Steam Locomotion in the 21st Century The Recent History of Steam Locomotive Development |
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This page provides news on
working operation of steam locomotives, construction
of new steam, technical improvements to existing steam
locomotives, and similar news items.
Current Headlines:The Mainline
Steam Builders Group Formed in the UK Bio-Coal Testing on the Bure Valley Railway Progress on Pennsylvania 4-4-4-4 T1
Replica Construction Continues (UPDATED) Former
SAR #3450 "the Red Devil" Restored for Excursion
Service See the Steam News Archive
for older news stories. The Mainline Steam Builders Group Formed in the UKThe following press release was posted to Facebook by the 72010 Hengist group in the UK.Shaun McMahon: 1964-2022I was very sad to learn that Shaun McMahon had
unexpectedly passed away earlier this week, apparently
due to complications from a recent case of COVID-19. I
had corresponded with Shaun for close to 30 years, and
he provided a wealth of information and many photos
used in assembling these pages. I was fortunate to
have one face-to-face conversation with him a few
years ago via the internet, when we were both working
with the Coalition for Sustainable Rail. The Advanced Steam Traction Trust has posted a very
nice tribute to Shaun with a brief biography covering
his extensive experience with railways and modern
steam: https://www.advanced-steam.org/ast-news/shaun-mcmahon-1964-2022/ Bio-Coal Testing on the Bure Valley RailwayThe Advanced Steam Traction Trust assisted with two sets of tests using bio-coal, synthetic coal made from plant material, on the Bure Valley Railway in June and November of 2021. The use of bio-coal is generating great interest in the steam heritage industry as coal mines are closed and environmental concerns with the use of coal have increased. Bio-coal is considered "carbon neutral", as it adds no net carbon to the environment. The Coalition for Sustainable Rail (CSR) in the US has worked with the University of Minnesota to conduct similar trials with bio-coal here.Read more about the ASTT's tests here: https://www.advanced-steam.org/ast-news/further-bio-coal-trials-at-the-bure-valley-railway/ Progress on Pennsylvania 4-4-4-4 T1 Replica Construction ContinuesThe Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Steam Locomotive Trust,
a group building a new, replica 4-4-4-4, continues to
make impressive progress on the construction of this
locomotive. Considerable progress was made on the
boiler last year, and engineering work on other
components continues. This video provides an update on
the group's progress in 2021:
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Read more at the group's
webpage at https://prrt1steamlocomotivetrust.org,
or follow them on Facebook. |
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Former SAR #3450 "the Red Devil"
Restored for Excursion Service
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For more steam news from around the world, I highly recommend:
Rob Dickinson's "International
Working Steam Locomotives" |