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The Controversy of AT&SF Locomotive #3463

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Ever since dieselization, there has been small faction of people who believe that it did not have to happen, if only steam had become just a little more efficient.  This undying faith continued to push steam development forward in countries where steam held on longer than in the U.S. and other places.  The dream has been kept alive and occasionally given a boost by the prospect of rising oil prices and using abundant coal as an alternative fuel.  <o:p></o:p> The common backdrop assumption behind this dream has always been finding a way to make steam more cost advantageous than diesel locomotives.   <o:p></o:p> In that regard, this project with AT&SF locomotive #3463 is unlike any previous aspirations to bring back steam.  The central purpose of this project is one component of a goal to replace fossil fuel energy production worldwide with renewable energy.  And in the case of this one component, represented by this project, the purpose is to use torrefied biomass fuel to replace coal and oil in power generation and railroad transportation.  So, you see, this is not just about restoring an antique steam locomotive so she runs again on fantrips.  <o:p></o:p> Some of the people who have always held out the dream of the return of steam are indeed a part of this project with #3463, but the terms of the project are much broader than anything they ever dreamed of before.  The most striking difference is that this current proposal is not based on the goal of replacing diesels with steam for the purpose of reducing cost of operation.  Never before has the prospect of returning steam been proposed without that cost reduction component.  So this is unlike any previous flirtation with the return of steam as commercial motive power.
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