Will Steam Locos Come Back?

When I think about steam power, I think back to simpler times - when ironworks were king, when travelling cross country was an adventure, and around every turn, something new and exciting was waiting to be discovered.

Aside from the romantic times, steam power had it's draw backs - it was dirty, labor intensive, costly to run and more power meant larger and heavier locomotives. Diesel seemed to be the answer in the early part of the 20th century - it was cheaper, relatively better to the enviroment and though the locomotives were more expensive than steam units, they earned their money back in reliability and a better cost per ton ratio. But now, with ever increasing fuel costs, and the ever present truck freight alternative still looming, perhaps the scales have shifted back to steam.

Cleaner burning coal technologies are continuing to be more and more eco-friendly, and even in the late 80's, the Chesapeake and Ohio (Chessie) line was to have experimented with a new steam powered locomotive prototype (kind of a cross between a streamlined diesel body with steam powered attachments - pictures can be found on the last pages of Brian Hollingsworth's 1984 book, North American Locomotives, Historical Directory of America's Greatest Locomotives from 1830 to the Present Day, ASIN: B000NDBA6W). With fuel costs such as they are, coal powered locomotives might be the way to go...again....now if they could just work on the size versus power issue....