Registered: Oct 28, 2009
Total Posts: 2358
Country: United States
The largest operating steam engine in the world is the Union Pacific 3985. It weighs about one million pounds! It is so long that it actually articulates in the middle so it can go around curves. The engine is called "The Challenger" because it is of the Challenger class. It was built in the 1930s to haul heavy trains over the Rocky Mountains. It was later augmented by the Big Boy, a class that was even longer and heavier! 
None of those are now operating. They are too long to turn around!
Union Pacific sends the 3985 around on their tracks for public relations. Everyone in the towns comes out to see it run, and the display at the end of the day. I managed to catch it last fall in Missouri Valley, IA. It came in late, just after sunset. I received permission from the Steam Team supervisor to set up my monolights and take some photos after all the other visitors had left. I was left pretty much alone with the iconic engine. I could hear it panting in the darkness like a great beast. O.W. Link, the master nighttime railroad photographer, took his famous photos of steam trains running at night. He tried to photo them in the day light, but many locations along railroad tracks have lots of unsightly "junk" lying about. Link wanted a cleaner look. He knew that at night, if he didn't want something in his photo, he simply kept light off of it. The rail yard at Missouri Valley had lots of junk I wanted to avoid, as well as vehicles etc. that would "date" the photo. By shooting at night I not only created a more timeless image, but also made use of the drama and mystery of the night. I bribed the fireman to stay at his post in the cab with the promise of a nice 8x12 print. 
Kent in SD
I used x4 X3200 monolights to light front of engine,
and one SB-28 (pointed up) behind it to light the
plume of steam. There were 20 and 30 degree grids
used to reduce spill. It soaked up a lot of light!
but I do recognise you dont make pics like this by luck.