The high cost of steam and the lesser need for speed kept the majority of the world's ocean freight moving by sail until the early years of the 20th century.

"In theory," says Vallentine, "this can create a high enough temperature to generate super-heated steam.

According to Harry Vallentine, a Canadian engineer who is researching modern steam technology, a special tank measuring 2 by 10 metres could store over 750 kilowatt hours of energy as high pressure steam, enough to pull a two-cart train for an hour or so.

As part of the upgrading of its rail yard, Kasselman, who is an inventor and self-proclaimed "steam visionary", is campaigning for a new steam train that runs without any fire and could run on an existing ten- kilometer line, driving tourists and perhaps

Energy to drive a steam locomotive can be stored in other materials besides water.

On the one hand, the drive to share is gathering official steam.

The liquid is maintained above its melting point until steam is required, at which point the liquid is allowed to turn back into a solid, releasing its stored energy.

This would generate steam that could be used to fill tanks on a small steam train without the use of fire.