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Worldbuilding

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    $\begingroup$ In stead of trying to dodge the day-night cycle, let's start by trying to dodge some cloud formations etc. ;) $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 8, 2023 at 19:45
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    $\begingroup$ Kim Stanley Robinson worked out that this kind of train is viable on Mercury, where the sun heating and cooling the rails was enough to both move the train and provide power. See “Red Mars” trilogy. Bonus: no oceans! $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 8, 2023 at 22:03
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    $\begingroup$ @Vergilius Why? By the time you get the solar plant broken down, put on the train, driven to its new position, unloaded, and set up, the clouds will have moved or dissipated, and new ones formed. Given the relative speeds of stormclouds (pretty zippy) and trains (not), you're better off just staying put. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 9, 2023 at 8:44
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    $\begingroup$ @Cadence The idea (if I got this right) is not to break down, transport and set up an otherwise static solar plant, but to build it entirely on a rail car, so that it can be moved about without the associated steps. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 9, 2023 at 9:38
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    $\begingroup$ You could increase the train's access to sunlight by having it travel a smaller circle up in the sub-Arctic for half the year, and then traveling down to another circle in the sub-Antarctic for the remainder, staying wherever it's summer to have the most daylight. That way it doesn't have to travel nearly as fast to keep up with the rotation of the Earth... Batteries can make up for the brief periods of darkness it might deal with on those transition runs. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 9, 2023 at 16:02