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wrote:
On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 15:35:31 GMT, Ignatius Thistlewhite
wrote:

That would lead one to believe railroads aren't efficient.

The railroad itself is very efficient fir hauling freight. Steel
wheels on steel track use a lot less energy than rubber tires on bumpy
roads. The Train only has to poke one hole in the air and every other
car is "drafting". Post war (WWII, the big one) locomotives are diesel
electric "hybrids" that get great mileage considering the load.
The inefficiency comes with handling the load a few extra times and
that may involve a union where, otherwise, there was none.
There is also the time element. Freight trains are not bullet trains.
A truck will average 2-3 times the speed end to end.
Those realities are reflected in the freight operatoions on SW
Florida. The "Snooze Press" gets their paper by train, all of the
concrete and rock places along Metro and South Street get their
material by freight and Miller brands used to get their beer by rail
but this "freshness dating" thing pushed them back to trucks.
Rail is a great way to move freight you are not in a hurry on and is
handled in bulk. It sucks for smaller loads that need more handling
and routing, particularly if there is a time constraint.
That is the reason why people don't travel by rail. We get ****ed if
we have a 2 hour layover in Atlanta. Nobody is going to ride on a
train for 3 days to go somewhere. The places where we have
destinations like Europe, a couple hundred miles apart, Amtrack is
doing OK. If I was going from DC to NYC I would take the Metroliner,
but I am not taking the train from DC to Orlando sanford.

I've taken the train across Canada... (Vancouver to Halifax) 5 days on a
coach seat.... in the middle of winter.
Loved the trip but would rent a sleeper if I did it again.

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