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Re: [OM] ***SPAM*** Re: ***SPAM*** Re: IMG: Nathan's PAW 22: Friends in

Subject: Re: [OM] ***SPAM*** Re: ***SPAM*** Re: IMG: Nathan's PAW 22: Friends in Metz, Valencia, wine, a bunch of stuff
From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2014 14:43:31 -0500
> http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1m66m_record-vitesse-tgv-574-8-km-h_tech
> Enjoy ;-)

We have this unrealistic infatuation with high-speed rail here in the
USA. While it would make sense in a few locations, for the most part,
it would be an exceedingly costly boondoggle. Airports are expensive
to operate, but cost a fraction of what building and maintaining a
hundred thousand miles of track. Our airways don't wear out.

Scheduling and location is what really ruined it for so many people.

For six months I was traveling on the California Zephyr between Iowa
and Colorado most weekends (twice each week).  Rarely, was it ever on
time. A delay of up to four hours was not uncommon and that delay
would extend itself across the system and take days to clear up. Not
only that, but the path followed through Iowa avoids all the major
cities. All stops in Nebraska are in the night. Completely unusable
for most people. At my usual on/off points, I was usually one of maybe
three people getting on/off. Summertime was a little crazy with full
trains, but most of the time I had the pair of seats to myself
(yes!!!).

What is fascinating is that on the BNSF, Amtrak is NOT a priority.
Coal is. With the Just-in-time inventory that every powerplant does
now, there can't be much of any delay for the coal trains. Problem is
that they do 60-65 MPH while the Amtrak needs to do 80 MPH to maintain
schedule. But because of the priority scheduling, if the Amtrak gets
delayed anywhere and loses the assigned spot, they have to wait it out
behind the coal trains.

One of the major causes of delay on the California Zephyr is "heat
restrictions" in the mountains. With higher temperatures, the rails
lose their lateral stiffness* and the trains have to stay under 20 MPH
(usually 15 MPH as they come down the eastern slope of the Rockies)
going around all the twists and turns.

* Rails are welded together while they are heated up to a certain
temperature. This expands the rail segment being worked on. As it
cools, it shrinks and tightens up. In the wintertime, the rails
continue to shrink a bit and can pull sideways off the railbed in the
mountains. In the summertime, at a certain temperature, the tightness
is gone and the rails are neutralized. Above that temperature, they
become looser and you'll get lots of wavies. This is why rails can be
welded together without expansion joints--they are preheated to the
expanded length at time of welding. A broken rail, that is under
tension can do scary stuff to anything surrounding it.

-- 
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
-- 
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