tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post5054162550528291318..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Costly American RailAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-73820432305298558942021-02-01T16:47:37.351-05:002021-02-01T16:47:37.351-05:00As we naval professionals used to say about Kim, &...As we naval professionals used to say about Kim, "he'd use it or lose it." We were talking about his black hole nuclear/chem/bio wastehole. So anyway, the wife and I love taking Amtrack from our little ville on the edge of the Great Plains to California and Seattle and sleeping and rolling and dining the miles away in absurd comfort while seeing America at ground level. As Kim used to say, use it before it vanishes away on stealthy little feet. Rail passenger service over any length isn't viable or cost effective. It's another hidden benefit you don't get to know about until it is too late.<br /><br />Oh, BTW, if you don't book a room on the QE2 from here to there, you're an idiot. Splurge. You only live once.HMS Defianthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10024721130102173694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-90742720095290973742021-01-31T02:15:35.879-05:002021-01-31T02:15:35.879-05:00If you take the closest stations to Asheville, you...If you take the closest stations to Asheville, you either get in at 11 PM after everything closes and you have to wait until morning to rent a car; or, if you're headed northbound from New Orleans or Atlanta, at 4/5 AM when you still have a few hours to go. And you've got to get a taxi to the car rental places, which are by the airports, not the train. <br /><br />My favorite illustration of this is in <i>The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance</i>, in the very final scene. The train company is trying to bend itself backwards to get a Senator back to DC as quickly and conveniently as possible. "The engineer has a full head of steam, and we're going to make <i>twenty-five miles an hour</i> or bust the boilers! And we've wired ahead. They're going to hold the express. In two days and two nights, you'll be right back in Washington!"<br /><br />I guess that was really something, at the time. All the same, the steel horse will do it better than the iron horse ever did. Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-52416501262305550882021-01-29T09:35:20.373-05:002021-01-29T09:35:20.373-05:00We looked into taking the train down to Asheville ...We looked into taking the train down to Asheville when we had a wedding there a couple of years ago. The system breaks down at Richmond for us. You can get from Boston to Richmond quite nicely in 12 hours, but then you start having to wait around for other trains. Changing in DC helps somewhat, but continuing south from there involves waits and changes as well.<br /><br />The train is great if it is leaving from very near you and going to very near your destination. If you are going from Boston to Cleveland, you are fine. But if you are headed to Columbus or Cincinnati it suddenly gets complicated.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-15059630553805736662021-01-28T23:42:05.904-05:002021-01-28T23:42:05.904-05:00I like riding trains, but it only really works wel...I like riding trains, but it only really works well in the northeast. I regularly catch the train from DC to points north when I'm up there and want to go further north; it's not really much of an option down here. If I wanted to go to DC by train I'd have to trek three hours east to catch the train, which is then about 17 hours. I can be in DC in 13 hours if I just ride overland. Or take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Skyline Drive, do it over two or three days, and enjoy a beautiful ride in gorgeous country. Camp at night by an open fire.Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-25827232351186202382021-01-28T23:16:58.715-05:002021-01-28T23:16:58.715-05:00My only experience riding a passenger/commuter tra...My only experience riding a passenger/commuter train was in 2002 from Wemyss Bay to Glasgow. It was unpleasant... slow, numerous stops, and abysmal - almost desert-like scenery - until the outskirts of Glasgow. There, it changed to vulgar graffiti on factories or warehouses and sad glimpses into poverty-stricken flats near the tracks. (Few curtains, and so close to the tracks!) This route was certainly not included in Scotland's tourist guides. Wemyss Bay is lovely and the tourist guides would put you on the ferry to the Isle of Bute rather than the train to Glasgow. I always remember this whenever I hear someone tell me how much better everything in Europe is. Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-19356735502914603492021-01-28T22:21:10.480-05:002021-01-28T22:21:10.480-05:00There also do seem to be some genetic factors in C...There also do seem to be some genetic factors in Covid-19 vulnerability...and there is definitely an obesity and general health factor in outcomes for those who do contract the disease. David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-40062634233369990342021-01-28T20:51:20.239-05:002021-01-28T20:51:20.239-05:00The people in Japan and other Oriental countries h...The people in Japan and other Oriental countries have been wearing masks as a normal part of life in public spaces. And the Japanese are fastidious about cleanliness. That would be my guess. Also being a homogeneous society might help too.Mike Guentherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13760305520055214986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-79467944934110704522021-01-28T20:29:15.643-05:002021-01-28T20:29:15.643-05:00Which causes me to wonder what on earth they are d...Which causes me to wonder what on earth they are doing in Japan where commuters are forced together almost immovably?Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-20740850406664224212021-01-28T15:49:12.382-05:002021-01-28T15:49:12.382-05:00For all forms of urban and commuter rail...especia...For all forms of urban and commuter rail...especially subways, but also surface rail in its various forms...Covid-19 creates a real negatives, as will the fear of its recurrence even when it is largely suppressed, owing to the high passenger densities involved. Less of an issue for intercity rail, such as it is.<br /><br />David Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-897241120973819452021-01-28T14:56:38.803-05:002021-01-28T14:56:38.803-05:00It is my understanding that passenger rail has nev...It is my understanding that passenger rail has <b>never</b> paid it's own way in this country. Railroads ran passenger cars at a loss in order to buy the public and political support needed to allow them to haul freight. <br /><br />Nothing would make me happier than to be able to travel by train. I've grown to hate air travel, and the amount of time necessary to travel by car makes me pass up most of those trips, too. Sadly, I just don't see rail travel ever being a very realistic option for most of the US.Thos.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09562836622083001506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-25812571315877990352021-01-28T11:21:02.541-05:002021-01-28T11:21:02.541-05:00Back in the 70's, rode trains in Europe from c...Back in the 70's, rode trains in Europe from city to city for concerts when in Germany and also from Germany to Amsterdam and back. They were efficient and usually on time. On another trip, we drove to Italy from Germany. I think I liked the driving better, to be honest.<br /><br />Then in the 80's, when living in Atlanta, rode the commuter train system quite a bit. Every train station had parking for suburban workers going downtown. Also an extensive bus system feeding off of the stations.<br /><br />At the main terminal, where the N-S and E-W track system crossed, had a hand in building an "air rights" facility over the Southern Railroad tracks running through the middle of downtown. Basically a platform for retail stores or mini strip mall. The commuter trains were underground. <br /><br />I'm not sure if they ever made money or were substantially subsidized by the city, but they were always expanding.Mike Guentherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13760305520055214986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-71309062386408146172021-01-27T19:58:32.314-05:002021-01-27T19:58:32.314-05:00I remember liking the Geneva bus system very much,...I remember liking the Geneva bus system very much, and trying very hard to find out what the real subsidized cost was. No luck.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.com