Originally posted by Hoghead
Windmills and the railroads bottom line are a universe apart.
Windmills were about someone's bottom line at one time...
The point here was to illustrate that old technology is not necessary obsolete technology, or that there was no merit to the idea any longer.
The thinking goes something like:
Windmills are an old solution to an old problem.
We have a new problem.
Old solutions can't be applied to new problems.
Therefore windmills are not the solution.
There is a precident for electrically "fired" steamers, but generally, it probably introduced too much inefficiency to go from electric -> steam -> motion, when you can just do electric -> motion.
I think the biggest problem with steam is the need for all that water. You have to stop every 100 miles or so, or have track pans, all of which is expensive infrastructure.
Which brings us back to hoghead's point about the bottom line...
Andrew