How does a steam locomotive work?
A. If you continue to surf the internet you will find more sites on steam engines and steam power. It’s a simple concept but some of the machines get a little complicated. There are two basic parts to the steam locomotive, the “boiler” and the “engine”. The boiler turns regular water into high pressure, high temperature steam. It flows out of the boiler via a throttle (or regulator in the UK). This controls the amount of steam into the cylinders. The cylinders are forced back with steam pressure and that forces the wheels to turn via a simple linkage. The precise time the steam enters the cylinder is part of the magic. When it’s done correctly, it controls the direction and speed of the locomotive. As steam leaves the boiler, water must be added or you will run out of steam, but worse, you will run out of water and overheat the boiler causing a boiler failure. So water level control is very important.
