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Old 02-12-2011, 10:13 PM   #23 (permalink)
jamesqf
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Dave View Post
Probably the easiest thing the US could do to reduce oil usage would be to find a way to electrify freight railroad mainlines.
It's not as though there's some great unsolved technical problem with this, either. European railroads have been electric for decades.

It could be especially nice in the west, with a little planning. Say you've got an eastbound train leaving Sacramento, then you just make sure your westbound train hits Donner Summit at the same time. The westbound one goes downhill, feeding regenerative braking energy into the line, which the uphill train uses to climb the grade.
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