Steam VS. Diesel.

If you like steam locomotives, go out to see and ride behind the few operating examples now. Sometime in the not too distant future the regulatory agencies involved in safety and emissions issues are likely to become very critical of them. Only their small remaining numbers have saved them from closer scrutiny so far.

To quote H. F. Malone:

Steam locomotive=Museum piece.

H.F.Malone wrote:Steam locomotive=museum piece.

Agree....

The steam locomotive suffers from inherently abysmal thermal efficiency. Best case is about 6% - operating in the real world it’s probably 3% or less. Add to this the steam locomotive’s vastly increased maintenance requirements, downtime required to perform maintenance, air emissions difficulties, increasingly stringent regulatory, inspection and insurance issues stemming from it’s classification as “fired pressure vessel”, etc. All conspire against steam.

And regarding alternative fuels (biomass, etc) as steam locomotive fuel, on account of the steam engine's poor thermal efficiency it would be more cost effective to convert this stuff into biodiesel or similar, then burn it in a convential diesel locomotive than it would be to to fire it directly in a steam locomotive.

As others point out above, aside from it’s nostalgic and curiosity value pulling an tourist trains, the steam locomotive has no future.

Just a thought since the drice of GAS was on the rise.

Much of what all of you fellas have written is for the most part accurate.
There were however, some few builders/railroadss that tried to do the "modern thing" with their steam locomotives.
As for mass produced locomotives with interchangeable parts, UP requested that their 4-8-4s, 4-6-6-4, and even the 4-8-8-4 had many parts that could be utilized on the differing engines. Then there was the
advances made by N&W with their J class, A class, and Y6bs. Which were late built steam locomotives. Particularly the Js, which had very modern, for the times, mechanisms and appliances.
Had the modern," thirtys built steam locomotives" not been beat to crap during the Second World War, out of necessity, and the advances not been made in the improvements in the diesel prime mover up to and includeing the 1939 FT freight set, I feel there would have been some kind of a modern, steam locomotive.
Due to critical need during the war years, the internal cumbustion engine and metalurgy used in same made giant steps forward. These improvemnts sifted over to the diesel engine also. And only in a few instances did this same metalurgy and sience transfer to the steam locomotive.
If one takes a look at the history of machinery in the last fifty or so years, its clear that the steam locomotive was at its zenith for the times, and the diesel was being developed into the dependable machine we all know. That developement energy was not extended to the steamer.
I only wish I knew that if the same or even more modern technology was incorporated into the steam locomotive, wheather or not we would have some sort of modern steamer in regular service today.

Take care,


Bruce

What about the steam locomotive being developed by American Coal Enterprises?

Would that be the same one, they have been "developing", since the early 80's? I think Ross will be developing that one, from the "great beyond"..............

insanerocketkid wrote:I seriously don't get why everyone thinks there are gears involved in a steam locomotive. Geez!

It's all valves and wheels and rods. No gears. Gears belong on diesels.

There are gears on the more modern valving, like Caprotti and the other poppet valve systems.

Engineer James wrote:Just a thought since the drice of GAS was on the rise.

It would be far better to string up catenary and go electric, than to go back to steam.

Well for me, Steam all the way. Diesel engines are moving boxes on wheels. For frieght hauling, overnight trips, or commuter, diesel is the way to go for efficent use and economical, but for tourist lines, thats where steam engines rule the rails. No matter if diesel or electrics take over, steamers always rule in some parts like tourist lines. Also another beauty of a steam is that I have seen a tiny little 3-truck 59ton shay haul seven large cars full of passengers up a 9.5% grade, and no big diesel engine could do that on its own. It would take three big diesels to handel that kind of job, and the tight curves that little shay can handel is imposible for diesels to handel. For some things, steam engines can get accomplished better than a diesel can.

US> However, how do they make electricity in place like West Virginia or here in Michigan? WITH COAL!!! Why do you think C&O was able to hold on to their steam locos for SO long??