Commentary: What The Auto Realm May Think It Lays Claim To Propulsion-wise, Odds Are Good In That Space, The Railroad Realm Has ‘Been There, Done That’ Already
You gotta hand it to the auto industry for manufacturing and making available for purchase and lease, state-of-the-art motor vehicles that drivers and their passengers use to get around in. But whatever it is that’s going on under the hood, the auto industry more than likely has some railroad-industry representative somewhere, to thank for that.
You want to talk about automobile steam power, regarding the railroad realm, it’s a case of: (it has) “been there, done that”.
You want to talk about gas-powered propulsion, re the railroad realm, it’s ditto: “been there, done that”.
You want to talk about diesel-driven locomotion, re the railroad realm, ditto again: “been there, done that”.
You want to talk electric operation, the railroad realm’s got that covered, also.
You want to talk hydrogen fuel cells, yup, that, as well, has shown up in the railroad realm.
And, even when it comes to hybridization, the railroad realm’s gotten in on that too. Only as applied to trains, it’s referred to as dual-mode operation.
In many cases, it was in the railroad realm that said technologies were pioneered. So, in that sense, with regards to all standard automated propulsion types, the realm of railroading was early to the game.
And, speaking of which, the name of the game, if I may say, “ahead of the game” is the railroad realm.
And, though not here in the United States but elsewhere, the railroad sector has adopted two propulsion technologies that have never been a standard application in automobile land: magnetic levitation and atmospheric (air-power) propulsion. Whereas maglev has seen more widespread acceptance, atmospheric propulsion in the railroad realm has only experienced limited success.
Updated: Feb. 14, 2025 at 3:45 p.m. PST.
Image credit: Pearson Scott Foresman via Wikimedia Commons
All material copyrighted 2025, Alan Kandel. All Rights Reserved.