Steam


The first steam locomotives are some of the most fascinating and intriguing locomotives ever built. Their primitive construction and crude design along with the high-pressured steam make them very dangerous

Railroads are very old. At first horses pulled rail cars on rails. Then almost immediately after the piston steam engine was developed the first locomotive was made. As I said above they were very dangerous. Some said that they were too unsafe and uneconomical to use. But others such as George Stephenson believed in this new technology and tried to improve it. Thanks to these people the railroad has shaped the United States and the world.

	George Stephenson (left) is responsible for designing and building The Rocket one of the most famous early locomotives.

This is a animation of a steam engine.

Below are pictures of some American heavy weight locomotives


Above is the a picture of the biggest locomotive ever built.


The two engines above were built during the industrial revolution. The industrial was when the biggest locomotives were ever built.

This is a very unusual locomotive. As you can see the wheels are covered. This is because when the trains would go through the mid-west United States the farmers would be frightened by all the moving parts. The farmers then forced the railroad companies to cover the moving parts.

The engines above and below would be used for hauling medium size loads for the railroad. They are the kind you would most likely see most often.

Above is a picture of a very unusual looking steam train. It was used in South America.

This is a picture a "shay" locomotive. They are driven by drive shaft. Shays were mainly used in the logging business because they were powerful, could climb steep grades, and function on poorly made track.

Above is a picture a stream line train they were used when the locomotive engineers realized that making a locomotive aerodynamic makes it more efficient. Below is an example of this.

Above is another stream line engine. It is next to a replica of the DeWitt Clinton one of the first locomotives ever made. You can see the change in size.