Al Holleuffer wrote:At the rate the price of diesel fuel is rising it might not be so farfetched for some shortline to consider using a steamer to do their work. Some years ago the Crab Orchard & Egyptian RR in Illinois did just that. They started out with a 2-4-2 and later bought an ex-U.S. Army 2-8-0. Both engines really earned their keep for many years.
I'd bet more on a hybrid like the Green Goat/Green Kid, possibly run with bio-diesel or ethanol or some equivalent. Since they already use remanufactured EMD frames for the Goats, perhaps in a few years they'll have a drop in replacement power system for EMD SW1500s, MP15s and GP38s.
Also consider, all those exposed moving rods and gears on a steamer, while definitely cool, can be a maintainence nightmare and can be rough on the rails (the pounding action of the piston/drivers - not too many shays and climaxes left you know).
Heh, I'm still waiting for the Stirling engine to come into it's own (probably around the same time sustainable energy-positive fusion comes on line)