101 Facts About Steam Locomotives · 7:36am Apr 1st, 2022
Hello, Muggonny here! If you follow me, it's probably because of my writing. Well, I have a passion for something other than telling stories: steam-powered locomotives. It's what accelerated the industrial revolution! Without them, I wouldn't be typing this blog. That said, here are 101 random facts about steam trains!
Special credit to Jack of a Few Trades for writing some of the facts!
1. Steam locomotives were primarily used between the years 1830 and 1970 until diesel and electric locomotives became prominent.
2. The first steam locomotive was created by Richard Trevithick in 1804, which he used to haul iron and ironworks.
3. Steam trains were originally created to carry goods, but soon they were used to transport passengers.
4. The first steam train was called Catch Me Who Can
5. The Fairy Queen was built in Britain in 1855 and shipped to India. Today it is known as the oldest working steam locomotive.
6. In 1934, The Flying Scotsman became the first steam locomotive to travel over 100 MPH.
7. Steam Trains have three types of wheels: the driving wheel, the leading wheel, and the trailing wheel. The
8. The first American locomotive, Tom Thumb, lost a race against a horse when trying to prove its usefulness.
9. The largest steam locomotive ever made was the Big Boy, which operated in Wyoming and Utah until 1959. One of these was restored in 2019 for excursion service by Union Pacific.
10. Neither of my parents will return my phone calls.
11. In the 1964 film The Train starring Burt Lancaster, multiple real steam locomotives were wrecked for the film.
12. Steam locomotives are very labor-intensive, requiring daily lubrication and full inspections.
13. Early locomotives burned wood, while later models converted to coal and eventually fuel oil.
14. Early wood-burning locomotives required large smokestacks that recirculated exhaust gases to prevent embers from escaping and starting fires along the tracks. These are often called “cabbage stacks”.
15. Steam locomotive fireboxes operate at temperatures around 2500°F.
16. I don’t need my medication. I feel amazing.
17. The longest nonstop run by any steam locomotive was 422 miles by the Flying Scotsman in 1989. This was achieved by using an auxiliary water tank.
18. Most steam locomotives operating today have been converted to burn fuel oil instead of coal.
19. Train windows are relatively easy to open. For example, I threw my latest prescription out of one.
20. Steam locomotive types are designated by their wheel arrangements.
21. Steam locomotives have “tires”. The contact surface of driving wheels wears down and must be replaced periodically, so the outer lip of the wheel is replaceable. Much like people...
22. The grill protecting the front wheels is called a cowcatcher.
23. Locomotives distinguish the sides of the engine like ships do. Instead of port and starboard, locomotives use “engineer side” and “fireman’s side”.
24. Steam engines are called steam engines because they emit steam. A wall is a floor that’s vertical. A roof is a floor that’s elevated. A floor is a floor that knew it was going to be a floor its whole life. An alcoholic is someone who doesn’t know what they’re going to be in life. I’m an alcoholic.
25. My cock is very small.
26. Steam locomotives have trouble going uphill. The steepest gradient most can handle is about 2% (2 feet of rise for every 100 feet of travel).
27. The area where a locomotive’s wheel contacts the rail is about the size of a dime.
28. Sometimes I blackout and wake up in weird places.
29. Locomotive boilers could explode if it runs out of water.
30. The highest speed ever recorded for a steam locomotive is 125 MPH, which still isn’t fast enough to get away from my problems.
31. Before steam trains were invented, materials would take weeks to months to transport because they were either moved by horses or on foot.
32. The steam shooting out of the sides of locomotives is typically cold due to the rapid decompression of gas.
33. My parents still won't return my calls.
34. Two steam locomotives were crashed head-on for a publicity stunt near the town of Crush, Texas. The resulting boiler explosions killed two onlookers and seriously injured many others.
35. My father once took me on a steam train and I violently shit myself, the first in a series of events that led to my parents' divorce. It wasn't the shitting. It was the head injury.
36. Outside of the US and the UK, the first steam engine railway service in France started in 1820 between Saint-Etienne and Lyon.
37. The oldest active steam engine was built in 1778 by James Watt.
38. America became the leading distributor of steam engines during the 1800s because it was able to produce them cheaply.
39. Early steam locomotives were made of cast iron.
40. The first steam locomotive was so heavy that it broke the rails.
41. The idea for the steam engine was patented by Thomas Newcomen in 1705 and was later expanded upon by James Watts in 1769.
42. During the 1800s, the average steam train could only run up to 30 MPH.
43. Sometimes I look at my naked body in the mirror and wonder where it all went wrong.
44. Steam engines are still used today in many developing countries.
45. The seven main components of the steam locomotive are the firebox, boiler, steam dome, rods, smokebox, the stack, and the cab.
46. The firebox is where the fuel is burned to create heat
47. I met a girl the other day. Her name is Mary. We’re dating now.
48. Hot gases from the firebox are pulled through tubes in the boiler that heat up the water surrounding them, creating steam.
49. Inside the steam dome are the regulator valve, safety valve, and whistle. The regulator valve is attached to the throttle in the cab. The engineer uses the throttle to control the quantity of steam delivered to the cylinders. The safety valve opens to release steam when the pressure becomes too high.
50. The engineer utilizes a sand dome, which contains sand that is thrown either in front of or behind the wheels to maintain traction.
51. With the advent of the steam train also came the roundhouse, which was a type of work shed for trains that encircled a turntable.
52. Coal would be delivered via hopper cars to coal towers. The car would empty the coal into the pit, and using a pulley system that coal would be lifted into a silo. When a train was ready to be refilled, it would drive under the tower, and coal would dump into the tender.
53. The tender is the part of the train that contains its fuel.
54. Sand towers would also be built to fill the sanders
55. Sanders (or the sandbox) are boxes on the bottom of train cars that shoot sand at the wheels using compressed air. This is to improve adhesion in both braking and traction.
56. With the steam train no longer in the mainstream, most coal towers remain obsolete.
57. Mary and I had a fight. We're going through a rough patch in our relationship right now.
58. Because of the constant need to be refilled, water towers were placed at every small town depot.
59. Most rural stops were favorite hangouts for robbers.
60. The reason why I put all of this effort into researching steam trains for this one blog is to distract myself from the fact that I’m going to die one day.
61. My father sent me a text. "Are you taking your medication?" I blocked his number.
62. The term “horsepower” was originally a marketing tool that James Watts used to explain how many horses the steam engine he created could replace.
63. George Pullman was the inventor of the “sleeping car,” which provided a more comfortable way of traveling.
64. The sleeping car was too expensive, so most companies refused to lease it.
65. After Lincoln’s assassination, a sleeping car was used to transfer his body. The train made front-page news, and sleeping cars became prominent after that.
66. Time zones were invented because of railroads.
67. Before time zones, all of America ran on local time, which varied from town to town. This made it difficult for trains to meet their arrival, departure, and connection times.
68. I blacked out again recently.
69. I woke up covered in a strange red residue all over my hands and forearms.
70. I turned my head. Mary lay on the floor, dead.
80. In 1919, a steam train was used to transport puppies between New York and New Jersey.
81. The puppies were given to street urchins and peasants.
82. Those last two facts aren’t real.
83. I have a new group of friends.
84. We put on dark make-up and perform rituals with each other.
85. Paimon will rise again.
86. Boiler explosions were common due to constant use.
87. Fire tube boilers were used on steam trains to increase water capacity.
88. Fish were sometimes stored in the water tanks to keep the water clean.
89. I remember now.
90. I killed Mary.
91. We were walking home together. It was dark. We took the alley.
92. She said that she didn’t like modern Eminem and that Nickleback is actually a good band, they just got caught in a bad trend.
93. I lost my temper.
94. Paimon will rise again.
95. Pieman will rise again.
96. Pamoin will rise again.
97. I am Paimon.
98. Look upon my mighty form and weep!
99. I eat puppies to satiate my urge to spill blood.
100. There are many steam trains that you can still ride today!
101. Steam trains have brought people together for over 200 years! :)
Those are the facts! I hope you enjoyed 101 Facts About Steam Trains. To end this blog, here is a cute animal video for moral support:
Sources:
https://kidadl.com/fun-facts/steam-trains-facts-know-how-steam-locomotive-changed-the-world
https://www.threeriversrambler.com/steam-engines-101
https://blog.modeltrainstuff.com/five-essential-elements-for-modeling-the-age-of-steam/
https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-trains
Thank you for providing the general FiMFiction-going public with this enlightening compendium of revelatory facts about steam-powered transportation over the centuries. :)
P.S. I remembered to do the thing this time!
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lol nice!