The current NASA prediction is for a ten foot rise in sea levels by the middle of the century.

Many are now saying that we should stop burning all fossil fuels by then. There is plenty of timber around, a non fossil fuel, that could be converted into charcoal for ease of transportation.

In Britain the electrification of main lines will put too many demands on an already overloaded national grid. Also in countries such as Canada it is not viable to electrify long lengths of line.Although a diesel  train is one of the most efficient existing ways of transporting goods for long distances, it still relies on a reciprocating engine and these all have a very poor thermal efficiency.

My idea is for an existing (British) Deltic diesel to be converted into a turbine electric locomotive. This would involve removing the diesel, generator, head end diesel, fuel tanks, and radiator. They would be replaced with a steam turbine and generator specially designed by Rolls Royce. This would require additional finance. The boiler would need to be situated on the back of the locomotive and would require a slotted bogey to allow for sideways motion. The charcoal would be carried in a separate tender and would be fed to the boiler by automatic conveyor.

Electric power for the carriages could be provided by the main generator, since the boiler would remain hot whilst the locomotive was stationary.

The locomotive would produce no pollution and no greenhouse gasses.