powerplant united states army no. 101
A ___MASK45___ is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid . US Army 101 is a 2 - 8 - 0 steam locomotive that was originally operated by the United States Army . It is one of two survivors of the 1 , 500 General Pershing locomotives built in 1916 -- 1918 for the War Department in World War I . The 101 went on to see action in three wars -- World War I , World War II , and the Korean War . On a steam locomotive , a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive ' s pistons ( or turbine , in the case of a ___MASK35___ locomotive ). On a conventional , non - articulated locomotive , the driving wheels are all coupled together with side rods ( also known as coupling rods ); normally one pair is directly driven by the main rod ( or connecting rod ) which is connected to the end of the piston rod ; power is transmitted to the others through the side rods . Richard Trevithick ( 13 April 1771  22 April 1833 ) was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall , England . The son of a mining captain , and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall , Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age . He performed poorly in school , but went on to be an early pioneer of steam - powered road and rail transport . His most significant contribution was the development of the first high - pressure ___MASK45___ . He also built the first full - scale working railway steam locomotive . On 21 February 1804 the world ' s first locomotive - hauled railway journey took place as Trevithick ' s unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks , in Merthyr Tydfil , Wales . A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a ___MASK45___ . These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material  usually coal / coke , wood , or oil  to produce steam in a boiler . The steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotive ' s main wheels ( drivers ). Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive , either on the locomotive itself or in wagons ( tenders ) pulled behind . The first steam locomotive , made by Richard Trevithick , first operated on 21 February 1804 , three years after the road locomotive he made in 1801 . The first practical steam locomotive was built in 1812 - 13 by John Blenkinsop . Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives , represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , usually in a leading truck , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels . In the United States and elsewhere , this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation . Overview . Of all the locomotive types that were created and experimented with in the 19th century , the 2 - 8 - 0 was a relative latecomer .