Franglais:
If we’re going steam powered, why not turbines rather than pistons?
Why coal fuelled.
Steam turbine powered by a small nuclear plant.
No tax on uranium, so clearly the cheap alternative.
Even if you turn off the steam generator the bargees will get a nice warm feeling, an indoor suntan, plus no need for lighting because of the soft, all around glow.
Ironically I guess it’s the global warmist believer fanatics who could only think of such a stupid idea because that’s what they obviously intend to use to power everything else.As opposed to the far simpler option of making a small,compact, far cheaper steam piston motor with a kerosene fired boiler ( personally I’d prefer coal to that stinking muck ).
On that note how much will the whole nuclear project cost,including the fuel assuming it can even be obtained over the counter from the local coal merchant,and how much space is going to be left for people within your lethal micro version of the USS Nimitz used for weekend outings on the upper Thames.
Whatever the real world options there is absolutely no need to be tied to the use of white diesel in most cases if anyone doesn’t want to be.In the case of river or canal use conversion to electric using portable diesel generator charging is the obvious way to go.