Not sure about that, Brunel's broad gauge South Devon Atmosperic Railway was capable of speeds up to 70mph in 1847: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_railway. I saw this demonstrate in the (now closed) museum in the engine house at Starcross: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Devon_Railway_engine_houses. A simple domestic cylinder vacuum cleaner at each end of a short demonstration track,about 50 feet long, could get a 12 stone (168 pounds) adult up to 5mph almost instantly and they only switched the vacuum on for a second for safety reasons! Maintenance of the leather flap which formed the seal on the top of the tracks was a major problem and given the harsh sea wall environment for the Dawlish Warren - Teignmouth section of the route not surprising http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Devon_Railway_sea_wall. I seem to recollect that rats were rather partial to chewing the leather, presumably they used animal fat to grease it.
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