Loss of life was a common occurrence in the widespread use of steam engines. Failure to keep a correct ratio of water and fuel (wood, coal or straw) at all times could result in a boiler explosion.

Steam engines were used to power train locomotives, steamboats, machines in factories, equipment in mines, and even automobiles before other kinds of engines were invented. Boiling water in a tea kettle produces steam. Steam can power a steam engine.

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be transformed, by a connecting rod and crank, into rotational force for work.

It is the heat from firing coal. The water boiled in the boiler produces steam which moves piston attached to the wheels of the train which then moves.