# HOW A STEAM ENGINE WORKS STEAM LOCOMOTIVE PRINCIPLES 61024

This black and white instructional education short film The Steam Engine (as it applies to locomotives) was produced by Young America Films (Centron Corporation), using footage originally shot by British Information Services. The film was most likely released in the 1940s due to the presence of streamline “modern” trains. It opens with a steam engine train coming up the tracks (:34-:43). Passengers inside are shown, including some being waited on in a dining car (:44-:56), before returning to a close-up of the train and its steam (:57- 1:10 ). To provide a historical view, an animation and explanation of a Newcomen atmospheric engine for pumping is shown, created by Thomas Newcomen in 1712 ( 1:12 - 4:17 ). James Watt improved its design in 1781 with his Watt steam engine that could be used to turn wheels ( 4:18 - 5:38 ). This steam engine design further evolved in 1829 with George Stephenson’s Rocket, the most famous early railway locomotive ( 5:39 - 6:23 ). The graphic changes to show further advances in train steam engines ( 6:28 - 6:50 ). A streamliner emerges from a tunnel \[the shape applied to some high-speed railway trains of the 1930s to 1950s\] ( 6:51 - 7:00 ). The cut-away graphic shows and explains in detail how these trains still use the same steam locomotion principles as the Rocket ( 7:02 - 10:00 ). A man hand activates a railroad crossing “look listen” gate to warn cars of an approaching train, which flashes past ( 10:01 - 10:18 ). We encourage viewers to add…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/61024TheSteamEngineVwr)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/61024TheSteamEngineVwr?play=1)