Steam locomotives of the 21st century
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Despite the advent of electric and diesel locomotives in the mid-20th century, steam locomotives continue to be used and constructed into the 21st century.
Steam locomotives constructed in the 21st century fall into two broad categories: those that use advanced steam technology to be commercially competitive with diesels; and those built to more traditional designs for hauling tourist trains. Even locomotives in the second case likely use some modern methods and materials. These include welded boilers, to simplify construction, and roller bearings to improve reliability. For health and safety reasons, asbestos is not used for boiler lagging and is replaced by other materials, such as glass fibre. If the locomotive runs on main lines, safety systems such as the Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) and an On-Train Monitoring Recorder (OTMR) must be fitted.
Steam locomotives were still produced up until 1999 in mainland China with the last locomotive built being SY-1772. Several members of the class were also built for heritage railways in the USA. Other locomotive classes that were still being built in China during the 1980s and 1990s include the QJ class, C2 class and JS class. In East Germany steam trains saw use up into the 1990s on narrow gauge networks with some still being steam hauled today. in 1985 a replica of the Iron Duke class locomotive was built by the Didcot Railway Centre this was later followed by the construction of a replica at the Coalbrookdale Museum in 1990 of the Coalbrookdale Locomotive, later in 1991 No.7 of the Talyllyn Railway was constructed while a replica of Planet was constructed at the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry, several locomotives based on the design of BRB H 2/3 No. 6 and 7 were built in Austria and Switzerland for the Schafberg Railway, Chemin de fer Montreux–Territet–lion–Rochers-de-Naye and Brienz-Rothorn Railway between 1992 and 1996. locomotives of the class CFR/CFF 764-4 were constructed between 1982 and 1987 in Romania for forestry railways. In the United States the Northwestern Steel and Wire mill in Sterling, Illinois operated steam train until 1980 while one railway, Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway used steam locomotives until 1986. In Australia two railways in New South Wales still operated steam locomotives with South Maitland ending steam operations in 1983 while the Richmond Vale Railway ended their steam operations in 1987.
Revenue operations
JS-class steam locomotives were used in active service at a rural coal mine in western China until January 2024.[1] They hauled coal trains until 2022, after which a few remained as switchers. In Eritrea, steam locomotives are still used in irregular revenue and commercial service. Due to oil shortages in North Korea, steam engines have started to be brought back into service. In the Tuzla region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the coal mines still use World War II-era German-built steam locomotives. On the island of Java in Indonesia, several sugarcane tramways still use steam locomotives.[2][3] Several railways in Cuba continue to use steam trains with these being used for sugar cane plantation farms or tourism.
Railfan & Railroad stated in 2022 that "the only places on earth to see steam locomotives in revenue freight service are small switching operations in China, North Korea and Bosnia", but that these were "sporadic at best".[2]
