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.
Steam locomotives constructed in the 21st century fall into two broad categories: those that use advanced steam technology to be commercially competitive with diesels; and those built to more traditional designs for hauling tourist trains. Even locomotives in the second case likely use some modern methods and materials. These include welded boilers, to simplify construction, and roller bearings to improve reliability. For safety reasons, asbestos is not used for boiler lagging and is replaced by other materials, such as glass fibre. If the locomotive runs on main lines, safety systems such as the Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) and an On-Train Monitoring Recorder (OTMR) must be fitted.
JS-class steam locomotives were used in active service at a rural coal mine in western China until January 2024. [1] They hauled coal trains until 2022, after which a few remained as switchers. In Eritrea, steam locomotives are still used in irregular revenue and commercial service. Due to oil shortages in North Korea, steam engines have started to be brought back into service. In the Tuzla region of Bosnia & Herzegovina, the coal mines still use WWII German built steam locomotives. On the island of Java in Indonesia, several sugarcane tramways still use steam locomotives. [2] [3]
Railfan & Railroad stated in 2022 that "the only places on earth to see steam locomotives in revenue freight service are small switching operations in China, North Korea and Bosnia," but that these were "sporadic at best." [2]
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A leading proponent of advanced steam technology is the Swiss company DLM AG. [4] [ when? ]
On August 25, 2009, Team Inspiration of the British Steam Car Challenge broke the long-standing record for a steam vehicle set by a Stanley Steamer in 1906, setting a new speed record of 139.843 mph (225.055 km/h) over a measured mile at Edwards Air Force Base, in the Mojave Desert of California. [6] [7] Both the old and new records are only slightly faster than the record for the fastest ever steam locomotive record. The next day Team Inspiration broke a second record by setting a new speed record of 148.308 mph (238.679 km/h) over a measured kilometer. [7]
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This section possibly contains unsourced predictions, speculative material, or accounts of events that might not occur. Information must be verifiable and based on reliable published sources.(April 2015) |
Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific engines. An A1 Pacific, Flying Scotsman, was the first steam locomotive officially recorded over 100 mph in passenger service, and an A4, number 4468 Mallard, still holds the record for being the fastest steam locomotive in the world (126 mph).
The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four".
Barrow Hill Roundhouse, until 1948 known as Staveley Engine Shed, is a former Midland Railway roundhouse in Barrow Hill, near Staveley and Chesterfield, Derbyshire, now serving as a railway heritage centre.
The first Locomotives of the Great Western Railway (GWR) were specified by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but Daniel Gooch was soon appointed as the railway's Locomotive Superintendent. He designed several different 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge types for the growing railway, such as the Firefly and later Iron Duke Class. In 1864 Gooch was succeeded by Joseph Armstrong who brought his standard gauge experience to the workshops at Swindon. To replace some of the earlier locomotives, he put broad gauge wheels on his standard gauge locomotives and from this time on all locomotives were given numbers, including the broad gauge ones that had previously carried just names.
The British Rail Class 98 is a Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) classification that has been used to cover all steam locomotives used on the mainline in Britain, but also has a particular usage for the three Vale of Rheidol Railway-design 2-6-2T locomotives that remained in the ownership of British Rail (BR) after the end of mainline steam traction in August 1968. The locomotives on the Vale of Rheidol Railway were the only steam locomotives ever officially to carry the British Rail corporate blue and the double arrow logo.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Thompson Class B1 is a class of steam locomotive designed by Edward Thompson for medium mixed traffic work.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4575 Class is a class of 2-6-2T British steam locomotives.
Charles Benjamin Collett was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway from 1922 to 1941. He designed the GWR's 4-6-0 Castle and King Class express passenger locomotives.
The Great Northern Railway Class H4 was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotive designed for mixed-traffic work.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class K4 is a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley for the steep grades of the West Highland Line.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class B17, also known as "Sandringham" or "Footballer" class was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley for hauling passenger services on the Great Eastern Main Line. In total 73 were built.
The London and North Eastern Railway Class V4 was a class of 2-6-2 steam locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for mixed-traffic use. It was Gresley's last design for the LNER before he died in 1941. The V4s had similarities in their appearance and mechanical layout to the V2 "Green Arrow" class. The V2s, introduced some years before, were large and heavy locomotives, with very limited route availability. The V4 was a lightweight alternative, suitable for use over the whole of the LNER network.
Winson Engineering was a British manufacturer of narrow gauge and miniature railway steam locomotives and rolling stock during the 1990s. It built several new locomotives for heritage railways as well as undertaking major rebuilds of existing locomotives.
The Rhymney Railway A class were 0-6-2T tank locomotives introduced into traffic in 1910 and designed by the railway's engineer Hurry Riches. These were substantial sized tank engines, and weighed 64 long tons and were 35 ft 9 in (10.90 m) in length.
GWR 6800 Class No. 6880 Betton Grangeis a steam locomotive built between 1998 and 2024 as a "new-build" project, originally based on the Llangollen Railway in Denbighshire, Wales, then subsequently at Tyseley Locomotive Works. Described as "building the 81st Grange", the project started in 1998, and the locomotive was earlier expected to be operational by 2013, but subsequently by Autumn 2021, which was then pushed back to 2024. It was expected to be launched under steam in a private member event in January 2024 but was postponed a week before the event. On 11 April 2024, 6880 was steamed up for the first time after more than 25 years of work. All of the original GWR 6800 Class Grange locomotives were withdrawn for scrap by the end of 1965; this project is a creation, from an assemblage of original GWR and newly manufactured components, of a member of this class.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class V1 and Class V3 were two classes of related 2-6-2T steam locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley. A total of 82 V1s were built with 71 being rebuilt into the higher pressure V3s with an additional ten being built as V3s from the final batch of V1s. The V3 was a development of the V1 with increased boiler pressure and a resultant increase in tractive effort.
The GER Class G69 was a class of twenty 2-4-2T steam locomotives built by for the Great Eastern Railway by S. D. Holden in 1911–12 following the design of two rebuilt examples of the GER Class M15 designed by James Holden, his father, in 1904. They all passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the 1923 grouping and received the classification F6.
The GER Class M15 was a class of 160 2-4-2T steam locomotives designed by Thomas William Worsdell and built for the Great Eastern Railway between 1884 and 1909. The original (F4) class of locomotives were fitted with Joy valve gear which was notoriously difficult to 'set'. This earned them the nickname of 'Gobblers' thanks to their high coal consumption rates. As a result, between 1911 and 1920, 32 of them were rebuilt by James Holden with Stephenson valve gear and higher pressure boilers. Despite this, the nickname stuck for many years after.