Locomotive Engines

Locomotives may generate their power from fuel (wood, coal, petroleum or natural gas), or they may take power from an outside source of electricity. It is common to classify locomotives by their source of energy. The common ones include: Steam locomotive engines

The first railway locomotives were powered by steam, usually generated by burning coal. Because steam locomotives included one or more steam engine, they are sometimes referred to as "steam engines". The steam locomotive remained by far the most common type of locomotive until after World War II.

The first steam locomotive was built by Richard Trevithick; it first ran on 21 February 1804, although it was some years before steam locomotive design became economically practical. The first commercial use of a steam locomotive was The Salamanca on the narrow gauge Middleton Railway in Leeds in 1812. The locomotive Fairy Queen, built in 1855 runs between New Delhi and Alwar in India and is the oldest steam locomotive in regular service in the world, and the oldest steam locomotive operating on a mainline.

Before the middle of the 20th century, electric and diesel-electric locomotives began replacing steam locomotives. Other designs, such as locomotives powered by gas turbines, have been experimented with, but have seen little use.

Starting in the 1940s, the diesel-powered locomotive began to displace steam power on North American railroads. Following the end of World War II, diesel power began to appear on railroads in many countries, By the 1960s, few major railroads continued to operate steam locomotive.

A gas turbine-electric locomotive, or GTEL, is a locomotive that uses a gas turbine to drive an electrical generator or alternator. The electric current thus produced is used to power traction motors. This type of locomotive was first experimented with in 1920 but reached its peak in the 1950s to 1960s.

The electric locomotive is supplied externally with electric power, either through an overhead pickup or through a third rail. While the capital cost of electrifying track is high, electric trains and locomotives are capable of higher performance and in some cases lower operational costs than steam or diesel power

Engines