Is coal or wood better for trains?

Eventually a softer coal was mined, and by the 1860s and 1870s, coal was accepted as the best fuel for trains. The conversion from wood to coal began in Vermont around 1880 and was complete by 1892, with the bulk of the conversions taking place between 1884 and 1886.



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Until 1870, the majority of locomotives in the United States burned wood, but as the Eastern forests were cleared, coal gradually became more widely used until it became the dominant fuel worldwide in steam locomotives.

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Historically, coal has been the single most important commodity carried by U.S. railroads.

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Q. Modern trains use electricity as their fuel.

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It found that passing trains carrying coal add on average 8 micrograms per cubic meter of air (ug/m3) to ambient PM2. 5 pollution. That is 2 to 3 ug/m3 more than freight trains contribute.

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Thanks in part to these technologies, U.S. freight railroads can, on average, move one ton of freight nearly 500 miles per gallon of fuel, making rail the most fuel-efficient way to move freight over land.

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Freight and passenger rail rely almost exclusively on diesel power. The latest diesel innovations contribute to cleaner air and reaching climate goals.

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Mallard: The world's fastest steam locomotive | National Railway Museum.

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Of that, each loaded car weighs 143 tons apiece with 100 tons of coal in each car. This is exclusive of each locomotive that could weigh up to 415,000 pounds apiece. Depending upon the daily fluctuations of coal as a commodity, the value of the coal itself could reach as high of upwards of $1 to $1.6 million per train.

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