Steam locomotives were not replaced due to lack of power or speed, but for the increased efficiency and ease of maintenance of diesels. Those old engines pulled hard and were damn fast.
IIRC today’s engines are driven by electric motors.
We were also told at the fair by the docents, when this particular train was on display for years, that it caused prairie fires as it roared across the plains — there were so many sparks coming from the stack.
The young engineers working on it said THAT had to be dealt with b/c it would never be allowed to “fire up” if it shot out sparks as it did in the old days.
Must have been a wonder to see that thing roaring down the tracks.
When I was a kid in Oklahoma, the Rock Island 5000 class 4-8-4s used to blow thru town doing 70+ with a mile of freight cars behind them.
You are absolutely correct. Those babies were not without power or speed...