Weight is an advantage in a locomotive. Allows them to pull more.
Don't hold your breath on hydrogen distribution.
 Paul Lamar
<snip>

Newbie here - My biggest concern with hydrogen is containment.  Practical
quantities require liquification, which means cryogenics or high pressure.
(What is the pressure of liquid H at room temperature?  I can't remember.)
Cryogenics calls for a huge thermos bottle.  Not something I want to be
within a hundred feet of in an accident.
Shannon

Andy Hecker wrote:

Purely academic Shannon.  The current plan is a type of explosion-proof
'fuel cell' (along the lines of race car fuel cells, not hydrogen fuel
cells).  The tank is full of small hydride tubes with an ID of a hydrogen
molecule.  The tubes are full of hydrogen.  Can't explode, not liquid
storage.  Don't think 'LP gas' here.

The hydrogen economy is here, folks.  Ever hear of NiMH (nickel metal
hydride) rechargeable batteries?  Stored hydrogen.

I recently read an article on hydrogen storage and fuel cells.  I think it was in Popular
Mechanics within the last few months (a truly great scientific resource ;-}  ).  The author stated
that one or more companites had successfully combined hydrogen with cheap, readily-available boric
acid (sodium borate) to form a non-flammable source for fuel cells.  A little heat and a catalyst
allowed enough hydrogen to be released to fuel an engine, while the core fuel source remained
basically non-flammable.

I'm not sure about the speed or methods of recharging, but this might involve a replaceable fuel
cell or recharging with pressurized H2.  Since a major cost of refurbishing the fleet of existing
gas vehicles with another fuel source is the fuel distribution network, an interesting concept
arises:  If you only need hydrogen, everyone could make it at home.  Power + water and possibly a
pressurizing system might allow a slow-charging system during the night from any home.  If
feasible, this would dramatically reduce the need for interval fueling stations, much to the angst
of the oil companies.

IMHO, the best solution to some of the crises we are currently involved in is to be 100%
self-sufficient in fuel, instead of relying on distant, unstable foreign nations for critical
resources.  Perhaps a national agenda to push hydrogen technology might help us move toward this
goal.  Yeah, I know, we still need to produce the power to make hydrogen, but we already have the
technology to accomplish this.

Scott Gettings

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