The End Of Coal As We Know It--At Least In Britain/England

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:30 am

For once, NOT political hyperbole.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51581817

Quote:

Sales of the two most polluting fuels will be phased out in England to help cut air pollution, the government says.

Bags of logs sold in DIY stores, garden centres and petrol stations often contain wet wood - a type of wood which produces more pollution and smoke.

The public should move to "cleaner alternatives", the government says.

Plans for the ban were first announced 18 months ago, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has now confirmed it is going ahead.

The government said wood burning stoves and coal fires are the largest source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), small particles of air pollution which find their way into the body's lungs and blood.

"Cosy open fires and wood-burning stoves are at the heart of many homes up and down the country," said Environment Secretary George Eustice.

"But the use of certain fuels means that they are also the biggest source of the most harmful pollutant that is affecting people in the UK."

The changes will mean:
Sales of bagged traditional house coal will be phased out by February 2021, and the sale of loose coal direct to customers will end by 2023 . . .

Makers of solid fuels will also need to show they have a very low sulphur content and only emit a small amount of smoke.

It is not banning wood or coal burning stoves.

Emphasis mine.

Now, IN THEORY, this does not affect a few mines in Wales which produces most of the preferred coal supply for heritage railways--as well as Scotland. But last I checked, there were but FOUR coal mines/pits active in ALL of the UK, with coal having vanished from the railways in traffic and the few coal power stations run on IMPORTED coal!

At Steam Railway Magazine's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/SteamRailway/p ... ?__tn__=-R

Quote:

Although this ban is not aimed at steam railways and heritage coal burners, it will likely have grave implications for the heritage movement's ability to source coal. The preservation industry's supply of coal is dependent upon the continued demand from the household market. Without that market, coal merchants have warned that the demand from the heritage movement alone will not be enough to sustain their businesses.

In their comments:

Quote:

Railways consume around 26,000 tonnes per annum; the heritage industry as a whole (including traction engines etc) consumes max 35,000 tonnes per year. By contrast, the household market consumes 130,000 tonnes per year, so we are but a drop in the ocean as far as coal merchants are concerned, hence why this ban is bad news for us.

The mining of coal suitable for locomotive use will come to an end in 2023, unless the government grants planning permissions for new mines/extensions to existing ones, but there is no indication if this will happen. After that, we will be totally reliant upon imports.

While we can get coal from overseas, the fears are that, if coal merchants go out of business as a result of this ban, there won't be the distribution network to get coal to railways. Add in to that the likely rise in the cost of imported coal and it's clear this will become a major problem.

There is an in-depth report on the coal situation in the current edition, on sale now.

Steam Railway's Facebook post and its comments warrants perusal for additional thoughts.

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:58 am

And then we laughed at that group that acquired a Santa Fe steamer purportedly to "test new biomass fuel"............

Faster, please???

70000 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:59 am

I know that one of the "new build" locos here in the UK which I am involved with - for a Victorian 4-4-0 - Is going to be constructed with alternative fuels other than coal in mind for the future.
Domestic "Industrial" standard coal mining - for the likes of steel production - is not under threat at this time, but that type of coal isn't much use in the heritage sector.

CA1 · **Joined:** Fri Nov 11, 2016 10:17 pm **Posts:** 246

For an operation like Strasburg I would think burning oil would drastically increase the operating costs of running steam as fuel costs for oil over a month or year etc will be drastically more than coal for the same amount of running.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:48 am

CA1 wrote:

For an operation like Strasburg I would think burning oil would drastically increase the operating costs of running steam as fuel costs for oil over a month or year etc will be drastically more than coal for the same amount of running.

Not necessarily.

It truly depends whether or not they (all hypothetical, of course) convert to waste vegetable oil (WVO), or diesel, other forms of petroleum, or even (just being farcical here--maybe) CNG.

Brother Hadder over at the GCRY can chime in with the status from Arizona, but as I am to understand it, the demand for WVO, by people with motivations for "going green" (legal or PR) FAR outstrips the available supply, leading to now-premium prices for what used to be a processed waste product.

Then there's BTU calculations, the fact that you're converting locos with fireboxes designed for coal, etc.

Better start eating more French fries, fish & chips, donuts, etc.

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 1:14 pm

I've been saying this for years. Coal is a dying fuel economically and environmentally and I've said more than once that any major rebuild, restoration, or replica steam needs to be done with a bio-fuel source in mind. At least Strasburg has a Snyder's potato chip factory in their region they could draw on for WVO. I figure that a typical tourist railroad would have to contract with just about every restaurant in their immediate region on a year-round basis to get enough used fry oil to operate a six-month, three or four day/week steam operation. Grand Canyon is owned by a company that provides food service for just about all of the National Parks in the West, so that is their source, and they only run steam on an occasional basis. Bio-Diesel might be an option for some, I don't know the costs per gallon involved, but I'm sure it's more than coal per ton. It might make sense for the tourist railroad industry to become a partner in a liquid bio-fuel company to secure supplies, like there is a group liability insurance plan. If we want to continue to have tourist steam in this country, we're going to have to get ahead of the curve, and not just the torch.

WVNorthern · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 4:16 pm

Herr's Snack Foods in Nottingham, PA is only 25 miles from Strasburg and produces lots of potato chips along with pretzels and other snack-type products. They are on the south end of the old PRR Octoraro branch and get vegetable oil by the tank car full.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 6:11 pm

Two things to consider:

1) If you are regularly producing that much waste vegetable oil, someone's going to be paying you for the raw stock. For the past decade or more, restaurants in various parts of the nation--ones that used to just dump the grease in a 55-gallon drum with a clamp-on lid and wait for the weekly visit from the food processor company--now have to keep their grease in locked containers behind locked doors/gates. If you don't, we guarantee you someone will be by to steal either the oil/grease or the barrels.

2) If you have any choice in the matter, you want PROCESSED WVO, one with all the particulates, bread crumbs, French fries, burnt onion rings, sludge, etc. filtered out, then refiled slightly to a consistent viscosity--occasionally with diesel fuel cut in just to be sure.

So, the Strasburg, GCRY, etc. will/does NOT send a truck out to visit restaurants, any more than the Texas State RR can just stop at an oil well to top off a tender. They buy a product from a WVO "refinery." The processor is the one that gathers the stuff.

I knew an environmentally-conscious attorney that went whole-hog, owned diesel-powered cars, and set up his own biodiesel "refinery" in his garage. He was foiled, however, when restaurants started demanding payment for what had been a waste product.

Chris Webster · **Joined:** Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:45 am **Posts:** 1087

PaulWWoodring wrote:

I've been saying this for years. Coal is a dying fuel economically and environmentally

Coal is used for more than just fuel -- for example, it gets converted into activated carbon and is then used to filter drinking and waste water. I expect coal will always be mined, just at a much smaller scale than when it was used for fuel.

Kelly Anderson wrote:

I believe that for oil to compete with coal, it would have to cost us about $0.75 per gallon, but it beats going out of business...

I wonder how much your railroad could earn from having some Tesla Superchargers in your visitor parking lots?

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

Sully · **Joined:** Thu Dec 01, 2005 2:24 pm **Posts:** 76

I certainly hope there remains the ability for RR coal use well into the future.

Kelly if you are serious about oil, check out recycled waste oil and heavy oil sources. Much of what goes to Jiffy and the auto mechanics shops gets collected and cleaned for resale in many ways. Check with local pavement/asphalt plants - many use heavy fuel oils and waste oils for the hot mix plant drum for good BTUs. They know the big resellers. Five to ten years ago in central NC I was quoted $1.15/gal for a minimum 2.5k gallon truck load. $350 delivery fee. 5k-6k gallons was closer to $1 and similar delivery fee, sources from Wilmington and Charlotte. When I tried to break it down to price per BTU, it seemed close, but I may be wrong.

If you can source WVO - more power to you. If setup properly, it works well and can generally be blended with petroleums too. IMHO

-Sully

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:36 pm

I'd rather see conversions to bio-fuel, but if that is not currently practical, the miniature guys at the St. Louis area 12 in. ga. Wabash, Frisco and Pacific have a sweet deal with an aircraft repair/overhaul facility at Lambert airport. When a jet comes in for overhaul, any fuel remaining in it's tanks has to be drained and not used as aircraft fuel again. So, they give it to the WF&P to fire their steam locos. Jet A is pretty much just a more refined kerosene, so it's not as volatile as gasoline, and burns just fine in their 1/5th scale engines. So if your operation is anywhere near an aircraft repair facility, you might look into what they do with the fuel they take out of planes in for service. I don't know if you could get enough of it to operate a full-size locomotive on a regular basis, but might be worth exploring.

mrwalsh85 · **Joined:** Sat Feb 02, 2013 3:55 pm **Posts:** 100

PaulWWoodring wrote:

I'd rather see conversions to bio-fuel, but if that is not currently practical, the miniature guys at the St. Louis area 12 in. ga. Wabash, Frisco and Pacific have a sweet deal with an aircraft repair/overhaul facility at Lambert airport.

Keep in mind that Jet A is a product that is not just "thrown out" at a whim.

We get it by the barrel, whenever they have some ready for us to pick up. We usually have plenty on hand, but it would take a LOT to supply a full size steamer. I don't think that relying on local airports is viable for a steam operation. 55 gal might last us a few weekends of operation (we only operate Sundays, May-Oct). One steamer will burn a few gallons- five, tops, per trip, and each oil burner will make 5-6 trips a day, depending on the passenger loading and how many steam engines are in the rotation.

That being said, not all of the JetA that we get from the airport goes straight into the tender tanks. It is my understanding that the guy who picks up JetA has a filtration system at his place, so there is some waste before we even see it at the railroad.

No matter how you slice it, crush it, or dilute it, anything that burns and can be used as a viable energy source is going to cost money. It's how you utilize the resources to it's maximum potential for the least cost per energy unit. If you need a system to refine waste oil (recycled motor oil, fryer oil, etc), it will cost more up front for the infrastructure design/install, but you can reduce your unit cost by bringing in bulk material. But if you don't want the trouble of refining your own material, then you will have to pay someone else for their investment as well as processing costs (and profit).

A railroad that owns their own steam engines as well as infrastructure (SRR, DSNGRR, CTSRR, TSRR, etc...) have the option of setting up their own infrastructure on their own property. However, a steam locomotive running on a Class 1 mainline (SP4449, ATSF3751, etc), does not have the option of running their own system - not without the equipment to haul around to refueling points as well as bulk storage of the fuel whenever the engine is not running.

Interesting times lay ahead. Disney World was ahead of the game with using their own food services' Waste Oil, and others have followed suit. Who will be the next game changer?