German steam locos for coal traffic?

[avinyeron@bigpond.com (Aout Premier)]

While using a search engine to search for key-words "steam" and "rail"
recently, I found this stuff on the English version of a German
Website (http://www.spitzen.lok.org.de/neuestuffe/engl/damnpf.html).
Does anybody have further information on this?

>>Henschel revives high-pressure steamlok concept for Down-under coal trains.
>>
>>Industry sources report that the German boiler manufacture Henschel Kessel has been 
>>contracted by an Australian coal company with commercial interests in transporting its 
>>product by rail to produce a prototype steam-powered locomotive based on "NASA 
>>technology"
>>
>>Henschel is tight-lipped about the project, which is reputed to be an extension and 
>>upgrading of the so-called Schmidt-Henschel experimental locomotives that were built in 
>>several countries between the wars.  The locomotives were generally regarded to be 
>>failures and had a life-span of no more than one or two years.  One, on the LMS railway in 
>>Great Britain, killed one of its design engineers in an explosion.
>>
>>Engineering reporter for the trade publication "Die Engineerblatt", Herr Erste Aout, who 
>>previously was a consultant to Henschel, insists that something is afoot.
>>
>>"It is my understanding that a coal company, which has recently tendered for access rights 
>>to the standard-gauge railway previously used by the State-controlled Authority, wants to 
>>use its own product to transport its output to tidewater, which is about 50 to 100 km from 
>>its mine.  I think this points to something in the Newcastle area of Neue South Wales, 
>>named after the famous British coal city.
>>
>>I have been shown some preliminary plans for a triple-pressure boiler operating at about 
>>220, 50 and 20 hectopiezes.  The two high pressure circuits would employ distilled water, 
>>which is recycled after expansion, but the low-pressure circuit would use "make-up" water 
>>from a local treated supply.  This sounds like a recipe to repeat the mistakes of the 1930's 
>>locomotives, but Henschel say these problems won't recur."
>>
>>Henschel insiders say that the mechanical aspects of the prototype have been contracted 
>>out to a firm it will not name, but confirms that a fairly classic design with "direct drive" 
>>will be used.  An engineer recently retired from Henschel said that he had heard that the 
>>locomotive would be a type of "super-Garratt" articulated locomotive, for which the 
>>original concept had originated in Australia itself about half a decade ago.  The engineer, 
>>who refused to be named until his retirement pay-outs have been settled, said that the 
>>whole thing was "silly".  "This is outmoded stuff- to use the old-fashioned 'choo-choo 
>>technology' emphasises that it is being done for high-jinx than sound engineering reasons."
>>
>>The Die Grunen (Green party) which holds 49 out of 672 seats in the Bundestag, have 
>>called the project "Greenhouse madness".  Member Mr Gunther Grasse, a delegate to the 
>>Greenhouse convention in Kyoto,  said that the German Greens would be cooperating with 
>>their counterparts in the Australian Senate to have the project put on hold, while the 
>>energy and carbon dioxide implications are investigated.   "The whole concept of 
>>Australia's coal exports is boosting up the Greenhouse gas emissions, yet here we have the 
>>madness of a coal exporter planning to once more increase them more so by using 
>>inefficient technology to burn yet further coal.  Most of Australia's export coals railways is 
>>electrified already", he said.  "There is no need to do such a stupid thing".  Henschel 
>>executives confirmed that the locomotive would be only 40% as thermally efficient as an 
>>electrified railway, but that the over all Greenhouse emissions would be lower when 
>>pollution caused by the capital phase of the project was taken into consideration.  They say 
>>that carbon dioxide will be the only significant emission, all other pollutants being 
>>eliminated through a combination of using coal slurry, high temperature combustion and 
>>exhaust scrubbing.  The boiler is apparently of a modified Velox flash-type with quick 
>>warm-up and high combustion efficiency.
>>

I did a bit of chasing around and found the Henschel website, which
mentioned the so-called flash-boiler for the locomotives referred to
in the above story. I sent an e-mail to the address given, but got no
reply and, furthermore, about 6 hours later, the information was gone
from the site. (http://www.kesselbau.de/engl/index.html)

Aout Premier