In addition, with more people chasing disappearing steam locomotives, a steam locomotive boom took place across the country in the first half of the 1970s; a lot of fans began to come to good places for taking pictures of steam locomotives typified by the place between Mena Station and Kami-mena Station (now abolished) in the Hakodate trunk line and Nunohara Signal Station (now Nunohara Station) in the Kibi Line, and even some people who were not interested in railroads started chasing steam locomotives.
また、姿を消していく蒸気機関車を追うように1970年代前半に全国でSLブームが起こり、函館本線目名駅-上目名駅間（現・廃止）や伯備線布原信号場（現・布原駅）などに代表される撮影ポイントに多くのファンが押し寄せるようになり、まったく鉄道に興味のない人まで蒸気機関車を追いかけるようになったのである。