Why did steam train stop?

In comparison to diesel, locomotives ate too much for what they did; only about 1/20%, or 5%, of the potential energy in what a steam locomotive consumes is distributed to the wheels in the shape of operational driving power. Also, steam locomotives demanded expensive maintenance.



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It wasn't until 1940 that the Electro Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) demonstrated that diesels could practically replace steam locomotives in heavy-duty service. A pioneer freight diesel, model FT, toured the nation's railroads and changed history.

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There are around 200 steam locomotives still operable in the United States in 2022. Preserving those existing steam locomotives has become an important mission for locomotive enthusiasts.

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There are around 200 steam locomotives still operable in the United States in 2022. Preserving those existing steam locomotives has become an important mission for locomotive enthusiasts.

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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!

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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 regular use of steam locomotives in non-tourist revenue service concluded in 2022.

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Flying Scotsman has been described as the world's most famous steam locomotive.

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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.

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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.

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The Big Boy has the longest engine body of any reciprocating steam locomotive, longer than two 40-foot buses. They were also the heaviest reciprocating steam locomotives ever built; the combined weight of the 772,250 lb (350,290 kg) engine and 436,500 lb (198,000 kg) tender outweighed a Boeing 747.

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Etymology. The word locomotive originates from the Latin loco 'from a place', ablative of locus 'place', and the Medieval Latin motivus 'causing motion', and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, which was first used in 1814 to distinguish between self-propelled and stationary steam engines.

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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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1978: Amtrak begins to convert older locomotives from steam heat to reliable, electric head-end power. 1980: Locomotive No. 901 from Washington, DC, to New York becomes the first electric AEM-7 to enter revenue service.

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All the metal parts of the engine are still far too hot to touch. Inside the boiler are tubes called “flues” which carry the hot gases from the fire through the boiler to heat the water to steam.

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The pistons push or pull the rods connected to the drive wheels, providing the force needed to move the locomotive. The steam is exhausted through a nozzle and up through the smokebox into the stack. This action produces the “chuff chuff” sound heard when the locomotive is moving.

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