I have a friend that saw T-1's in action, whose father rode behind them in RPO cars.
Is a re-creation based on the fact that there are no surviving original examples? I
thought there were, but pay little attention....none across from the Strasburg or
elsewhere? Not enough parts left to do a restoration of an original? Such a project would make me think of Doble trying to make an easy to operate steam automobile, and best the Stanleys and Whites. I don't think you will get away from steam being labor intensive, and we are running out of places we can go to for cheap labor. The N&W and C&O experimented with then modern ways to make steam more economical....certainly a means of getting locomotives off imported fossil fuel is of interest. This sounds like making a full size version of the Girl's Train reproductions, where, for some (me), such a model has one thinking, "Fake, fake, fake!". They have built modernized repros of vintage automobiles like the Ford Model A, and classic Auburn and Duesenberg. I do not think that production lasted long, and they bring
up the same thought.
The Chinese are no longer building steamers? I would guess they would have made
the most recent efforts to make them more cost effective. One would suggest looking
at the power in nuclear submarines, but can just guess what a furor that would
generate. (that is steam replacing diesel, heh heh)
