Paragraph on “Steam Locomotives” complete paragraph for Class 9, Class 10, Class 11 and Class 12

Steam Locomotives

The first steam locomotive was built by George Stephenson in the year 1825 and was called ‘Locomotion’. The steam locomotive simply defined is a large water boiler on wheels. The front of the engine comprises of a boiler which houses a large number of metal tubes, in the middle is the driver’s cab and in the rear is a separate cab in which coal is carried. Water is filled into the boiler area and a fire is lit under it, additional coal is fed into the fire under the boiler and the water gets converted into steam. As the pressure of the steam increases, it is sent into a steam chest where it pushes a piston connected to the wheels of the engine, as the piston moves it causes the wheels to rotate and the locomotive moves forward or backward depending upon the driver. Steam locomotives being energy inefficient were replaced in most countries with diesel locomotives and subsequently electric locomotives but many are still used in poorer countries.