If nuclear had delivered the "too cheap to meter" promise in the honeymoon pre-Three-Mile-Island phase, it might have affected decisions down the line. A big e

If nuclear had delivered the "too cheap to meter" promise in the honeymoon pre-Three-Mile-Island phase, it might have affected decisions down the line. A big example is freight rail. The service in the US shrunk over time, and was basically reduced to captive-loop "coal mine to power plant" runs by the 1980s. If the entire country had similar economics, due to cheap ubiquitous nuclear power, there would be impetus to sustain and expand the electrified network. Instead of spending the 50s and 60s on half-baked turbine locomotives that burnt tar, and building ever larger diesels, the clear answer to more horsepower was to suck down more amperes from the overhead wire. Similarly, trolley-bus designs get more interesting when the cost gap between electricity and petrol widens.