Capt. JG wrote:
I guess it depends on what's between the stations...


It will be far from ideal transport in most locations but has potential
as an energy source to drive other trains some place else. It's more a
compliment to as a replacement for our current trains.

Kernix wrote:

How do you accerate? Partly gravity and partly wind hitting the sails?

And possibly a flywheel a huge spring motor and even a little bit of
electricity. I will use a horse if that's what it takes :-) I bet
hamsters would get the crowd moving.

What are you going to do if you are heading into the wind - tack the
tracks? That's at best a one way trip if the wind is at your back.

I have various ideas for that, one is bending the wind with large
screens by the rail. Using an s shaped solid sail it can also be made
to rotate around it's axle on the wind. The spring and/or flywheel will
have to be big enough to travel from station to station.

The train would have to generate more energy as it needs for driving
back. Either tru using the sail as a a kind of turbine a large
mechanical power supply or a low schedule.

A large spring motor would probably do the trick if there is enough
wind.

wrote:
I did once consider a similar question regarding hydrogen fuel celled
vehicles and thier associated systems: solar shingles, electrolysis of
water to hydrogen at home, storage in a gasbag in the attic or in a low
pressure balloon tethered up the chimney, etc.

It seemed to me that high pressure H2 tanks were self defeating because
of thier weight; if a low pressure tank, or balloon were employed in
lieu, a large enough tank would make it unneccessary to drive on roads,
as the gasbag could carry the vehicle, with some unexpected
consequences. An H2, or any blimp would allow the vehicle to climb and
accellerate without expenditure of energy, but would require energy
expenditure to descend, if bouyancy was controlled and reduced by
compressing some of the H2 in the lifting gasbag into a higher pressure
bouyancy compensating bladder, like fish employ. If the vehicle was
tethered to a runner on a bridle between journey end points, bouyancy
would accellerate the vehicle and approaching the other end being
pulled back to earth by running along the tether would assist in
deccellerating it. It seemed that the vehicle could also employ sails
if the wind were favourable and the tether acted as a keel preventing
leeway, like the rails on a wind train.

It seems an equally interesting in not practical idea, if not mainly
because of the weight of the tether. Of course, if it were a tube
bouyed up by H2, eliminating that weight limitation might make it work,
not to mention the free flight option.

Terry K

I suggest you try write some documentation for your idea. I believe
NASA is far enough with high pressure balloons to have em float fixed
at specific height.

The only reason you are not flying around in your train jet is because
you didn't make any effort of it. I don't plan to build my train
either. :-) But hey, it may bring an interesting discussion.

I would love to learn what kind of sail would be best for this kind of
rail ferry.

Just ran into this silversurfer.
http://www.solarsailor.com.au/

wow. :-)