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Wouldn't it be cool if Amtrak were to switch to TGV and Talgo Trains with Nigh Trains like in Europe high speed. It would be awsome to have a tunnel between Alaska and Russia and upgrade their trains to High Speed and go all the way to Paris from San Jose CA. Or from Seattle to Paris. That would be a fun trip .
It would be fun hearing the conductor say"Ladies and Gentlemen not only are we crossing two continents in 30 miles but we are going into another day or the same day going in the other direction. It would be like the chunnel tunnel in Europe. I would have a blast taking the train from America to Europe!
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In case someone needs to know, "Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a much older song than the (very fine) version by Mama Cass. Written 1931, music by Gus Kahn, lyrics by Wilbur Schwandt and Fabian Andre:
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I believe Louis Armstrong also performed same.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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This has been thought of before, and more than one study made.
The tunnel between Alaska and Siberia is the easy part. Look at a good map. there are thousands of miles of rugged country on each side of the Bering strait that are completely free of roads, railroads, any other accounterments of civilization and people in any significant number. And oh by the way, the Russian railroad system uses a different track gauge.
There was a semi-serious study done for this a few years ago. I forget the details, but if you search "interhemispheric tunnel" you might find something. The tunnel cost estimate was probably not too out of reason, but shall we say the cost given to connect it up to the rest of the world seemed somewhat optomistic, by a factor of between 5 and 10. It is doubtful that nose to tail container trains would enable the system to pay for itself. Not to mention, can you think what the response would be from the enviromentowackos if you mix "pristine arctic wilderness" and "mega-construction project"
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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Umm, isn't the railway gauge in Russia different to the standard gauge in USA? Mike in Australia.
Posts: 60 | From: Ballan, Victoria, Australia | Registered: Oct 2001
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George Harris in exile in Taiwan (awaiting Presedential pardon?) "And oh by the way, the Russian railroad system uses a different track gauge."
No, he is really there keeping the Chinese mainlanders out, and trying to figure out why there are so many strokes in Traditional Chinese characters. Plus he does know that the Russian gauge is 5 feet vs. the world standard gauge of 4 feet 8 1/2 inches.*
*My apologies to the erudite Mr. Harris~but I couldn't resist.
Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Maybe Vline's problem is that Australia hasn't discovered what standard gauge is. In fact presuming that "Vline" comes from the name once or is it still used by the Victoria State Railway, he lives in a state with two track gauges and next to South Australia which has all three track guages common to Australia. Or Mr. Vline, have I missed some other gauges somewhere else?
By the way, standard gauge depends upon where you are. "Standard" is more like North America, Europe, North Africa, Korea (both sides), China, Middle East (part). A lot of Africa is at 3'-6", India-Pakistan-Bangladesh-Sri Lanka has 5'-6" plus a lot at one meter (3'-3 3/8"), Southeast Asia is mostly one meter, except Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia are 3'-6", and Russia, Finland, almost all the former Soviet Union components are 5'-0"
Ah, Railroad Bob, you are at least aware that there are two forms of Chinese writing. Many people are not. Standard Chinese used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Simplified used in the Mainland and Singapore. Most of the Chainese based characters used in Japanese writing are standard. Generally simplified is just that: Take the standard charactere and cut out a few "extraneous" strokes, but some for no apparent reason are completely different. As people here say, they cut the heart out of love, as the character for heart is part of the standard character for love but missing from the simplified.
Standard Chinese is probably as easy or easier to learn to read than the "Simplified" used in the mainland. My local friends tell me that if you read standard Chinese, you can fumble your way through reading things written in simplified characters, but the reverse is definitely not true. I am not literate in either one, but do know enough to find the right restroom, and a lot of the directions and place names.
Boy am I ever off topic.
George
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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You've all heard the saying: "There ain't such a thing as a stupid question." Well, this may disprove that old saying, but I have a question for the exiled but erudite George Harris.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of narrower gauges vs wider gauges?
And any insights why some countries went with one or the other?
Posts: 445 | Registered: May 2002
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quote:And any insights why some countries went with one or the other? [/QB]
I'll let Mr. H. answer in more detail, but the classic reason for narrow gauge was it's easier to build it in tight canyons/mountains like you'll find in Colorado, and can handle sharper-radius curves. I think CO was where most of the USA 3 foot gauge was used. And the Russians liked a broad gauge so that Western trains and engines couldn't be set on their tracks and vice versa.
Right Mr. H., I knew about those points you made about written Chinese. Always good to know the woman/man characters for the "WCs" and other everyday characters. Now that I've steered the thread into the fine points of Chinese, maybe Mr. Slotkin can come up with another trainku to bring us back... Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Mr. Slotkin: Thank you for raising the "gauge" of our discourse here... Posts: 588 | From: East San Diego County, CA | Registered: Oct 2004
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