yes
To move people and freight long distances.
Wikipedia has a good article on locomotives, including links to other sources. For information on the engineering aspects of locomotives, educational sites like HowStuffWorks offer informative articles and videos.
locomotives???
You keep locomotives in a shed
its not "basically unsafe". its safety depends on how the reactors are engineered. many people once thought steam locomotives unsafe because they exploded and killed people so they wanted them banned. better engineered locomotives eliminated the problems and they survived until more efficient diesel electric locomotives replaced them. now people ride trains pulled by restored old steam locomotives for fun with no fear of explosion.I don't believe any technology is "basically unsafe". But I am a Technologist and Historian of Technology.
Las Vegas Locomotives was created in 2009.
The first locomotives to haul pasengers could go about 20 mph.
Sibiu Steam Locomotives Museum was created in 1994.
locomotives are used to propell railcars. They can be in a push or pull mode. Locomotives are generlly diesel or diesel electric. If a locomotive starts to lose its propullsion power it will require maintenance.
locomotives
The locomotives, (Electric Mules) are used to pull ships through the locks of the canal. Also due to the very close fit of the largest ships (like the panamax tankers), the locomotives work together to maintain ship position within the width of the locks. sometimes there are only inches to spare on each side.