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<p>[quote user="MerrilyWeRollAlong"]Perhaps the Chinese could help us for once <---sarcasm.  They're a country whose been holding on to steam with mainline steam dying within the last year or two.  Even though oil wasn't as expensive as it is today, they decided to switch to diesel instead of sticking to coal.  Considering some of China's sketchy labor practices, they could mine the coal and run the trains at "slave" wages yet they decided to purchase diesels (some from EMD).  I believe they have just as much coal as we do yet as far as I know, they don't seem to be pushing new steam locomotive technology.  They seem to be looking at investing in high speed electrified trains and some maglev technology.  Based on what I have read, there are still a few mainline steam enginers deadlined around the country and I'm sure there are still some steam servicing facilities that haven't been dismantled yet.  They probably could easily relight the fireboxes again but there doesn't seem to be any sign of that.  I'm not much of a fan of their government, but perhaps they could shed some light as to why they have moved away from steam.[/quote]</p><p>The thought of China occurred to me as well.  I would not be surprised if China is the first to develop high tech steam locomotives.  In the meantime, they had nothing to lose by dieselizing.  They probably intend to build all our diesel locomotives one day soon, so dieselizing their railroads would be valuable experience for that manufacturing objective.  For transportation, China probably wants to use as much oil as they can get their hands on while saving their coal for their exploding electrical demand.  I have heard that they are in the process of building 562 new coal fired power plants at the rate on one every five days. </p>
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