Tom Raymond Posted May 21, 2011 Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 The super conductors required to lift a train are far too expensive for there to ever be a Mag-Lev train in a democratic country, there's no political will to spend the dough. Just look at the controversy over the current high speed push. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted May 21, 2011 Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 Exactly. A failing power grid isn't going to support maglev. Even in Shanghai, it's all show biz, it's not practical. I'm not even sure high speed rail would work here. Folks like their cars. I know I do. But, if you ever get to ride a high speed rail anywhere, you fall in love. $12 to go 200 miles in 40 minutes. It kinda gets under your skin. I mean, how cool would it be to take a high speed to NY, then catch another to upstate........"hey honey, lets go see the Adirondacks this afternoon....." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Morrison Posted May 21, 2011 Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 [utube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEZjzsnPhnw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted May 21, 2011 Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 One of my all time favorite episodes...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence McCann Posted May 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 Why can't we have that? Politics. When a local news station asked our current governor what he thought of the plan to put wind power generation in Lake Erie he replied "not much". We run on oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted May 21, 2011 Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 Oh, I know. It was more of a rhetorical question. And honestly, I don't know if it's a good idea for America, or not. For it to actually be effective, there'd have to be all manner of other travel infrastructure. Secondary rail, mass transit in urban centers, etc. If you take high speed somewhere that doesn't have any means to get anywhere else, what's the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 Oh, I know. It was more of a rhetorical question. And honestly, I don't know if it's a good idea for America, or not. For it to actually be effective, there'd have to be all manner of other travel infrastructure. Secondary rail, mass transit in urban centers, etc. If you take high speed somewhere that doesn't have any means to get anywhere else, what's the point? We need to be able to detach our car pods and go spinning off from the main cable routes. Lots of times when I'm following a big rig, I wish I had a tow bar on the front of my truck. Then if someone wants to latch onto my back bumper, why not? [:-party] I see freight trains hauling new cars across the country. Why not offer rides to the public, including their vehicles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspectorjoe Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 I see freight trains hauling new cars across the country. Why not offer rides to the public, including their vehicles? This is a bit too far from you to be useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Train Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbinspect Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 AmTrak does have auto-trains. My folks used to ride them all the time. They pop your car into a carrier protected from kids throwing rock, and off you go, with your car behind. You can ride coach, busines class or get a sleeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 Thanks, guys. Hey, that proves it's a good idea. Like the fart-sucking toilet seat, a lot of my best ideas have already been tried. Rail on our island is dying a slow death. All the short lines have been turned into cycling paths. We're planning a 20 mile ride tomorrow. The passenger service from Victoria on the south end to almost halfway up the island, a day tripper, has been halted as of March because the ties are all rotten (surprise, surprise) and the tracks need a few million $$ in repair. That railway is doomed, unless they put auto carrier cars on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 I'm with Kurt. Personal vehicles are likely here to stay but a major technical hurdle has to be surmounted first...How to get the energy we need, in a form that will work, to power our vehicles without further impacting the ecosytem. Before long, we'll be feeling the full consequence of displacing massive amounts of carbon from deep in the earth to the atmosphere. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 Bus travel in China is amazing. They're like little airports with concourses, things run on time, everyone uses them, etc. You can get wireless wherever you are, so you can work on the bus. I took the bus to St. Louis recently; it was $50. It took less time than dinking around at the airport. It's called MegaBus. Anyone else have MegaBus service in their parts of the country? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbinspect Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 I've done the bus to NYC to see my son. It's getting better all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspectorjoe Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 I thought of this thread Monday during a trip to Philly with the grandkids. A trolley line runs past the zoo. This car looks like it belongs in a museum, rather than still traveling the streets of Filthydelphia. Download Attachment: 1 049.jpg 709.56 KB There was interesting old stuff inside the zoo too. After a question from one of the kids, I needed to do some quick thinking. I hope I can still 'wrestle' at 80 or 90 like this old guy. http://www.flickr.com/photos/inspectorjoe/5879414533/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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