In article ,
says...

On Tue, 3 Sep 2013 07:39:51 -0400, iBoaterer wrote:

In article ,
says...

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 21:41:57 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:


When we take the train to Jax, it usually works out to be a 13 hour
train trip. We leave in the evening and arrive the next morining, after
a good night's sleep aboard the train. No long waits to clear security
at the origin, no long wait for luggage at the termination. Compartment
includes private toilet, two bunk beds and two pretty decent meals.
Takes about the same time as driving, if I felt like driving without an
overnight stop, which I don't like doing. Would take much less time if
trackage and equipment were a lot better, but the trackage south of DC
is mostly CSX, and it doesn't give a **** about high speed passenger rail.

No worries about all the crap that accompanies airline travel.

That "crap" is coming TSA is already eyeing trains as the next place
to expand their empire. All it would take is one "terrorist gesture"
to lock the train stations down as tight as an airport.


About $700 round trip for two adults. Much more comfy than even first
class on a plane. Takes longer, sure, but it's overnight and you have to
sleep. Oh, and two first class airline tickets would be about $1000.

But we can't improve passenger rail transportation because this is
America and we can't things like that anymore. I get it.

It is something most people do not want.
It is simple, just put it to a vote.
In Florida High Speed Rail went down about two to one in the 2004
vote.

Kill the bullet train

Yes 4,519,423 63.72%
No 2,573,280 36.28%

Bunch of old retirees that are afraid of change!

Cite? :)

John (Gun Nut) H.

Wow, must you be shown everything? He

http://bit.ly/18Auhqn

You really should learn how to do a little research yourself.

In article ,
says...

On Mon, 2 Sep 2013 13:51:40 -0400, iBoaterer wrote:

In article ,
says...

On 9/2/2013 11:36 AM, Hank© wrote:
On 9/2/2013 11:16 AM, F.O.A.D. wrote:
On 9/2/13 10:27 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
...

...can't compete with this:

Japan Railway Comp. (JR Tokai) (TYO:9022) (aka. "The Central Japan
Railway Comp.) is responsible for ferrying close to 400,000 passengers
a day between some of the largest cities in central Japan. While its
fastest bullet trains can cut the transit time from Tokyo to Osaka from
about 6 hours by car to about 2 hours and 20 minutes by bullet train, JR
Tokai is dreaming of a next generation maglev system that could go even
faster, completing the 500+ kilometer (310+ mile) journey in under an
hour.



When you don't waste your money on the military, you can have nice
things.

--------------------------------

Funds have been approved to develop high speed rail corridors in the US
however the Department of Transportation is still working on the safety
standards that will apply. Right now, the "crash worthiness" spec for
the trains is more than double (in terms of forces than can be
withstood without frame deformation) than the standards used in Europe
and Japan's high speed rail systems, i.e. almost 900,000 lbs versus
350,000 lbs.

The cost of designing and manufacturing such trains is a major
impediment, as is the cost of the rail system itself. Right now there
are Amtrak trains between Boston and Wash DC capable of doing over 200
mph however there are very limited stretches of track that would allow
speeds of even 150 mph. Plus, even if they could run at high speed,
they would never be able to sustain the speed very long without having
to stop at stations along the way. Not enough passenger usage for "non
stop" tracks.



Yeah, I've heard and read every excuse here for at least the last 20
years. The fact remains that in the operation of high speed trains,
we're still in the caboose.

And why is that?

Geography, and our business model... Trains just don't work here. Even
the fast one on the shoreline. It doesn't change traffic one bit down
the CT coastline, it really serves a few folks who find it easier to
commute between Boston, NYC, and DC from what i can see... but it's
never crowded, I can't see how it could ever be profitable.

The naysayers, the ones against progress, innovation and invention.

If folks don't want to ride a train they're 'naysayers'? What horse**** you come up with.

John (Gun Nut) H.

Holy ****, could you PLEASE learn to read and comprehend before you ask
anymore stupid questions?

On 9/3/2013 12:33 PM, John H wrote:
On Tue, 03 Sep 2013 08:57:34 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:

On 9/3/2013 7:51 AM, Hank© wrote:
On 9/2/2013 11:24 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 14:42:08 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

I'll betcha if a national poll was taken the majority of people would
prefer spending money on fixing roads and airports in lieu of
building a
rail system network and trains capable of travelling 200+ mph.

The power grid isn't as big of a problem as you may think. Demand has
basically flat lined in the past several years and has actually dropped
in some. Smart grids and energy efficient devices have helped.



Not to worry. Nothing much is happening in refurbishing roads,
bridges, dams, infrastructure.

That must be a North East problem. Florida maintains it's roads
..

BTW who was talking about dams?
The environmentalists want all of them blown up anyway

Roads don't freeze in Florida. Northerners haven't figured out how to
build roads to survive the harsh winters they experience.

The "infrastructure" is not crumbling... I drive all over the place with
a trailer. The roads are fine... the bridges are fine....

You've obviously not been on I-95 around Boston with a trailer.

I drive around there all the time, half of our tracks are north of there
but I do avoid the Boston Loop as much as possible...

Still, 30-40 miles of interstate around one city doesn't prove the Libs
point about the country infrastructure being crumbling...
The asphalt dips three to five
inches just before the concrete overpasses. When the wheels hit the concrete overpass, the trailer
seems to bounce a foot. Our cabinet doors were opened, crap all over the floor, and shelves broken.
What a mess.

John (Gun Nut) H.

On 9/3/13 12:43 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 03 Sep 2013 11:44:42 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 9/3/13 11:30 AM, wrote:
On Tue, 3 Sep 2013 09:57:25 -0400, iBoaterer wrote:

No, it's mostly a stigma, people think elevated trains, they think
noise, they think unsafe, etc. Add to that that for some reason beyond
me, there are a LOT of people in the U.S. who just fear and loathe any
new technology.

Elevated trains ARE noisier and if they derail, over a major road,
they are a lot more dangerous.
We are not talking about the Lake Street El here. You want that train
going 150 MPH or more.

BTW you keep saying "innovation" and "new technology" but this is 200
year old technology and every plan I have heard involves buying
existing technology from Europe or Japan. Were is the innovation?

Bringing high speed trains over from Europe would be new technology for
this country, because we have no capability anymore for passenger rail
innovation. We'd have to reverse engineer what they are doing across the
big pond.

We are still not talking about any huge amount of innovation since the
John Bull. It is just incremental improvement.
The fact remains, we are not Europe. The US was developed around
mobility and the automobile. Perhaps if we had rebuilt from scratch
like Europe after WWII and concentrated on rail transport, we could
adopt the European model, but the fact is, we didn't. We built good
roads and comfortable cars for the masses.

Japan? We would never live like that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XfVl6_R7_k



Right...we can't do it because we can't do it because we can't do it.
Got it.

On Tue, 3 Sep 2013 13:18:09 -0400, iBoaterer wrote:

In article ,
says...

On Tue, 3 Sep 2013 07:39:51 -0400, iBoaterer wrote:

In article ,
says...

On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 21:41:57 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:


When we take the train to Jax, it usually works out to be a 13 hour
train trip. We leave in the evening and arrive the next morining, after
a good night's sleep aboard the train. No long waits to clear security
at the origin, no long wait for luggage at the termination. Compartment
includes private toilet, two bunk beds and two pretty decent meals.
Takes about the same time as driving, if I felt like driving without an
overnight stop, which I don't like doing. Would take much less time if
trackage and equipment were a lot better, but the trackage south of DC
is mostly CSX, and it doesn't give a **** about high speed passenger rail.

No worries about all the crap that accompanies airline travel.

That "crap" is coming TSA is already eyeing trains as the next place
to expand their empire. All it would take is one "terrorist gesture"
to lock the train stations down as tight as an airport.


About $700 round trip for two adults. Much more comfy than even first
class on a plane. Takes longer, sure, but it's overnight and you have to
sleep. Oh, and two first class airline tickets would be about $1000.

But we can't improve passenger rail transportation because this is
America and we can't things like that anymore. I get it.

It is something most people do not want.
It is simple, just put it to a vote.
In Florida High Speed Rail went down about two to one in the 2004
vote.

Kill the bullet train

Yes 4,519,423 63.72%
No 2,573,280 36.28%

Bunch of old retirees that are afraid of change!

Cite? :)

John (Gun Nut) H.

Wow, must you be shown everything? He

http://bit.ly/18Auhqn

You really should learn how to do a little research yourself.

Nowhere says the 4,519,423 pollsters who said 'kill it' were old, retirees, or afraid of change.

Perhaps you should read some of your 'cites'.

John (Gun Nut) H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

On Tue, 03 Sep 2013 13:21:23 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:

On 9/3/2013 12:33 PM, John H wrote:
On Tue, 03 Sep 2013 08:57:34 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:

On 9/3/2013 7:51 AM, Hank© wrote:
On 9/2/2013 11:24 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 02 Sep 2013 14:42:08 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

I'll betcha if a national poll was taken the majority of people would
prefer spending money on fixing roads and airports in lieu of
building a
rail system network and trains capable of travelling 200+ mph.

The power grid isn't as big of a problem as you may think. Demand has
basically flat lined in the past several years and has actually dropped
in some. Smart grids and energy efficient devices have helped.



Not to worry. Nothing much is happening in refurbishing roads,
bridges, dams, infrastructure.

That must be a North East problem. Florida maintains it's roads
..

BTW who was talking about dams?
The environmentalists want all of them blown up anyway

Roads don't freeze in Florida. Northerners haven't figured out how to
build roads to survive the harsh winters they experience.

The "infrastructure" is not crumbling... I drive all over the place with
a trailer. The roads are fine... the bridges are fine....

You've obviously not been on I-95 around Boston with a trailer.

I drive around there all the time, half of our tracks are north of there
but I do avoid the Boston Loop as much as possible...

Still, 30-40 miles of interstate around one city doesn't prove the Libs
point about the country infrastructure being crumbling...
The asphalt dips three to five
inches just before the concrete overpasses. When the wheels hit the concrete overpass, the trailer
seems to bounce a foot. Our cabinet doors were opened, crap all over the floor, and shelves broken.
What a mess.

John (Gun Nut) H.


Most certainly not. I was complaining about one stretch of road - which sucks.

John (Gun Nut) H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...

On 9/3/13 12:43 PM, wrote:

Japan? We would never live like that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XfVl6_R7_k



Right...we can't do it because we can't do it because we can't do it.
Got it.

------------------------------

That video is funny as hell. In the USA, if people were getting
stuffed into a train like that, they'd whip out their Clock and blow
the pusher's head off.

"John H" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 3 Sep 2013 13:18:09 -0400, iBoaterer wrote:


You really should learn how to do a little research yourself.



Nowhere says the 4,519,423 pollsters who said 'kill it' were old,
retirees, or afraid of change.

Perhaps you should read some of your 'cites'.

John (Gun Nut) H.

---------------------------

Sometimes I think iBoaterer just reads the title of an article and
then "cites" it.

"Mr. Luddite" wrote in message
...



"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...

On 9/3/13 12:43 PM, wrote:

Japan? We would never live like that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XfVl6_R7_k



Right...we can't do it because we can't do it because we can't do it.
Got it.

------------------------------

That video is funny as hell. In the USA, if people were getting
stuffed into a train like that, they'd whip out their Clock and blow
the pusher's head off.

----------------------

Crap. Or maybe their "Glock".

In article ,
says...

On Tue, 03 Sep 2013 10:58:12 -0400, wrote:

What "subsidy".

===

The FAA and the air traffic control system.

And that ain't all!!