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[quote user="carnej1"] [quote user="blue streak 1"] [quote user="bubbajustin"] If railroads electrified they would consume a huge amount of electricity right? In turn, that would raise energy costs for us right? [/quote] Let us look at it this way. A diesel electric thermal efficiency is some 25%+. Modern power plants are about 40%+??. If these figures are close to correct the oil used in power plants to generate power (oil doesn't have to be refined as diesel does which also saves energy) is not as much as the diesel used for the same ton miles. This assumes the energy needed is traded 1 for 1 (I know not likely) then we still have a net reduction in oil used?   [/quote] Oil fueled power plants are becoming scarcer and scarcer in the U.S, many have been converted to Natural Gas fuel. Coal and Nuclear plants both generate much more power than coal. If you're speculating that there would be some new plant construction to power railroad electrification I would bet anything none of them would be oil fired............... [/quote] I spent most of my working life with one of the largest electric power generators in North America.  We only used oil as an emergency fuel when every other option had failed.  The last time we burned any oil, other than for test purposes, was more than 20 years ago during a terrible ice storm.  If significant electrification of America's railroads becomes a feasible option, with sufficient lead time, the nation's electric utilities could come up with the power.  A significant portion of it is likely to be nuclear.  At last count the U.S. has 22 new nuclear power plants on the drawing boards and plans to begin constructing them in the near future.
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