A futuristic turbo train which could hit 220mph in a Cold War railways race now sits rusting in a factory yard.
The jet powered, experimental train was built in 1970 by engineers at Kalinin Carriage Works in a bid to rival a similar US project.
Ruins of the Russian locomotive, which with the right track beneath it would have reportedly hit 220mph, lie in a train graveyard in Kalininsky, St Petersburg.
It was meant to revolutionise rail travel in Soviet Russia, where passenger trains at the time of its development ran at an average 40mph and unlike its US rival, the Russian train would be more than just an experiment in speed.
The speed Soviet engineers were aiming for would have exceeded modern Japanese bullet trains, which have a top speed of 199mph.
The train’s designers were tasked with creating a locomotive to rival the US’s M-497 Black Beetle, which hit railway lines in 1966 and reached speeds of 184mph.
Russia’s designers attached engines from a Yak-40 passenger plane to the roof of a train, which reportedly performed well in tests.
The High Speed Laboratory Car was unveiled to great fanfare in October, 1970, running along test track under the supervision of engineer Mikhail Nepryaev and aircraft mechanic Alexei Lozov.
Tested for five years, the high speed train even ran along some public railway lines, according to The Sun.
All-Union Research Institute of Carriage Building wanted the train to spearhead a new generation of rail travel across the Soviet Union.
But the plans were shelved as the Soviet Union began to implode and costs rose, leading to the SVL locomotive to be abandoned outside Moscow.
Problems with the vehicle’s stability at high speed, issues with noise from the train’s jets and Soviet railway lines being ill fitted to support speeds over 86mph all conspired against the scheme.
Despite the failure, the front of the train was removed, repainted and mounted on a plinth outside Tver Carriage Works.
