radius curves for the Big Boy. The Big Boy operated successfully for some time, but all steam was doomed by maintenance costs & time.