Where to site a vibrant PA community after TSHTF

[NorthernRaider]

You can move a couple of weks shopping in your vehicle after TSHTF for a while, but when refined fuels are rare or unavailable and you want to swap 10 tons of timber with your neighbouring community for a ton of fresh, salt, bring in goods salvaged in other areas etc.

Remember that after TSHTF and most of us are relying on wood or coal for all our heating you are going to need on average three to four cords of wood per house each winter, so you will be using your fuel reserves to power a wood cutting tractor which will cut and drag your fuel supply to the road side or track side. You guys do the maths as to how much fuel you will need to shift all that timber to the community by road, then look how little you will need to power a tank loco. And the by product is ash for making soap, fertiliser etc and hot water on demand.

A train say a steam tank loco 060 burning easily available wood or open cast coal or sea coal only needs fuel, water and a bit of grease ( natural or synthetic) to work, it can push a flat car ahead of it with chain saws, winches, steam power cutting tools etc to clear away past fallen trees etc

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In parts of the US they still have Short Lines ( we call branch lines) that have seen little or no maintenance in 40 years they twist and wobble all over, but each year the local railroads still manage to send GP40s down them to collect grain harvests and huge amounts of lumber often with consists of over a 1000 tons being pulled by one loco.

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Hell you could even jerry rig a pick up truck or snaffle one from a track inspection company, fit a methane or biodiesel genny plant in its load bed and use it to haul up to about 10 tons in one go on a line near you. Shifting 10 tons of supplies at 30 mph powered only by pig shit is vastly more cost effective in resources and man power.