June 24, 2008
Here's Your Homework!
Read this
PJM article on rail travel in America, and tell me what you think.
We'll have a nice rational discussion about it tonight and tomorrow morning.
Don't pull your punches, just because you know that I have a rail-travel fetish.
h/t: Glenn.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
01:31 PM
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Trains work just fine in America, as long as they're freight trains. In fact, there is a lot of stuff that goes by rail in American that would go by truck in Europe.
Regarding passenger rail, I think it has a role on a regional level, with runs of maybe 200-500 miles. In most cases this will require the bulding of new track, which will be a problem for the reasons Darrell points out.
In most cases, existing freight routes are either too congested or configured wrong (too curvy) for highspeed passenger traffic...there *are* some cases where 90mph or so pax trains could coexist with freight, and indeed where steam locomotives regularly ran at such speeds. After some awful collisions, though, the Feds prohibited pax-train speeds of over 57mph unless the line & locomotives are equipped with Automatic Train Stop, which will halt the train if the engineer overruns a signal. This is expensive, so most lines don't have it and the speed restriction is in force.
I think it's possible that some of the new GPS-based approaches to train control would allow the ATS function to be achieved at much lower cost than the traditional way.
Posted by: david foster at June 25, 2008 06:42 AM (ke+yX)
2
There's a recent book by John Stilgoe, a professor of landscape architecture(!) on the coming revival of pax rail. He's a smart guy and a good writer...irritatingly, I can't find my copy of the book.
He wrote an earlier book on RR history in 1985, and was inspired to write the current book when real-estate developers started consulting with him about buying up properties near abandoned rail lines.
Posted by: david foster at June 25, 2008 06:51 AM (ke+yX)
3
There was a window of opportunity, about 15-20 years ago when Pennsylvania could have constructed a mag-lev passenger line between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. US Airways opposed the mag-lev since it would all but replace the regional commuter air service in the cities between PA's bookends. Just as the window slammed shut, US Air decided mag-lev might be a good idea after all. Now US Air has lost most of the commuter business in the enter of the state, and it still takes forever and a day to get to or from places such as Altoona, Johnstown, or Lancaster.
As it stands, Amtrak shares the Norfolk Southern freight line across the Keystone State; a main line that was once four tracks wide, but has been cut to just two to save maintenance costs. Passengers crossing PA frequently have ample opportunities to "hurry up and wait" for a track to clear.
Posted by: BobM at June 25, 2008 10:31 AM (RZHDe)
4
Only peripherally on-topic...but Linda Niemann's
book about her experiences working for the Southern Pacific Railroad is beautifully written and deserves a wider readership.
Posted by: david foster at June 26, 2008 08:20 AM (ke+yX)
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June 23, 2008
June 05, 2008
On Mass Transit
Which could be a normal part of our infrastructure, but
isn't, most of the time.
h/t: Insty.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
01:56 PM
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April 01, 2008
In Fairness,
on the West Side of Los Angeles we also have some of the world's bitchinest Bike Lanes—most significantly, the ones in Santa Monica and Venice that go all the way down south to Mexico.
But this is amazing:
Were they hoping to add another segment to the lane at a later point? Did Cal Trans just get distracted by some other project? Is the city of L.A. suffering from ADD?
As matters stand, I think this is going to be hard to beat as the stupidest bike lane—in this country, and probably in the world.
h/t: Insty.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
08:55 AM
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How about this one?
http://home.comcast.net/~phyilla1/sstrails/cedar.html
Must be 12-15 feet long.
Posted by: Darrell at April 01, 2008 11:12 AM (rPcKJ)
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