page_title: Steam locomotive
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Steam locomotive / The end of steam in general use / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: Northwestern Steel &amp; Wire locomotive 80 pushes cars of scrap metal into the mill on a warm night in July, 1964. NS&amp;W empolyed a single person as both engineer (driver) and fireman for its locomotives. This person could not tend the fire while the locomotive was in motion, a practise which did not contribute to smoke-free operation! Photo by N Kent Loudon
context_page_description: A steam locomotive is a type of railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fuelled by burning combustible material—usually coal, wood, or oil—to produce steam in a boiler. The steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels. Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons pulled behind.
  Steam locomotives were first developed in the United Kingdom during the early 19th century and used for railway transport until the middle of the 20th century. Richard Trevithick built the first steam locomotive in 1802. The first commercially successful steam locomotive was built in 1812–13 by John Blenkinsop, the Salamanca, the Locomotion No. 1, built by George Stephenson and his son Robert's company Robert Stephenson and Company, was the first steam locomotive to haul passengers on a public railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. In 1830, George Stephenson opened the first public inter-city railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
context_section_description: The first diesel locomotive appeared on the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1925 and on the New York Central in 1927. Since then, diesel locomotives began to appear in mainline service in the United States in the mid-1930s. The diesel engines reduced maintenance costs dramatically, while increasing locomotive availability. On the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad the new units delivered over 350,000 miles (560,000 km) a year, compared with about 120,000–150,000 miles (190,000–240,000 km) for a mainline steam locomotive. World War II delayed dieselisation in the US. In 1949 the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad became the first large mainline railroad to convert completely to diesel locomotives, and Life Magazine ran an article on 5 December 1949 titled "The GM&O puts all its steam engines to torch, becomes first major US railroad to dieselize 100%". The Susquehanna was one of the earliest railroads in America to fully dieselize by 1947 and retiring their steam locomotives by 1949. The final 2-8-4 Berkshire built was Nickle Plate Road's 779 built in 1949.  The last steam locomotive manufactured for general service was a Norfolk and Western 0-8-0, built in its Roanoke shops in December, 1953. In Spring of 1960, Norfolk and Western Y6b 2190 and S1 290 doused their fires for the last time in a Williamson, West Virginia roundhouse. 1960 is normally considered the final year of regular Class 1 main line standard gauge steam operation in the United States, with operations on the Grand Trunk Western, Illinois Central, Norfolk and Western and Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railroads, as well as Canadian Pacific operations in Maine.
  However, the Grand Trunk Western used some steam power for regular passenger trains until 1961, the last instance of this occurring unannounced on trains 56 and 21 in the Detroit area on 20 September 1961 with 4-8-4 6323, one day before its flue time expired. The last steam-powered standard-gauge regular freight service by a class 1 railroad was on the isolated Leadville branch of the Colorado and Southern (Burlington Lines) 11 October 1962 with 2-8-0 641. Narrow-gauge steam was used for freight service by the Denver and Rio Grande Western on the 250-mile (400 km) run from Alamosa, Colorado, to Farmington, New Mexico, via Durango until service ceased on 6 December 1968. The Union Pacific is the only Class I railroad in the US to have never completely dieselised, at least nominally. It has always had at least one operational steam locomotive, Union Pacific 844, on its roster. Some US shortlines continued steam operations into the 1960s, and the Northwestern Steel and Wire mill in Sterling, Illinois, continued to operate steam locomotives until December 1980. and the Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway continued until September 1986. Two surviving sections of the Denver and Rio Grande Western's Alamosa to Durango narrow-gauge line mentioned above, now operating separately as the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, continue to use steam locomotives and operate as tourist railroads. By the end of the 20th century, around 1,800 of the over 160,000 steam locomotives built in the United States between 1830 and 1950 still existed, with only a few still in operating condition.
caption: Northwestern Steel and Wire locomotive number 80, July 1964
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