On Sat, 2003-08-30 at 22:32, cr wrote: > On Saturday 30 August 2003 21:19, Paul Johnson wrote: > > On Sat, Aug 30, 2003 at 01:44:43AM +0200, Arnt Karlsen wrote: > > > ..2 reason diesel-electric locomotives are popular; they are > > > about as clean as your average power utility, and they dont > > > put heavy loads on the power grids. > > > > Nope, and nope. Diesel electrics are popular because they give the > > most bang for the buck. Vastly more efficient than gasoline engines > > and mechanical transmissions (it's 2003, why can't I get a diesel > > electric car?, with fewer moving parts than the steam engines it > > replaced. This makes them dirt cheap and bloody reliable. > > Not quite so. When diesels were introduced they cost several times as much > as a steam loco of equivalent power. They have far more moving parts, > though smaller, and the 'electric' part of the installation gave trouble for > many years. Maybe they've found more reliability now. They require far > more sophisticated servicing than a steam loco.
The DEs I've seen trundling past my house create very little exhaust. Steam engines create a *lot*, and need to be regularly replenished with consumables. DEs just look to be more fuel efficient, and less offensive to the neighborhood. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ron Johnson, Jr. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jefferson, LA USA "As I like to joke, I may have invented it, but Microsoft made it popular" David Bradley, regarding Ctrl-Alt-Del -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
