The "Steamin' Back Into Town" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Watching a few trains at the Lancaster Train Station.  Was just a half block away from my house when I was growing up in the 50s and 60s.  I can remember years ago watching the trains pass through the station; both passenger and freight trains.  The trains were powered at the time by either diesel or electric.  The diesel engines ran on diesel fuel while the overhead catenary wires were used to power the electric engines.  In the middle of the 20th century the diesel locomotive offered significant operating advantages over the steam locomotives.  The diesel engine could safely be operated by one person and could be started and stopped almost instantly.  The steam locomotives required intensive maintenance, lubrication and cleaning before, during and after use.  I can remember when I taught school and one of my friends and fellow shop teachers used to be a fireman on the Strasburg Railroad.  His job was to shovel the coal into the engine's firebox.  Hard physical labor that was eliminated when the diesel engine came along.  Name of my friend was Jerry and he and his wife, Just Sue, are the same friends that travel on vacation with my wife and me.  Well, after the diesel came the electric locomotive which helped with the pollution problem that was created with the diesel engine. Seems that today there is a push to bring back the steam technology.  I was reading a story in Wired magazine that talked about some engineers that have designed a steam loco that in simulations out-accelerates the latest diesel-electric hybrids and can reach speeds around 130 mph.  The group of engineers and technicians plan to reclaim an old steam engine and modify the boiler and engine to double its thermal efficiency.  They also plan to optimize the weights that are used in the wheels to build momentum.  Biggest revolutionary idea is converting the firebox so it will run on biocoal plant matter that's been thermochemically treated to increase energy density and remove smoky volatiles.  Claims have surfaced that the old steam engine will now run cleaner than a diesel and cheaper than the diesel-electric hybrids.    Maybe someday in the near future I will be able to take my grandson to the Lancaster Train Station and watch the old steam engines come chugging into the station with the speed of today's engines and not pollute the air as it stops to pick up passengers.  Can hardly wait!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

Photo taken from Wired Magazine.  Shows the old rusty steam engine on the left and the refurbished engine on the right.