> Is butane or alcohol more readily available world wide? Definitely alcohol! And, should commercial supplies get scarce, you can make your own, which you definitely cannot say about butane. A butane-fired loco is similar to your current automobile (if you're an average citizen). It's highly dependent on a technological infrastructure that you have no influence over and whose technology you have no access to. If Chrysler goes under and the fuel injection control module in your new PT Cruiser goes bad, you're screwed. But I still see Studebakers and Ramblers trundling around the streets of Albuquerque (original owner!). The infrastructure required to keep them running is much less specialized and lower-tech than the newer cars, and the same can be said of the alcohol/butane debate, I fear.
Still, all but one of our locos here on the FH&PB are butane-fired, and I trust that I'd be able to rig something up to fire them if butane became unavailable. Maybe even a new alcohol-fired boiler, the equivalent of putting a carbureted Studebaker engine into your ailing Cruiser! So, I'm not too worried. regards, -vance- Vance Bass Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Small-scale live steam resources: http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass
