When did diesel replace steam ships?

The last Victory ships had already been equipped with marine diesels, and diesel engines superseded both steamers and windjammers soon after World War Two. Most steamers were used up to their maximum economical life span, and no commercial ocean-going steamers with reciprocating engines have been built since the 1960s.



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The diesel engine drives an alternator, which produces electricity to run electric motors mounted on the locomotive's axles. The internal combustion engine was a dramatic improvement in efficiency over the steam locomotive, making substantial savings possible in maintenance and the elimination of widespread facilities.

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The steamboat era finally ended in the 20th century, largely due to the railroad. Although steamboats ruled trade and travel in the 1800s and early 1900s, newer and cheaper forms of transportation eventually replaced them.

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Titanic propulsion was supplied by three main engines—two reciprocating four-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines and one centrally placed low-pressure Parsons turbine—each driving a propeller. The two reciprocating engines had a combined output of 30,000 horsepower (22,000 kW).

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There the economic edge ended, however, as diesels were far cheaper to operate. Fuel costs were less, for openers, but that was just the beginning. Typically, steam spent far too little time on the road and far too much in the shops and engine terminals being serviced and inspected.

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Steam engines CAN be more powerful than diesels. Steam engine have been built with 7000–8000 hp. They tend to be very heavy and very complicated with multiple driving axle articulated trucks.

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The Wärtsilä RT-flex96C is a turbocharged, two-stroke reciprocating diesel engine designed to power large container ships and is the world's largest engine.

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Most steamboats were eventually retired, except for a few elegant “showboats” that today serve as tourist attractions.

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