Steam Locomotive - The End of Steam in General Use

The End of Steam in General Use

The introduction of electric locomotives at the turn of the 20th century and later diesel-electric locomotives spelled the beginning of the end for steam locomotives, although that end was long in coming. As Diesel power, more especially with electric transmission, became more reliable in the 1930s it gained a foothold in North America. The full changeover took place there during the 1950s. In continental Europe large-scale electrification had displaced steam power by the 1970s. Steam had in its favour familiar technology, adapted well to local facilities and consumed a wide variety of fuels; this led to its continued use in many countries to the end of the 20th Century. They have considerably less thermal efficiency than modern diesels, requiring constant maintenance and labour to keep them operational. Water is required at many points throughout a rail network and becomes a major problem in desert areas, as are found in some regions within the United States, Australia and South Africa. In other localities the local water is unsuitable. The reciprocating mechanism on the driving wheels of a two-cylinder single expansion steam locomotive tended to pound the rails (see "hammer blow"), thus requiring more maintenance. Raising steam from coal took a matter of hours which brought serious pollution problems. Coal-burning locomotives required fire cleaning and ash removal between turns of duty. This was all done in the open air by hand in deplorable working conditions. Diesel or electric locomotives, by comparison, drew benefit from new custom built servicing facilities. Finally, the smoke from steam locomotives was deemed objectionable; in fact, the first electric and diesel locomotives were developed to meet smoke abatement requirements although this did not take into account the high level of invisible pollution in diesel exhaust smoke especially when idling. It should also be remembered that the power for electric trains is, for the most part, derived from steam generated in a power station — often fuelled with coal.