Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
It seems to me that there are two reasons for new steam: 1)          To satisfy the nostalgic motive of re-experiencing the lost age of steam.  This is the impetus of restoring old steam locomotives to operation, and another alternative is to simply start from scratch by building a brand new locomotive that typically replicates something from the historical age of steam. 2)          Commercial application to the role presently played by diesel-electric and straight electric locomotives.  Here, the motive would not be nostalgia or recreational, but rather to return to the use of coal for its cost advantage over oil.   I don't believe that all possible approaches to new steam locomotive design would lend themselves to both of the above two reasons for new steam locomotives.  The restoration of any historical steam locomotive would satisfy reason number one, but not reason number two.  Even the most advanced locomotives at the end of the age of steam probably would not prove viable for reason number two.What I really wonder about is what new locomotive design would satisfy reason number one.  Certainly a faithful all-new replication of a U.P. Big Boy or a Pennsylvania K-4 would satisfy reason number one.  But what about a completely new design of a steam locomotive with all new technology?   For instance, a locomotive that runs on steam, but is very quiet, makes little if any smoke, has little exposed machinery, and has an air-conditioned cab with electronic controls and computer monitors.Would the fans riding behind the K-4 on a fan trip accept this new design locomotive as a suitable equivalent to the K-4 just because both are steamers capable of pulling their train?
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