Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by tpatrick If the goal is energy independence, we may not need a multi-multi billion $ electrification project. Just bring back the coal burning steam locomotive. Not the smoky, inefficient steamers we all know and love from the past. We know how to create clean burning highly efficient steam machines. We know how to MU them. We can address the balance and dynamic thrust problems. Even with other technical problems to overcome, we could do so far easier and cheaper than the proposed electrification. And the petroleum savings would be significant. On the other hand if the goal is to end the use of fossil fuels, steam does no good. The real problem is to overcome the political resistance to nukes. There is no other technology presently feasible that could produce the massive amount of power required to electrify the entire railroad system. [/quote] Shelor's article was about energy indepedence from foreign sources, not necessarily ending the use of so-called "fossil fuels" (because many petroleum geologists now consider the possibility of hydrocarbons being of abiotic origin, but that's a whole 'nother argument!). Indeed, he also advocates increased drilling of all potential U.S. sources of oil and gas. Since you mention coal, it is more likely that if it comes to that railroads will utilize some form of liquified coal derivitives like coal-derived diesel which are compatible with the current motive power, rather than going to a modernized version of reciprocating steam power or steam turbine.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag