Hi TheRobe,
based on how wonderful Nicads were?
L1011s had NiCad batteries.
half a day spent on battery overheat procedures
See page 25-6 of MMEL Electrical Power for "condition light" (read battery temperature)
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/srg_acp_l1011_rev1_all.pdf
We never went back to Lead Acid Batteries - the battery charger technology simply improved.