>>2060015Power. An electric locomotive can be 2-3x as powerful as the diesel-electric equivalent. On hills it can be the difference between topping the climb at 20mph with a diesel vs 60mph+ on electric.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paz35i25L2o&list=TLPQMzAxMTIwMjVmE5PKitACHA&index=4And that's just the tip of the iceberg. They're more efficient, don't produce emissions, and can regenerate energy that would otherwise be lost in braking resistors as heat.
In the UK if the DfT can stop being incompetent and have a coherent plan to electrify it wouldn't take much effort.
In the US, you have class 1 RRs beholden to investors who want short-term returns. High capital-cost projects like electrification directly go against that aim. Add in all the other aspects that would need changing (clearances for 2x stack, loco run-through, etc), and it's a non-starter unless there's another oil crisis or the Fed/CA govt decide to step in.
>>2060018And a big part of why it was closed down instead of the Hope Valley line was the non-standard line voltage. 1500V DC was on its way out in the UK, and it was far easier to justify closing Woodhead than spending more money on changing the voltage.
