The Lima Locomotive Works was perhaps the last commercial builder of steam locomotives, with the final order completed being for ten 2-8-4 “Berkshires” for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad in 1949.
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A group of Union Pacific employees volunteered their services to restore the locomotive to running condition in 1981. In 2022, Union Pacific donated Challenger No.3985 to the non-profit Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) who plans to restore it back to operating condition.
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.
Gradually, the decline of the ironstone quarries, steel, coal mining and shipbuilding industries – and the plentiful supply of redundant British Rail diesel shunters as replacements – led to the end of steam power for commercial uses.
You can find small and large steam engines for sale on eBay. Look for a modern steam engine for sale in two-cylinder, three-cylinder, or six-cylinder builds. A two-cylinder steam engine produces 10 horsepower, and a three-cylinder generates 15 horsepower.
By the 1960s, steam engines were largely gone from the rails, replaced by diesel power. It's easy to forget that steam engines were not replaced because they couldn't do the job, but because they couldn't do the job as efficiently as diesels.
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.
Air pollutionSteam trains were indeed faster than wagons, and steam ships faster and stronger than sailing ships. But the smoke they sent into the air polluted the air. Then diesel and electric trains came, and they were somewhat cleaner.
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.
Steam locomotives were not all painted black, though most freight locos were. The reason was that coal dust and soot were black, so black paint showed the dirt less. Passenger train locos used on premium routes were painted in distinctive liveries.