Mainline Steam Into The 1980s Ebook PDF (2023)

FAQs

When was steam phased out? ›

All regular broad-gauge steam service in India ended in 1995, with the final run made from Jalandhar to Ferozpur on 6 December. The last meter-gauge and narrow-gauge steam locomotives in regular service were retired in 2000.

True, there is little or no chance of steam trains replacing electric and diesel trains on our modern rail network. But if steam remains history, it is an unusually active and extensive variety of history. Steam has made an impressive comeback under the guise of heritage, to become an enormous national asset.

Today, there is still one steam locomotive operating on a Class I railroad in the U.S., the Union Pacific 844. For the most part, though, the U.S. and the rest of the world have converted to electric and diesel.

Steam locomotives are no longer used to transport passengers or products because electric and diesel locomotives are faster, more efficient, and easier to maintain. The locomotives that are still running are a piece of history dating back to the 1800's that really put into perspective just how far we've come!

Memories of the last mainline steam train service at its final stop in Liverpool in August 1968.

Even in the 21st century most of the world's power is generated using steam, whether the fuel is coal, gas, geothermal, nuclear, or futuristic fusion reactors. At their core, even the world's most advanced power plants still use a boiler—a place to heat water and make high pressure steam.

Stood on its end, one would be the equivalent of a 13-story building. Each one cost approximately $265,000 to build, or about $4.4 million in today's money. In the railroad world, the Big Boys were known as 4-8-8-4 articulated type locomotives.

It used less fuel energy than a steam locomotive, for its thermal efficiency was about four times as great. 3. It could accelerate a train more rapidly and operate at higher sustained speeds with less damage to the track.

Steam Locomotive No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad. It was delivered in 1944. A high-speed passenger engine, it pulled such widely known trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger.

1. The Flying Scotsman. Built in 1922, Flying Scotsman has been described as the world's most famous steam locomotive. Since it was first built, few parts of the locomotive have survived as many of its components have been renewed and replaced several times over.

What is the largest steam locomotive still operating? ›

Big Boy No.

4014 is the world's largest operating steam locomotive.

Engines may be left idling to maintain important safety related functions such as maintaining engine temperature, air pressure for the brake system, the integrity of the starting systems, the electrical system and providing heating or cooling to a train's crew and/or passengers.

Black locomotives became common beginning in 1880, after coal burning engines made grime commonplace. Black was chosen because black locomotives didn't show all the dirt and grime that covered the locomotive during normal use.

Mallard: The world's fastest steam locomotive | National Railway Museum.

Does China still use steam locomotives? The answer is "Yes" but the number is very small. They are running short routes in mountainous southwest Sichuan and transporting coal in Sandaoling Coal Mine in Xinjiang. Some of the retired ones are exhibited in museums for the fans.

The “Tom Thumb” has been known as the first successful American steam locomotive. It hauled passengers until at least March 1831 but was never placed into regular service. The “Tom Thumb” was salvaged for parts in 1834.

Puffing Billy is the world's oldest surviving steam locomotive. Dating to 1813-1814, it was built by William Hedley, Jonathan Forster, and Timothy Hackworth, for use at the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

See the oldest working steam engine in the world.

It was designed by the firm of Boulton & Watt and installed almost 240 years ago on the Birmingham-Wolverhampton canal in 1779. It saved water by pumping it back up a series of canal locks at Smethwick.

Despite the advent of electric and diesel locomotives in the mid-20th century, steam locomotives continued to be used and constructed into the 21st century. The use of steam locomotives in regular non-tourist revenue service concluded in 2022.

Steam engines lasted well into the late 1950s on major American railroads, and in isolated cases into the middle 1960s on small common carrier roads. The last steam locomotive fleet in everyday use (i.e. not a restored fleet) was retired in the late 1970s.

Why was steam replaced? ›

Reciprocating piston type steam engines were the dominant source of power until the early 20th century, when advances in the design of electric motors and internal combustion engines resulted in the gradual replacement of steam engines in commercial usage.

The life expectancy of diesel-electric and electric locomotives is expected to be similar—about 25 years.

The Tier 4 locomotive is designed for a typical lifespan of 25 to 30 years.

This averages to 19,487 lb (8,839 kg) of coal and 9,078 gallons (34,364 L) of water used per hour, or 996 lb of coal and 464 gallons of water per mile (280 kg and 1,089 L per km).

If the engine is turned off for long periods of time, it takes another long span of time to repressurise the brake lines. Trains, being large and heavy, need the optimal brake line pressure for its efficient stopping.

Power plant capacity is far greater than any individual locomotive uses, so electric locomotives can have a higher power output than diesel locomotives and they can produce even higher short-term surge power for fast acceleration.

Puffing Billy is the world's oldest surviving steam locomotive, constructed in 1813–1814 by colliery viewer William Hedley, enginewright Jonathan Forster and blacksmith Timothy Hackworth for Christopher Blackett, the owner of Wylam Colliery near Newcastle upon Tyne, in the United Kingdom.

The Fairy Queen is one of the world's oldest working steam locomotives, built in the year 1855. In the same year, the train saw its first journey for the former East Indian Railway.

China was the last country to manufacture steam-powered trains. Production of large locomotives continued until 1988. Smaller ones were produced into the late 1990s.

What is the most beautiful steam locomotive in the world? ›

The 4449 Daylight is considered one of the world's most beautiful steam locomotives. And one of the most photographed.

Union Pacific "Big Boy" No.

Built for the Union Pacific Railroad as one of twenty-five 4-8-8-4 ("Big Boy") steam locomotives ordered by the UP to haul heavy freight across the Continental Divide. Big Boys are famous as among the most powerful steam locomotives ever built.

The Fairy Queen, also known as the East Indian Railway No. 22, is a steam locomotive which was built in 1855. It was restored by Loco Works Perambur, Chennai in 1997, and housed at the Rewari Railway Heritage Museum.

I've been spending a lot of time visiting the largest railroad museum in America, the Illinois Railway Museum. Through all of my visits, one locomotive has caught my curiosity more than any other thanks to its sheer size, power, and insanity: Union Pacific's Gas Turbine-Electric Locomotive, or GTEL.

All of the Big Boys were coal-burning, stoker-fired, designed to run 7,000 horsepower at 70 miles per hour. They have been lauded in the industry as the highest horsepower, heaviest, and longest steam locomotives ever built.

From the early 1900s, steam locomotives were gradually superseded by electric and diesel locomotives, with railways fully converting to electric and diesel power beginning in the late 1930s.

Most trains don't have sewage tanks so anything in the toilet is dumped straight onto the tracks.

One of the primary reasons railroads use distributed power is to increase the pulling power of the trains as the length and weight also increases. By placing additional locomotives in the middle or at the end, the overall pulling power of the multiple locomotives increases, moving the train efficiently and effectively.

Being the engineers in a push-pull train was considered to be a special skill. Today, the second locomotive is operated by remote control. And the reason the two locomotives face in opposite directions is that it makes them reversible when they get to wherever it is that they're going.

Early steam engines in Germany used a bright red paint on their wheels to make it easier for safety inspectors to detect metal fatigue and cracks. This practice may date back as far as the 1920's, and it was prevalent because rail systems were nationally and not privately owned.

Why is train smoke white? ›

White smoke coming from the exhaust usually points to one point of failure: the injectors. Usually, white smoke indicates that the diesel fuel is not burning correctly. Unburned diesel fuel will make its way through the exhaust completely unused. Be careful of white smoke as it will irritate your eyes and skin.

Bells were standard equipment on steam locomotives in North America from around 1840 onward. Their purpose was to make noise, alerting people and animals of an oncoming train.

On 30 November 1934 his Flying Scotsman, an A1 Pacific, was the first steam locomotive to officially exceed 100mph in passenger service, a speed exceeded by the A4 Mallard on 3 July 1938 at 126mph, a record that still stands.

The LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman has set records and travelled the world. It all began on this day in 1934. Then, the “Flying Scotsman” became the first steam locomotive to be officially recorded reaching 100 mph, during the 393-mile trip for London and Edinbugh.

The 4-6-6-4 Challenger was the most successful articulated steam locomotive design.

Today, there is still one steam locomotive operating on a Class I railroad in the U.S., the Union Pacific 844. For the most part, though, the U.S. and the rest of the world have converted to electric and diesel.

The last steam locomotive manufactured for general service in the United States would follow in 1953: a Norfolk and Western 0-8-0, built in the railroad's Roanoke Shops.

After World War II, the low price of domestic coal meant steam trains continued to operate in the UK for two decades. But when the price of oil started to fall in the 1960s, and so-called 'dieselisation' began, it marked the beginning of the end for steam. Diesel engines were faster, easier to maintain, and cleaner.

By the end of the 1950s the steam era was over and increasingly powerful diesels ruled the rails.

In 1903 state legislators passed a law banning steam locomotives from Manhattan after June 30, 1908, and demanding electrification of New York Central Railroad (NYCRR).

What did steam replace? ›

During the Industrial Revolution, steam engines started to replace water and wind power, and eventually became the dominant source of power in the late 19th century and remaining so into the early decades of the 20th century, when the more efficient steam turbine and the internal combustion engine resulted in the rapid ...

Steam is a video game digital distribution service and storefront from Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their games, and expanded to distributing third-party game publishers' titles in late 2005.

STEAM engages students in learning.

Many students have greater aptitude and affinity for either arts and humanities or mathematics and science. STEAM education, with its integrated and holistic approach, helps students conceptualize these disciplines as parts of a greater whole.

Steam traction officially ended on the Chinese national rail network in 2002, but a few units remained in use up to 2003 on minor lines. The locomotives were also used on large passenger trains, when their high tractive power was advantageous.

Fuel that's darkened and full of sludge or varnish won't burn properly, it makes black smoke, and may not even start an engine at all if it is bad enough. In years past, this was a slow process, which is why you could get years of good life out of the fuel.

The diesel engines of the past blew black smoke out the exhaust because diesel engines were inherently inefficient. The diesel engines manufactured between 30 and 100 years ago simply were not capable of burning all the fuel fed into them. Neither were gasoline engines for that matter.

In 2022 alone, U.S. railroads moved 3.4 million carloads of coal, with each rail car carrying enough coal to power 20 homes for an entire year. Today, most coal is used to generate electricity. It is also used to produce coke and for other industrial purposes.

Locomotive 'Puffing Billy'. Puffing Billy is the world's oldest surviving steam locomotive. Dating to 1813-1814, it was built by William Hedley, Jonathan Forster, and Timothy Hackworth, for use at the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

The Smethwick Engine is a Watt steam engine made by Boulton and Watt, which was installed near Birmingham, England, and was brought into service in May 1779. Now at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, it is the oldest working steam engine and the oldest working engine in the world.

Steam Locomotive No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad. It was delivered in 1944. A high-speed passenger engine, it pulled such widely known trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger.

Why do we still use steam engines today? ›

Steam is used today to help power ships and to spin large turbines that generate electricity for millions of people throughout the world. The steam engine was one of the most important inventions of the Industrial Revolution that occurred about from about 1760 to 1840.

Before the development of the first commercial steam engine, factories relied on horses, water, and wind as their primary source of power. Most factories were either situated near riversides or around areas with high wind intensity.

Steam's position as the leading PC games distribution platform currently extends even to mainland China, where it uncomfortably sits in a complex, gray area as an unofficial distributor.