The public has greeted the restoration of these steam locomotives warmly, but it was several factors operating behind the scenes which made these projects possible. Besides the motivation provided by the nostalgia people feel about the glory days of rail and the willingness of so many retired master technicians to commit themselves to the projects, Wu Yi-han points out that cooperation between the TRA and environmental agencies was also required.
蒸汽火車復駛引起熱烈的迴響，然而在熱潮背後帶動的因素，除了一般人懷念鐵路風光、老師傅願意在退休後仍身膺重任之外，吳易翰指出，鐵路局與環保單位取得共識，使「冒煙」火車得以上路亦是原因之一。