Note: this is regarding a steam "engine", as in fixed to a foundation, not a steam locomotive.
After internal combustion engines replaced
most steam engines by the 1950s, generally steam was only found in industrial plants that needed steam for other processes (refinery, plywood plant, etc) or electrical power plants, and almost always these became turbine plants. Reciprocating steam was dead.
So as I was Googling for something else, I was quite surprised to discover there are modern reciprocating steam engines being produced today, by an established manufacturer that also makes steam turbines. These are modular, with 1 to 6 cylinders, and you can see that here:
[
www.spilling.de]
Apparently steam turbines run best with tightly controlled conditions, meaning if the steam supply varies, the turbines don't run efficiently. A reciprocating engine does better in this case. These are available in relatively small sizes: 100 kW to 500 kW (about 135 hp to 670 hp)
Here's the story of a NZ plywood plant that installed one:
[
www.powergenworldwide.com]
These units are seem to be most suited to applications where steam is being generated anyway, particularly if you have a supply of low value fuel, but its quite surprising to find that reciprocating steam is still competitive in a modern world.