Some US shortlines continued steam operations into the 1960s and beyond; the Northwestern Steel and Wire mill in Sterling, Illinois continued to operate steam locomotives until December 1980, and the Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway, which had used steam since its inception in 1973, continued until September 1986. By this time, around 1,800 of the over 160,000 steam locomotives built in the United States between 1830 and 1950 still existed, with a fraction still in operating condition at museums, on tourist railroads, or in use on mainline excursions.