Here Comes the Steam Locomotive

You can see it coming from miles away.  You are waiting.  You see the smoke going high into the sky.  It is coming closer and closer and closer.  You hear the whistle blow, and it blows again and again and again.  Then, it is here.  You see the steam locomotive speeding towards you.  In a flash, it passes you.  The steam blows all over you.  The train rolls by, and then you see the caboose.  The steam is all above you.  The effects are staying with you, but it is a great feeling to have.

There is some about the steam locomotive that catches everyone’s attention.  Unlike the diesel locomotives of today, there is a uniqueness to the steam locomotive.  Even those who are not fans of the railroad are fascinated by the steam locomotive.  Every steam locomotive has a special uniqueness to them.  From the smokestack to the boiler to the wheel alignment to engineer’s cab to the tender, the steam locomotive has a special place in many hearts.

The steam locomotives are magnificent.  The steam locomotives are amazing.  The steam locomotives are a sight to see.  Steam locomotives… are high costly maintenance.

The steam locomotive could pull cars for only a hundred miles.  Why?  Because many of the steam locomotives were powered by coal, the silt from the coal filled the boilers.  Every hundred miles, the steam locomotive had to be taken out of service to a roundhouse or shop to be cleaned.  The process took at least a day or more as each tube in the boiler had to be individually cleaned.  One hundred miles was a great distance for the nineteenth century and for the first half of the twentieth century, but it is just a short drive today.  The diesel locomotives can go much farther before maintenance is required which is why the steam locomotive was replaced.  With trains able to go farther without stopping, that meant fewer stops, and products got to their destinations much quicker.

For now, the steam locomotive is mainly seen of excursion trains.  Yes, you can still see the steam.  The newly built steam locomotives now use water instead of coal requiring less maintenance.  Regardless, you just cannot wait to see that steam puffing out those clouds of smoke.  There is nothing like seeing a steam locomotive rolling down the line.

 

The  first  photo  is  of  the  Number  17  William  Simpson  York  locomotive  of  the  Northern  Central  Railway  in  New  Freedom,  Pennsylvania

The  second  locomotive  is  the  Number  3  of  the  Hocking  Valley  Scenic  Railway  in  Nelsonville,  Ohio

The  third  locomotive  is  the  Number  5300  President  Washington  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  on  display  at  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Museum  in  Baltimore,  Maryland

The  fourth  locomotive  is  Number  2732  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railway  on  display  at  the  Science  Museum  of  Virginia  in  Richmond,  Virginia

The  fifth  locomotive  is  Number  604  of  the  Duluth,  Massabe  and  Iron  Range  Railroad  on  display  at  the  Greenville  Railroad  Park  in  Greenville,  Pennsylvania

The  sixth  locomotive  is  Number  999  The  Empire  State  Express  of  the  New  York  Central  System  on  display  at  the  Chicago  Museum  of  Science  and  Industry  in  Chicago,  Illinois

The  seventh  locomotive  is  Number  611  of  the  Norfolk  and  Western  Railway  at  a  photo  shoot  on  the  Strasburg  Railroad  in  Gap,  Pennsylvania

The  eighth  locomotive  is  Number  3001  of  the  New  York  Central  System  on  display  at  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  Museum  in  Elkhart,  Indiana

The  ninth  locomotive  is  Number  475  at  the  Strasburg  Railroad  in  Ronks,  Pennsylvania

The  tenth  locomotive  is  Number  1218  of  the  Norfolk  and  Western  Railway  on  display  at  the  Virginia  Museum  of  Transportation  in  Roanoke,  Virginia

The  eleventh  locomotive  is  Number  385  on  display  at  the  Whippany  Railway  Museum  in  Whippany,  New  Jersey

The  last  locomotive  is  Number  614  The  Greenbrier  Presidential  Express  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railway  on  display  at  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railway  Museum  in  Clifton  Forge,  Virginia