Sweden’s early and determined electrification efforts quickly moved steam away from the main lines to the auxiliary network and in 1941, all the main lines from the very south to the very north were more or less completed. With the availability of new Diesels, steam started to get phased out of regular service, starting in the end of the 1950s. Some ten years later, most of it was gone and in 1972 it was a formal end on the SJ network. However, the most dependable types were conserved as a "strategic reserve" for some additional 20 years. Therefore, the Swedish museum railways have had an excellent supply of engines and spare parts in mint condition at the price of steel scrap. Further, some vintage engines have been "exported" to museum railways in Denmark, UK, Germany, Holland, USA and Canada.
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