Tom,

>Perhaps a Clipper Ship? :)

Not when you compare how much wind energy it takes to push a ship through the water. Wind energy isn't free either when you consider the cost of what it takes capture it.

Rail is a lot more effiecent, but I think it's a bigger issue in that those rails don't cover quite as much geographic space as roadways. Another factor is te point-to-point transport time trucks are better at that. Unfortunately most people value time higher than energy use.

>I read a report a few years ago about trains in the United States compared to trucks. The numbers were trains haul 200 more times than trucks per gallon of fuel. However, the reason we do not use trains as often as we once did has to do with the power of the Teamsters and truckers in general. They have a lot of political clout.
>
>In Europe trains do most of the hauling or at least that was the case the last time I checked. The Europeans use trucks for short hauling from track side to destination, which is usually a few miles.