mushroomchow
Member
Afternoon all,
Just got back from a holiday to the USA, and during my trip I visited the Grand Canyon. While there, I was lucky enough to cop Grand Canyon Railway's No. 29 locomotive at the village station on a charter for a filming contract.
I was talking to a spotter who informed me that the line's steam locos had in fact been converted from coal firing back in 2009 and now run on waste vegetable oil collected from local restaurants. It was partly due to the green angle - originally oil fired, they had been suspended from operation in 2008 due to their heavy fuel consumption and emissions within the national park - and partly due to simple economics, with rising fuel prices making them impossible to run profitably.
I was impressed to say the least - there was very little to suggest that I was looking at anything other than a conventional locomotive, and the result was viable, cheap-to-run motive power with green credentials to boot. The video below shows 29 in action on a similar charter.
I've had my concerns about the UK heritage railway industry, by far the biggest in the world, for some time now, specifically its ability to adapt to dwindling, increasingly expensive coal supplies and the growing move away from fossil fuel use backed by government legislation and international commitments. There will come a time, sooner than many in the industry would like to admit, that coal burning locomotives will be economically unviable, or even banned by emissions laws.
I'd like to hear your thoughts on what approach heritage railways should take to keeping steam viable in years to come, with it being likely that it will become next to impossible to source coal at a sensible price within two or three decades. Do you like the idea of converting locomotives here to run on alternative, renewable fuels? What are the alternatives to coal firing?
As another angle, how does it sit with those of you who take a "purist" angle to preservation - is it more important to remain operational, or to stay as close to its original condition as possible - even if that results in permanent storage of a large number of preserved steam locos?
One last point - apparently the steam locos are nicknamed the "french fry express", as when working hard they tend to smell a little bit like a McDonalds.
Anyway - discuss!
Just got back from a holiday to the USA, and during my trip I visited the Grand Canyon. While there, I was lucky enough to cop Grand Canyon Railway's No. 29 locomotive at the village station on a charter for a filming contract.
I was talking to a spotter who informed me that the line's steam locos had in fact been converted from coal firing back in 2009 and now run on waste vegetable oil collected from local restaurants. It was partly due to the green angle - originally oil fired, they had been suspended from operation in 2008 due to their heavy fuel consumption and emissions within the national park - and partly due to simple economics, with rising fuel prices making them impossible to run profitably.
I was impressed to say the least - there was very little to suggest that I was looking at anything other than a conventional locomotive, and the result was viable, cheap-to-run motive power with green credentials to boot. The video below shows 29 in action on a similar charter.
I'd like to hear your thoughts on what approach heritage railways should take to keeping steam viable in years to come, with it being likely that it will become next to impossible to source coal at a sensible price within two or three decades. Do you like the idea of converting locomotives here to run on alternative, renewable fuels? What are the alternatives to coal firing?
As another angle, how does it sit with those of you who take a "purist" angle to preservation - is it more important to remain operational, or to stay as close to its original condition as possible - even if that results in permanent storage of a large number of preserved steam locos?
One last point - apparently the steam locos are nicknamed the "french fry express", as when working hard they tend to smell a little bit like a McDonalds.
Anyway - discuss!