Rant Whingeing Pom...

[computerex]

High of 43 F here in Saint Augustine, and forecasted to be a 25 F low. Pretty nice .

 

[Andy44]

Well, in the US there certainly isn't.

Nonsense. Maybe there aren't any fast trains in the US, but even that's not strictly true. The Acela train is very fast; the tracks are the problem there. Acela can't reach its true potential.

But the freight side is different. Modern GE and EMD locomotives are a generation ahead in technology, and the advent of articulated container cars, unit trains, and other innovations have allowed the tonnage moved by one train to increase. Granted, they don't look hight tech, but that's the observer's problem. The freight railroads in the US managed to recover from decades of stagnation in the 1980s and are very efficient and modernized. Centralized traffic control allows a lot more freight to pass through one rail line.

Passenger rail is pretty much a Victorian relic. It's not ecomomical, so the private sector invests nothing in it. But rail is still ideal for big freight hauling and as the roads get more crowded it remains so.

 

[Urwumpe]

But the freight side is different. Modern GE and EMD locomotives are a generation ahead in technology, and the advent of articulated container cars, unit trains, and other innovations have allowed the tonnage moved by one train to increase.

*cough* 4.6 MW power is now not that much and the aerodynamics of these trains competes in one league with the mountains that these trains scale. What makes them special is the factor that they are diesel-electric and have twice the power of other diesel-electric trains.

But the 6.4 MW of a standard 152 class electric locomotive is then in an other league...what we use for pulling cargo in a country that is largely electrified.

 

[vonneuman]

Well it is a brisk -27F here in Chicago land. Over 10" of snow and ice. I haven't seen my driveway in over a month. Not bad, could be worse. Could be on Europa.

 

[Andy44]

Aerodynamics? For a freight train? :lol:

 

[Urwumpe]

Aerodynamics? For a freight train? :lol:

Sure. you don't want to know how many MW power you loose for aerodynamic losses, any tiny improvement in aerodynamics means a lot of more power available for traction, for example on a climb.

 

[jedidia]

Passenger rail is pretty much a Victorian relic. It's not ecomomical, so the private sector invests nothing in it. But rail is still ideal for big freight hauling and as the roads get more crowded it remains so.

Maybe in the U.S. where you have wide stripes of open country with barely anyone on the road. Switzerland, where everything is cramped together, would be absolutely lost without passenger rail. at least 50% of the personnel traffic is done by rail, and the roads are still cramped with too many cars.

 

[TMac3000]

It's been in the teens here in South Carolina for the last few nights. All Ica n say is thank God for the shower! My room is chilly in the morning even with my heater up all the way. But then, my room is poorly insulated.

 

[Urwumpe]

Maybe in the U.S. where you have wide stripes of open country with barely anyone on the road. Switzerland, where everything is cramped together, would be absolutely lost without passenger rail. at least 50% of the personnel traffic is done by rail, and the roads are still cramped with too many cars.

Same with Germany - and uneconomic is relative. I pay about 70 Euro for fuel & maintenance for getting to Berlin by car. Or between 29 and 39 Euro for a high-speed train connection. I need 2.5 hours to get there by car, and 1:45 hours by train and public transport.

 

[Ghostrider]

Switzerland, where everything is cramped together, would be absolutely lost without passenger rail.

Give the SBB heads enough time and we'll be more lost than the LOST characters on that darn island.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

On the subject of snow, we had about an inch last light, and subsequently all buses in my area are cancelled today.

So today is a "snoliday" for me!!

But seriously, I don't know why the UK cannot function when it's under a little bit of snow. Some countries have 2 or 3 feet of snow all year round, and they still manage to function. Bah, it's this government I tells yer...specifically this guy.

 

[the.punk]

We now have -10°C here and it's a little bit white.

 

[Notebook]

Nah, Gordos a Scots, made from Iron Bru and anti-freeze....

N.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Here's an image taken by NASA's Terra satellite on January 7, showing the UK as it appears currently - as you can see, the whole country is completely snowed under!

(1 pixel = 1Km):

Larger version (1 pixel = 500m):
http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/2010007-0107/GreatBritain.A2010007.1150.500m.jpg

Even larger version (1 pixel = 250m):
http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/2010007-0107/GreatBritain.A2010007.1150.250m.jpg

 

[garyw]

awesome pic. My part of the country is on the bottom right side of the pic under all that cloud!!

 

[Notebook]

Getting tedious now, three weeks, and the snow hasn't thawed.

(The Northern folks must be laughing into their cocoa).

N.

 

[ex-orbinaut]

Here's a satellite image of the UK as it appears currently - as you can see, the whole country is completely snowed under!

I can't believe it. Wow! Some friends in England were complaining about the weather the phone to me the other day. It seems with good reason. That's a spectacular image. It's all the way out to Land's End, and yet it looks like a bit of green on Ireland?

I used to live slap in the centre of East Anglia. At best we used to see a light to medium sprinkling of snow for about a month.

 

[insanity]

Nah, Gordos a Scots, made from Iron Bru and anti-freeze....

N.

I miss Iron Bru everyday of my life. I actually used to do some work in Gordo's district for the SNP and I must say that the Glasgow area is chalked full of Chavs that I'm surprised Gordo has done as well as he has.

 

[Notebook]

I've never tried it, but I knew someone who did. Must admit I was impressed by their advertising slogan.

Wikipedia:

Irn-Bru's advertising slogans used to be "Scotland's other National Drink", referring to whisky, and "Bru'd in Scotland from girders", though the closest one can come to substantiating this claim is the 0.002% ammonium ferric citrate listed in the ingredients.

N.

 

[Ghostrider]

you're lucky to get off the train without being murdered, being thrown off, the train being gutted or set alight.

In that order?