steam!

[Doug Rorem]

>From: "Robert J. Harris" <bob at bobthecomputerguy.com>
> ....
>What you will have is the problems of external combustion and water
>recycling to have sufficient range.   Railroads had water towers at frequent
                              *****
>intervals to avoid carrying more than a couple of hundred tons of water and
>coal at a time.
> ....

That's exactly what I've heard for the reasons of the demise of steam
locomotives.. Roughly 100 miles range between water stops. There's also
the pollution problem of soot from the burning coal, but I imagine that could
be overcome today. I believe the maintenance issues of steam are also
more costly than with diesels.

--
Doug Rorem
University of Illinois at Chicago         (312)-996-5439  [voice]
EECS Department  RM 1120                  (312)-413-1065  [fax]
851 S. Morgan Street                      (708)-996-2226  [pager]
Chicago, IL 60607-7053                    rorem at uic.edu