Bryan in Williams County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Rail Speed Record

Photographed by Christopher Light, November 2, 2007

1. Rail Speed Record Marker

Inscription. In 1966 the New York Central railroad Company (A.E. Perlman, President) proposed a test of existing rail passenger equipment to determine the feasibility of operating high-speed passenger service between cities up to 300 miles apart. The site chosen for the test was near Bryan, Ohio on the longest multiple track straight railroad line in the world. This sixty-seven mile straight trackage from Toledo, Ohio to Butler, Indiana was originally constructed by the Northern Indiana Railroad Company of Ohio incorporated March 3, 1851. On July 23, 1966 the New York Central Technical research Department ran the Budd RDC-3 passenger car number M-497 fully instrumented for stress analysis, and propelled by two roof-mounted jet aircraft engines. The speed of 183.85 miles per hour was attained, the highest recorded on a railroad in North America at that time and to this day.

Erected 2003 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, New York Central System Historical Society, The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 4-86.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical date for this entry is March 3, 1864.

Location. 41°

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28.821′ N, 84° 33.162′ W. Marker is in Bryan, Ohio, in Williams County. It is on Paige Street near North Lynn Street. From town, take Main Street north and under the railroad bridge. The next left (west side) is West Bement Street. Turn west. The first left is Lynn. Go to the end. The marker is next to the Amtrak Station. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Bryan OH 43506, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Till Plains.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Bryan's Air Mail Field (approx. ¼ mile away); Water Tower Fun Facts (approx. 0.3 miles away); Evans Post No. 149 G.A.R. (approx. 0.4 miles away); Williams County Courthouse (approx. 0.4 miles away); G. Grant Brown Building (approx. 0.4 miles away); Bicentennials of the Northwest Ordinance and the U.S. Constitution (approx. half a mile away); Bryan Veterans Memorial (approx. half a mile away); Fountain City Amphitheater (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bryan.

Also see . . . Wikipedia Entry. “Even with this spectacular performance (and even though it had been built relatively cheaply, using existing parts), the project was not considered viable commercially. The railroad gathered valuable test data regarding the stresses of high-speed rail travel on conventional equipment and tracks then existing in America.

Tracks to the east image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Light, November 2, 2007

2. Tracks to the east

This view is east across the bridge over Main Street. This was once a level crossing before the bridge was put in place. Then, the town station was easily accessible from town. This is also the direction of Toledo, from which the test train entered town.

The data was largely ignored.” (Submitted on March 4, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.)

Photographed by Christopher Light, November 2, 2007

3. Rail Speed Record Marker

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 15, 2021

4. Rail Speed Record Marker

The old Bryan railroad station (across the tracks) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Light, November 2, 2007

5. The old Bryan railroad station (across the tracks)

Main line heading west image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Light, November 2, 2007

6. Main line heading west

On the test day, the train would have disappeared into the distance down these rails.

The Amtrak Station image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Light, November 2, 2007

7. The Amtrak Station

New York Central Jet-Powered M-957 image. Click for full size.

M.W.H. via Wikipedia Commons

8. New York Central Jet-Powered M-957

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 15, 2021

9. Rail Speed Record Marker

"The old Bryan railroad station (across the tracks)" Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Depot

Credits. This page was last revised on September 21, 2021. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2007, by Christopher Light of Valparaiso, Indiana. This page has been viewed 5,017 times since then and 163 times this year. Last updated on February 22, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. It was the Marker of the Week March 4, 2018. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 6, 2007, by Christopher Light of Valparaiso, Indiana. 4. submitted on September 16, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. 5, 6, 7. submitted on November 6, 2007, by Christopher Light of Valparaiso, Indiana. 8. submitted on March 4, 2018. 9. submitted on September 16, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.