How were steam locomotives powered?
They were powered by air pressure pushing a piston into the partial vacuum generated by condensing steam, instead of the pressure of expanding steam. The engine cylinders had to be large because the only usable force acting on them was atmospheric pressure.
Do steam locomotives use electricity?
An electric-steam locomotive is a steam locomotive that uses electricity to heat the water in the boiler to create steam instead of burning fuel in a firebox. Normally, it would be much more efficient to build and use an electric locomotive.
How much fuel does a diesel locomotive use?
Similarly, a typical train might haul 3,000 tons of freight 500 miles and consume approximately 3,049 gallons of diesel fuel. The efficiency of this freight haul would be calculated as: (3000 tons x 500 miles) / (3,049 gallons) = 492 ton-miles per gallon.
What kind of energy does a steam locomotive use?
A steam locomotive is essentially a large energy converting machine. It takes the heat energy from burning a fuel, and uses this to boil water to create exceptionally high pressure steam.
Where is the coal stored in a steam locomotive?
Coal and water for most of our steam locomotives are stored in the tender, which is the truck behind where the crew drive the engine from. This is full of water and coal.
Where did the energy for steam engines come from?
Most of the energy we use for transportation today comes from oil, but that wasn’t always the case. Until the early 20th century, coal was the world’s favorite fuel and it powered everything from trains and ships to the ill-fated steam planes invented by American scientist Samuel P. Langley, an early rival of the Wright brothers.
How is steam produced in a power plant?
Steam is the gaseous phase of water which is formed when the necessary latent heat of vaporization is supplied to water at its boiling point. Steam is created in power plants at high pressures by the burning of a fuel within a boiler.