QUOTE (Biker1 @ Jul 27 2017, 07:55 PM)
That's an interesting idea OTE.
But ridiculous surely?
Unlikely anyone has thought of that before!Great find; thanks for that!
Yes, see where an abundance of cheap electricity can lead! Seriously though, real innovation often takes what seems to have been a blind alley technology and adapting it anew. For instance, I'm convinced absorbtion refridgeration has a very bright future; because it's so much more fuel efficient than compression. So then, steam engines. Oliver Bullied the Southern's last steam engineer was the only one to try a fundamental rethink. His Leader class engines. Perhaps coupled up to an electric or otherwise fuelled boiler, it would work. Similarly, given micro reactors are more than feasible, no reason, apart from public fears, why that shouldn't be a source of primary heat.
Then there are straightforward electric trains. Sure, a lot of research still needed but there were and potentially still are high hopes for sodium and such like storeage batteries. So, in simple terms, how much lower would be the first cost to have electric trains running under the wires to say here and then switch to battery for the trip on to the West Country and back? Now that's a real bi mode train!