what type of traction is best

[Lancashire 9F]

Whats best Steam, Diesel or electric

 

[Darandio]

Diesel

 

[Techniquest]

Diesel. End of.

 

[Lancashire 9F]

No way Diesel its so boring:-x
Steam RULES!!!

 

[37427]

Diesel, can't beat a 37 either.

 

[Mr Alex]

No way Diesel its so boring:-x
Steam RULES!!!

Get more variety in diesals than in steam plus they each have a distinctive sound whereas steamers are all the same basically.
I dont mind steam but I prefer diesal

 

[EE Type 3]

Diesel Hands down.

Although I am partial to a Collett now and again

 

[jopsuk]

Depends what you're after, obviously- if you want a speedy, smooth, clean, efficient service, there's only one winner. Steam's fine as living museam pieces, and Diesel has it place where there's no point (not enough services)/it is impractical to run wires, but as a commuter/traveller, electric wins.

 

[Phoenix]

I have to go with electric due to my past experiences and general love for the sparks.
But have to agree that sticking your head out the window in a tunnel to hear a B***h of a loco pounding her heart out for your hearing pleasure.

 

[37427]

and general love for the sparks.

Sparks are great, but I prefer diesel clag.

 

[me123]

Hmm... I want to say Diesel, but Electrics are better for the environment and I do my best to be green... so its gotta be... Electric.

I'm just not a big fan of Steam myself.

 

[Techniquest]

Sparks are great, but I prefer diesel clag.

Good bit of diesel clag is just what the doctor asked for! Bring on Saturday...

 

[Aureol]

STEAM!
Steam allll the way
VERY closely followed by diesel

 

[laseandre]

Diesel, then Electric , then Steam, then Battery.

Deltics and 37s win it for the Diesels. Can't beat 55022's clag when its on all engines.

 

[Ascot]

Diesel for me, depends what era your born in though.

 

[Metroland]

I like them all, but steam, best looking, electric, best performance, Diesel most flexible. If I was ordering them, they'd be close, but Steam, electric, diesel.

PS not sure it does Ascot, quite a lot of people like steam and they were born after it was taken off the main line, me included. I think younger people are not used to seeing steam, expect perhaps on preserved railways and then only at slow speeds.

[youtube]J_DqDg-iKEQ[/youtube]

[youtube]1lSYDbYrXIo[/youtube]

PPS Steam smells better too! And no, all steam locos don't sound the same!

 

[class 313]

Hmm... I want to say Diesel, but Electrics are better for the environment and I do my best to be green... so its gotta be... Electric.

I'm just not a big fan of Steam myself.

There's not much difference between a DMU and an EMUs Co2 footprint IIRC.

Diesel, but Leccys come a close 2nd.

I used to think all steam locomotives sounded the same, but after listening to a fair few they don't.

 

[Metroland]

Passenger rail diesel is 69 g CO2 Pass Km
Passenger electric is 51g CO2 Pass km

And steam loco Tornado with a Railtour and 500 people behind her is

15000 / 500 = 30 g CO2 Pass km, that’s nearly 4 times better than a Toyota Prius. Most of what comes out of a steam loco, is well steam.

So go green, go steam!

Sources

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/08/01/article-1040538-0224D21200000578-8_468x272_popup.jpg

http://www.atoc-comms.org/admin/userfiles/Energy & Emissions Statement - web version.pdf

 

[djw1981]

But you have a non valid comparison, unless you assume maximum loading of the DMU/EMU as well...........and should a steam loco not be compared to a diesel loco (cl66Eco?) and electric loco (cl90)?

 

[GWRtom]

Diesel then steam

 

[Mr Alex]

The thng that really gets me though, diesal enthusiasts such as myself and a lot of people on here, like steam as well and except steam enthusiasts. However, I have found that steam enthusiasts dislike diesal enthusiasts (No offence to anyone on here) and therefore seem to think that diesals should be band from the mainline along with there followers.

 

[Metroland]

But you have a non valid comparison, unless you assume maximum loading of the DMU/EMU as well...........and should a steam loco not be compared to a diesel loco (cl66Eco?) and electric loco (cl90)?

Depends what sport of comparison you want to make. Most steam locos now work on railtours or preserved lines where loads are good. But with the same sort of average load out on today's railway (about 1/3) it's not going to be that much worse than diesel, indeed slightly better in some cases.

People think of steam as 'ungreen' and old fashioned. The point I'm making is, your sexy sleek EMU is really a steam loco on the end of a wire, what with turbines driven by steam in most power stations. Our 'modern society' still relies for the most part on burning fossil fuels or processing them, it's just a lot of the crap is hidden away.

But wait you say, not all power stations driven by coal. Well, nor are all steam locos, indeed they can run on anything to. Steam is just generated by 'a heat engine'. Switzerland had 'electric' locos, that were a steam engine, the electricity being generated by hydro, heating the water and making steam to drive the loco.

More to the point, we have some steam engines today that are over 100 years old, still working. When they were in service, 60 year-80 year old engines were not uncommon. So they were pretty green from a life cycle point of view, unlike most of today's consumer goods which are just thrown into landfill after 5 minutes. As a comparison, some lines in the days of steam, for example the Cambrian, had the same locos in service for 80 years - the Dukedogs, in much the same livery. These days we can't resist repainting every 5 mins as one TOC bows out and another comes in. Things were built to last! The signalling at Lincoln, which dated from the 1870s, has just been taken out of service. I would bet today's IECCs will not be in service in 130 years time...

Some people think that when we used to burn coal years ago, we cleaned up our act and started burning cleaning fuels like gas. Well, that is partly true, but the sheer scale of burning these days in the world makes yesterday pale in comparison. In terms of resource use and energy per capita, the 1920s, 30s, and 50s lifestyle was green and probably something the planet could stand with the population at that time.

http://www.wri.org/image/view/10079/_original

Finally, the last steam engine was designed in the 1950s in this country, around 60 years ago, what if steam was allowed to develop?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4076811.stm

 

[jopsuk]

Passenger rail diesel is 69 g CO2 Pass Km
Passenger electric is 51g CO2 Pass km

And steam loco Tornado with a Railtour and 500 people behind her is

15000 / 500 = 30 g CO2 Pass km, that’s nearly 4 times better than a Toyota Prius. Most of what comes out of a steam loco, is well steam.

So go green, go steam!

Sources

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/08/01/article-1040538-0224D21200000578-8_468x272_popup.jpg

http://www.atoc-comms.org/admin/userfiles/Energy & Emissions Statement - web version.pdf

the info on Tornado doesn't say what loading that emissions rate is at- it could be (although unlikely) Light Engine for all we know from that. Typical Mail science coverage- gives an incomplete picture. I don't blame you for this, but it would be nice to know more.

Then in France, if you discount the one-off CO2 emissions from building and decommisioning, in day-to-day use their electric trains are very low emission, as a very large part of France's electricity is from nuclear.

 

[Metroland]

Well yep, it doesn't say what load it is, one can only assume it's a normal railtour train. I do have some coal consumption figures for various steam locos and done some back of the envelope calculations and the Tornado figures would be in the right ball park. No doubt the A1 trust will have further details.

As for France, yes, their system is pretty green that's due their high proportion of Nuclear power as you say, which has the same CO2 emissions as wind, more or less - although disputed.

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic...e/layout/mmcomparator/mmcomparator_wishes.jsp

 

[JoshW1992]

Definately steam. Much more attractive. Has a character of its own. Beats diesel for elegance and fascination.

Although, I'll be just as happy with a 37 on full boar

 

[Lancashire 9F]

Good Steams getting more votes
as for the carbon footprint debate the most envirnmental option must be Horse drawn trains!!!

 

[Daniel533]

Steam every day of the week, just cant beat the sights and smells.

 

[twright]

I love the smell of a steam engine! I find how they work so fascinating as well!

However, I also quite like the smell of diesel!! When it comes to pretty, rural railways in the heart of the country, I would say anything but a steamer is out of place. However, you can't beat the flexibility of a diesel - powerful and able to haul heavy loads and can run anywhere.

But, strange as this may sound after all that i've said..... Electric!

My local railway is electric (third rail rules!), and you just can't beat that fast, smooth acceleration from stations and the sound of the electric motors, particularly on units from the early - mid '90s like networkers!

 

[EE Type 3]

Diesel for me, depends what era your born in though.

I grew up in the diesel age, but follow steam aswell.

Great Western Railway and English Electric for me!!

 

[Crompton Karl]

I like Steam, but it has to be Diesel for me.