What do you think will happen? Will diesel remain king? Will electricity steal the spotlight? Or, will raising fuel prices cause groups to consider steam power again? The ACE 3000 was a good example of this. What’s on everybody’s minds?
Diesel Will be King
DOGGY
i think when the fuel cell is profected…that might be the next genoration of power for a locomitives… … with the EPA putting more and more restrictions on engin emistions… its only a matter of time befor someone trys to put a fuel cell and a locomotive together…
i dont see the rail roads running out to string cattanary over thier main lines also… the cost would be astromoical… the cost to build the powerplants to make the power… cost to buy or convert locomotives over to electric only power… and just the cost of putting up the wires and suport structers and fusilitys would we way out of the rail roads bugets…now if the governement where to foot the bill…it might be differnt…but that will also never happen
steam is gone for good…
csx engineer
[alien]aparrently in england the goverment put a whole load of steam engines to one side in case of a nuclear attack in which all oil would be burned up. so i think that steam will be king because the are more relable[banghead]
[alien]sorry for the spelling mistake.
this:because the are
should be this:because they are[banghead]
There are a couple of technologies in development that may replace the diesel.
One is fuel cells, still in it’s infancy for such large applications, but certainly a possibility. The need to haul large amounts of hydrogen around is a consideration, however. It makes LP gas look positively safe.
The other is the hybrids such as the green goat, although it’s usefulness in long-haul situations hasn’t been established yet - the generator needs opportunities to charge the batteries, and I don’t think it’s big enough to actually power the loco.
I don’t think you will see traditional steam emerge again. If steam does show up, it will probably be to drive a turbine and generate electricity.
if thier was a nuclear attack… odds are even the steamers would be melted or severly damaged… if their was anyone left to opporate them
csx engineer
but the question is…
what fuel would you use to power it… if you where going to burn oil…why get rid of the diesle engine in the first place… you just put a more complicated system in place of a simpler system… a steam turbine is a majorly complicated unit comparired to a diesel engine…and then you got the down time of how long it would take to get the engin “up to steam” when it is started…also the added down time of adding water to the boilers… even if you uses a closed system such as they use on subs… the powerplanet would be massive…and the locomotive would be to big for use on the rail system as we have it today…
and as for coal agin…it goes back to the EPA restrictions on engin emistions…
csx engineer
Agreed 100%. Unless there is some major breakthrough in steam generation and use, it’s a dead technology for rail modern rail transportation.
The way things go, though, one can’t rule much of anything out. Somewhere, in a lab, someone is working on or toward the “next big thing.”
im not to fimiller with fusion technology…i know the basics behind it… and that fusion is what makes a H. bomb work… but what are the draw backs… are the bi-producs and waste as dangerous as with a fission reactor? are they the same as with the fallout of an H bomb explostion?
csx engineer
CSX,
I like the Fuel Cell idea they should do that
DOGGY
good deal…ill check it out on my off days when i have more time to read over the information…
tanks
csx engineer
Diesel will remain king probably forever. The cost of electric railroads is too expensive. Who knows? Someday they might come out with super diesels that exceed 300 miles per hour!
I figure bio-diesel would be the likeliest fuel to be used in the near future. Followed by pure bio-fuel and eventually fuel cells. Diesel simply cannot be king forever. Just as with steam sooner or later it will no longer be economical.
bio fuel…thats a new one on me…whats that all about…share the details man
csx engineer
“Biodiesel is a domestically produced, renewable fuel that can be manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant greases.”
From:
www.afdc.doe.gov/altfuel/biodiesel.html
Cooking fries today, hauling fries tomorrow.[8D]
How about:
methanol or ethanol
Don’t they make fuels out of guar? (maybe the same thing as ethanol)
Couldn’t they use hydrogen or nclear power to work a steam turbine?
Mag trains seem to work well, how about that?
I’m afraid we’ll have to come up with something else someday. Not any time soon, probably but someday. And think of this…we’ve only been flying for about a hundred years, using internal combustion engines for cars for about 90, and diesel power for the last 60 or 70 years or so, men in space for only 40+, so who knows what might come along? But I doubt there are many of us alive today who will see any major changes in transportation in any form.
Just my 2 cents.
mike
There is a working prototype of a fuel cell locomotive right now. I read about it in Feul Cell Magazine. That issue is sitting on my desk at work. I will get some more information on it and post it tomorrow.
George
You can buy ethanol blended gases at gas stations for your car, only problem is the ethanol burns quicker so you won’t get as many miles to the galon as you would normal non-blended gasoline.
Bio Diesel is awsome, and more and more people are using it in their diesel cars and trucks…only problem is getting the stuff. You gotta have connections with someone who does a lot of deep-frying.
Bio Diesel would be an awsome alternative, it’s great for the environment and uses up all the cocking oil that would normally be disposed of…they just gotta get that stuff into the main stream.
I think if you want to look the soonest into the future you have to take a look at the green goat like tree mentioned…it’s as close as you can get to a hybrid loco at the moment.
I don’t see atomic locomotives ever being used. Just think what would happen if one gets derailed and broken into pieces!