[jambutty]

The smoke from the old steam engines was another reason for their demise. I doubt if gas powered boilers for steam engines would work. First of all it is still a fossil fuel and therefore limited and secondly it wouldn’t get over the efficiency or rather lack of it of a steam engine. I won’t even mention the ‘raising steam’ time. Yes I will! As near as I can remember it a steam train boiler would have to be fired up some three hours before there was enough steam to move the darned thing and that was another reason for goodbye steam trains.

I understand that the technology exists to make coal fired power stations environment friendly and coal is something that we have a plenty. But no British government would ever allow themselves to be placed in a position where miners could hold the country to ransom ever again.

Why doesn’t some clever person consider a hydro electric scheme. Oh! Sorry! I forgot! Too many Nimbys around.