#2010s issues

[weirdowithaquill]

What Fuel would NWR Steam Engines use Today?

This is a question that I think a lot of people in the fandom are asking, especially with ever-more stringent environmental laws, the war in Ukraine cutting off Russian coal and the end of coal mines in the UK and the western world.

So, what exactly are Sodor's options if Sir Topham Hatt wants to run a steam railway in the 21st century.

I will do a separate post based on what I think the Fat Controllers do to ensure their engines run safely and profitably into the 2020's, but this post is all about fuel. Now, let's talk options:

1: Coal:

This is what Sodor is already using, and is the option that I think Sodor would enter the 2000's with. However, the UK has been rapidly closing coal mines since then, with the last deep coal mine in the United Kingdom, Kellingley colliery in North Yorkshire, closing in December 2015, and many of the mines that produced engine-grade coal already being closed. From this point on, the NWR has two options really: American anthracite coal (which is in decline) or Russian anthracite coal. Most British heritage railways used Russian coal due to its cheap and plentiful nature, leading to their current predicament of skyrocketing prices caused by tariffs and a cut-off from the Russian coal supply. Polish coal is an option some railways are switching too, however this is also quite expensive and not as plentiful as the previous coal.

Another option would be Australian bituminous coal, which is a worse coal for engines but is far cheaper and more plentiful. This would be unlikely, but could potentially be used as a desperate measure by the railway while searching for a better and more permanent option. Remember, bad coal causes a lot of havoc on Sodor even when considering different grades of anthracite coal.

2: Electricity:

If you've ever watched Train of Thought's video on electric steam (find here), then you may just know what I'm about to suggest. During the 1940's, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) converted a pair of steam engines with pantographs and used the electricity to boil the water. There was also a patent taken out in Canada as recently as 1992 for a steam engine that uses electricity to boil the water.

The pantograph part of the design would not happen - as much as Sodor has updated and modified their engines, whacking a pantograph on them would be crossing a line. So, what are the other options? Well, they could potentially use a third rail, and hide the converters and other pieces inside the bunker or tender, with what space remains being a perfect spot for extra water storage. Another option is batteries in the place of the bunker or tender, this in essence turning the engines of Sodor into battery engines.

The issue here is that the batteries are not really very efficient above the size of a Tesla, and a third-rail system has the potential to cause issues with any safety equipment on the ground (GWR had problems with their AWS system when travelling near the Southern Railway or the London Underground).

The battery version is something I could see being implemented on branchline and shunting engines however, as they could stay near charging ports and best utilise the extra range and lower emissions such a change would bring, without having as many drawbacks. Another advancement would be using an electric battery to preheat the boiler and to power the electrics in the coaches.

3: Biodiesel:

Before anyone goes insane about the idea of converting the NWR engines to oil-fired, I think I should say that I mean torrefied biodiesel pellets, as tested by the CSR in the USA on steam locomotives since as early as 2016 (article linked here). Torrefied biodiesel pellets have similar qualities to coal, including the fact that they can be shovelled and stored similarly to coal.

They don't really look that different to coal, do they? And in this trial, the engine they were trialling it on (Milwaukee County Zoo Train No. 1924) not only ran on 100% torrefied biodiesel, but also reached just under 200PSI. CSR has also ran tests on standard gauge engines, and the fact is that the Skarloey Railway would probably be an early adopter.

Furthermore, Sodor is a primarily agricultural island, and due to globalisation, the farms would be looking to find new crops with which to make a profit from, as the prices of cheap international products hurts their smaller farms. The NWR looking at biofuels would be a golden opportunity for them, and the NWR would have the crops needed for biodiesel locally, decreasing shipping costs.

The issue with biodiesel as a fuel is that it does not burn as hot as conventional coal, and it burns quicker. It does however start burning sooner, meaning setting a good fire in the mornings would be easier.

Railways using steam power are currently being faced with these major issues, and Sodor would probably be at the forefront of the debate, as its heavy usage of steam and early diesel engines makes for problematic encounters with environmentalists. However, Sodor would also be one of the largest supporters and financers of steam research, and would, in my opinion, use a mix of electric steam and biofuels to preserve their fleet of engines well into the 21st century. And yes, it would be theoretically possible to create an entire scientific essay out of this.

One again, pictures are not mine, and remember to tell me your ideas!

[rahabq]

[bizarrelittlemew]

*slaps roof of movie*

[ancestral-steppe]

kid icarus uprising promotional float, 2011

(pictures from famitsu, original article now deleted)

[sanjipussyindulgence]

i know i get pissed about the yamato gender discourse/general transphobia in the one piece fandom at least once a month... but how do you read this panel and miss the point. freedom is such an important concept in the series and, as we see from the newkamas, that includes the freedom to identify as whatever gender you want. you are actively ignoring and disrespecting one piece's values when you misgender yamato, kiku, or any other character. i hate people.

[thottybrucewayne]

[skitskatdacat63]

2010 Bahrain Grand Prix - Fernando Alonso

[dlstmxkakwldrlarchive]

(throwback) SHINee For Nylon Korea Magazine August Issue ☆ 'Not For Boys'

[victorian-nymph]

The Palmer thing scene but someone put california girls on the playlist before doing the blood tests

[dailydefunctmangamagazine]

Monthly Comic Birz (月刊コミックバーズ) / Gentosha Comics (幻冬舎コミックス) / Jan 2014 issue

[uncanny-tranny]

I think another aspect of conservative thought people need to understand is the idea that it's all about dominance.

The reason why sayings like "we don't want to trans your kids, we want trans kids to live" is because, in the conservative mind, you are replacing their dominance with your own. It can never be about what is best for others, it is always about expressing absolute power and control.

Natural selection, at its ideal, will weed out the people who "shouldn't live." If their existence is a threat to the already-established hierarchy, then it's obvious that they shouldn't exist in order to challenge hierarchy.

While this certainly isn't a "conservative-only" mindset, it's a trend I have noticed more in conservative spaces. This is why I don't always think it's helpful to go on about how, "Oh, we don't want to threaten your worldview. We just want people to live 😊". You will fundamentally be threatening their power in their minds. Therefore, nothing you say can truly take away from the anxiety, fear, and anger at losing control that may be instilled.

[vertigoartgore]

Amazing Spider-Man #655 textless interior art by Marcos Martin.

[bizarrelittlemew]

watched boy (2010) with taika's commentary and i'm not the same person anymore

[ickypuppi3]

childhood au except it’s baby billy who lives with his mom and neil’s not in the picture and steve’s the one who moves to california and the two of them are not friends because steve thinks billy’s weird and tells him as much when they first meet but billy just never drops the idea of them becoming friends because, well, he’s billy

and one of the first things steve tells billy is that he’s pretty and billy’s confused because he always thought being pretty was a good thing because his mama would always smile when people called her pretty but steve says it with a frown on his face like he’s annoyed before telling billy that he’s too pretty to be a boy and walking away

cue years of billy asking steve if he wants to come out to play and trying to show steve a flower he found or asking steve over to his house and rich kid steve thinking he’s too good for all that, that billy will screw his reputation up and also battling with this big crush he has on billy that he doesn’t actually know about himself until he gets older and goes through girl after girl after girl and still can’t get billy off of his mind

and then maybe they’re on speaking terms again at some point but billy’s kinda over steve now for obvious reasons but steve is absolutely head over heels for billy and eventually he tells billy as much and billy’s like.. why? and steve lists all the reasons he loves billy and the last one is that he’s pretty and billy kinda glares at him and is all oh yeah? like a girl? and steve’s all no, like billy

[moistvonlipwig]

Honestly I tire of how often discussion about Cordelia is framed as a narrative of victimization. Charisma was treated horribly by Joss Whedon and this absolutely affected Cordelia’s arc in some ways, and Cordelia’s narrative treatment has a place in discussions of patterns of misogyny in the Buffyverse. But ‘victim of Joss Whedon’ is too often where the conversation stops. Cordelia was part of the Buffyverse for 6 years before Season 4 and she has an excellent send-off episode after it. There are a myriad of ways to analyze her character development within the context of both BtVS and AtS. She has an incredibly rich story and develops complex relationships with multiple other characters. And ultimately she ends her arc by reclaiming her own agency and voice. You can critique the way said agency and voice was denied to her in Season 4 without pretending that’s all she is. Too often her story is framed as a tragedy, sigh, let’s all shake our heads about how she was Ruined and Assassinated, God forbid we actually talk about what her character arc was like before or after she got possessed (which is different from being Ruined or Assassinated but God forbid we acknowledge that either). I find this to be simplistic, performative, and frankly condescending. Cordelia Chase deserves better than that.

[mathsbian]

Megamind walked…

so Spider-Punk could run.