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"The Reason Train Design Changed After 1948" - Joe Scott (July 29, 2024)
"Freight Trains" - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" - Last Week Tonight (April 11, 2023)
Amtrak: "82hrs on Amtrak's MOST SCENIC TRAIN! - The California Zephyr" Downie Live (January 4, 2022)
San Francisco to Chicago 52 Hours): 3 DAY Amtrak Sleeper Train: COACH, ROOMETTE, & BEDROOM Tested" - Jeb Brooks (April 20,
2024)
Amtrak Sleeper Tips - Grounded Life Travel (2024)
"48 Hours on a PRIVATE TRAIN in America!" - Downie Live (November 5, 2022)
"Why Train Tickets Cost So Much In America" - CNBC (November 13, 2022)
"Trains Might Replace These Buses... But Should They?" - RM Transit (2023)
"Mr Rotheram said the journey time between the two cities today is comparable to the time it took in the early days of
steam."
"The Fascinating Engineering Behind Electric Trains!" - Lesics (2022)
Welded Rail: "Why Railroads Don't Need Expansion Joints" - Practical Engineering (2023)
REPORT: "Rail Transit Planning and Rail Stations" - Transportation Research Board | commission on Sociotechnical Systems |
National Research Council | National Academy of Sciences (1980)
READ & FIND "South Carolina: Post Bellum Paradise for Negroes" - Ebony Magazine (1966)
"It should be impossible to get LEED Certification for buildings in car-dependent places. Because it would be an order of
magnitude more environmentally friendly to build a small compact station, surrounded by mixed-use neighborhoods within walking
distance. Instead, we get this cathedral of car dependency. If course, even with a rule like that, this building would still
be LEED certified because it's at a train station.
But all of this, the parking for over a thousand cars, the roads in and out, the water-permeable pavers, the checklist
bike shed, and a total cost of over $82 million dollars, is here to support this one train platform that services 4 trains,
and only at rush hour. One platform. The ticket prices will never be able to recoup this investment. It's just one more
massive subsidy provided to car-dependent suburbanites. This is something straight out of 1960's travel planning. It genuinely
annoys me that this was built in 2021. This will forever be a car-dependent station, because new development is not supposed
to be beyond the greenbelt. ...
As long as the GO Transit network is designed primarily as a way of getting to and from downtown, and as long as
the suburban stations continue to house cars instead of people, it will always be one thing; a colossal wasted potential."
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
1. Safety Handling hydrogen flammable danger procedures.
2. Cost of producing Green hydrogen
3. Infrastructure built for refueling and storage
4. Educate the population to move to permanence of refueling just like current gas stations.
5. Encourage gas stations to have hydrogen fill-ups.
ADVANTAGES
FAST
Our current transportation networks and their underlying technology are outdated and harmful to the environment. Hydrogen
fuel cells, which produce only water as a byproduct, promise a cleaner alternative and have proven effective in cars and public
buses.
Despite its potential, hydrogen technology faces criticism regarding production costs, complexity, and eco-friendliness.
Hydrogen fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, powering the train’s motors and storing excess
energy in batteries.
This was showcased in March 2024, when Stadler's Flirt H2 traveled 1,741 miles nonstop for 46 hours, setting a world record.
The HydroFLEX project retrofits existing trains with hydrogen fuel cells, offering a sustainable solution for current diesel
and electric models.
Hydrogen-powered trains represent a crucial step towards sustainable public transport, potentially revolutionizing the
rail industry and making it greener and more efficient.
Hydrogen: "This Record-Breaking Train Could Transform Rail Travel." - Interesting Engineering (July 17, 2024)
"Why Swiss Trains are the Best in Europe" - Not Just Bikes (2022)
Two Segments. 2nd is after weather.
Enjoy a train adventure....
Audubon Acres bird sanctuary! Keep an eye out for wildlife! Frequent visits from turkeys, whitetail deer, red-tailed hawks,
and turkey vultures.
"Biden Heads to Las Vegas to Showcase $8.2B for 10 Major Rail Projects Around the Country" - WKMG TV 6 Orlando Dec 8th, 2023
"The World's Most Epic Railway Construction Projects" - The B1M (2023)
"Service that is frequent, that is clean, that goes where people want to go, when people want to go there, that is customer
responsive, that is reliable, in other words; that gets the basics right."
- Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) CEO Andy Byford on CBC Sunday, December 21, 2021
[Toronto putting together a plan - 2028-2040]
"Is Los Angeles Transit Olympics-Ready?" - RM Transit (November 25th, 2023)
"Metrolinx Releases Renderings of Future Toronto Transit Hub" - CTV News (2023)
Streetcar and Light Rail project in previous article was to be finished in 2020.
"The Modern Tram Has Gone Off the Rails" - RM Transit (2023) [Know what not to do for new Tram/Streetcar system.]
NOT A NEW CONCEPT "The Hyperloop May Disrupt More Than Just Travel" [Still Railed] - Bloomberg Quicktakes Original (2022)
"Why China Is so Good at Building Railways" - Wendover Productions (2018)
Connecting "Belgium, The Netherlands, & Luxemburg High Speed Rail Explained" - RM Transit (2022) [Think connecting multi-states
of USA.]
Railway: Tram and Wooden Brio Trains - Ariplay
Our Train and Thomas and Friends Collection - The Izzys
Watch: "Chuggington!" - World of Trains
Railway: Tram and Wooden Brio Trains - Ariplay
"The Brave Locomotive" - Andrew Chesworth [Film] (2023)
"Behind the Scenes of Wales's Gravity Train" - "Steam Train Journeys" - Documentary Central (2023)
THE IRON HORSE
"Daddy, What's A Train?" - Utah Phillips
"There is not a better railroad station in Philadelphia, in New York, or in the country than this, and it all belongs to Baltimore."
- Gamble Latrobe
Our life depends on them. Nothing much has changed, which declares just how innovative and well designed trains are
in the first place. Trains ushered the use of watches, and time accuracy. The train industry created the needed time zones.
| TWIN CITIES HIAWATHA ELECTRIC TRAINS - 1916 |
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| Image: Jim Boyd |
| CHICACO - MILWAUKEE - SAINT PAUL RAILWAY |
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| MILWAUKEE ROAD EXTENSION TO PACIFIC |
A FERROEQUINOLOGIST IS:
An Iron horse aficionado [Latin: ferro- + equino] A person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems.
In any capacity directly or indirectly works for a living via train industry, even restauranters and inns. Also known as:
Railfan, Rail Buff, Train Buff, Railway Enthusiast, Railway Buff, or Trainspotter.
"Levee Song - I've Been Workin' on de Railroad" - Shannon Quartet (1923) [First known recording.]
"Railroad Rhythm" - Krazy Cat (1937)
"John Henry" - The Smothers Brothers
"9 to 5 ~ Morning Train" - Sheena Easton
Train Lover & Advocate
"Nothing happens until something moves." - Albert Einstein
"Riding on the City of New Orleans
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms, and fields....
The sons of Pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel
Mothers with their babes asleep
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel
Good morning America how are you?
Say, don't you know me? I'm your native son
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
Nighttime on the City of New Orleans
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea
Good night, America, how are you?
Say, don't you know me? I'm your native son
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done"
"And I said: "Feelings, feelings
Are somewhat symptomatic of societal
Abrasions that conform electric static'
She said, 'Some folks say you don't have much of a brain'
'But you've got to have a brain 'cause you're working for the train'"
"Last Train to London" - Electric Light Orchestra
"Slow Train Coming" - Bob Dylan
"Gravy Train" - Ozzy Osbourne
"Party Train" - The Gap Band
"Retro: Christmas Gardens With Their Whistling Trains and Snowy Landscapes are an Essential Part of Baltimore" - The Baltimore
Sun (December 2023)
Who doesn't like a train ride? Without the train, there may of not been an industrial revolution. The train is the
invention of the 19th century. We use trains more than ever - for freight, and we need to use them even more. The train
birthplace in North America, Baltimore, carried Union soldiers and supplies, and without the train, the Union may not of won.
According to physics: Train and streetcar transit are the most efficient ways to move people. Trains and streetcars are
also safest - as they do not have roll-resistance (no tires) and do not hydroplane as tire-vehicles do.
LONG LIVE THE TRAILS OF THE TRAINS!!!!
What if the only way food and life supplies reached you, and only way to travel for work, and far distances - was by train?
"Petticoat Junction" - Opening and Closing Theme
What do you say to your whole livelihood, and hence, life as you knew it was taken away?
Especially when train transit was always the best transportation in the first place?
"Petticoat Junction" depicted true life for many Americans, and their day to day 1960's plights. The "Hooterville
Cannonball" was an intentional and pivotal character, and owned by its engineer. The private passenger trains and companies
were disappearing. It did not help any when CBS pulled several television's top rated shows, in "Green Acres" actor
Pat Butram's words, "Any show with a tree in it."
The Sierra No. 3 Locomotive
YES, a real train was used for, "Petticoat Junction."
Pilot and Continuance Episodes "Petticoat Junction" (1963)
Route still in service.
"The Great Workhorses: Freight Trains That Move Huge Loads" - Free Documentary Engineering (2022)
"Freight Trains" - "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" (2023)
ATLANTA ~ AUGUSTA: Serving All Towns In Between - Once Upon a Time....
Speaking of passenger service, "It's a way of life you've always been used to. I just hate to see it end." - Virginia
Akins of Union Point, Georgia
"Sitting quietly in a corner seat, Paul Duren of tiny Redan, Ga., looks back to the years between 1925 and 1940 when
he commuted about 20 miles on this line to Atlanta, where he worked for a hardware company. 'The engineer knew passengers
all up and down the road. He'd stop at crossings and pick people up.'"
"The railroad right of way came through part of the land owned by my grandfather. Some of his slaves helped build
the railroad." - Elizabeth Monfort [The line was chartered in 1833.]
"Wreck of the Old '97" - Vernon Dalhart
"Cabbage" - The Smothers Brothers (1963)
"There are train stations everywhere! There are towns, tiny towns that have consistent, reliable train service
every 30 minutes. In many other countries, they wouldn't even provide bus service to a place
this small. Some of the smallest towns have a request stop service, where you need to press this button to have the train
stop. But there is still train service!"
"There - there is still train service?" Why Europe, especially Switzerland, is superior:
"Why Swiss Trains are the Best in Europe" - Not Just Bikes
"Glacier Express in Switzerland: Hannah Hummel's Luxurious Journey Through the Alps" - DW Travel
"First Class Glacier Express Train" - Kara and Nate
"The World Famous Landwasser Viaduct - UNESCO World Heritage Rhaetian Railway in Switzerland"
"Landwasser Viaduct UNESCO World Heritage Graubünden Grisons Switzerland" - Davos & St.Moritz Ep#12 [Made of Limestone]
"Song of the Baika-Amur Mainline" [Also known as, "BAM Song" or "Baikal-Amur Mainline"] (1975)
Needs Updating
LONG LIVE TRAINS!!!!
From the Industrial Revolution, "Railroad" became a religion, and its train depots or stations were temples - homage
to capitalism.
"In the railroad industry, the innovation of yesterday, is the commonplace of today. And that the best of today, is
not good enough for tomorrow. This is the creed of the railroad research program. The heart of railroad service of the American
traveler, and shipper."
"'For rail to live up to its role as the backbone of mobility, it has to become more efficient, more
available, more connected, and more flexible,' says Dr. Jürgen Wilder. 'Digital technologies are the proverbial
key that fits the lock of this task.' But freight cars, specifically - the backbone of environmentally friendly
goods transport by rail - remain firmly in the analog world, typically running without electricity, without
internet, without GPS."
Dr. Jürgen Wilder, Member of the Executive Board and responsible for the Rail Vehicle Systems Division of Knorr-Bremse AG.
"The Future of Rail: Opportunities for Energy and the Environment" - International Energy (IEA) (2019)
RECOMMITMENT TO SMALL TOWNS ~ REPAIRING TAPESTRY ROUTES BY AMTRAK
High-Speed Versus Servicing Small Towns Tapestry "Amtrak Isn't Building High Speed Rail (And that's okay for now)" - The Armchair
Urbanist (2023)
"A Closer Look at Stadler's New Trains for the US!" - RM Transit (March 25th, 2023)
HYDROGEN POWER
The HydroFLEX Train is a Train developed by a team from the University of Birmingham and Porterbrook, a rolling stock firm,
which uses a fuel-cell which combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, with the producing result; heat and water.
Hydrocarbon Nation: How Energy Security Made Our Nation Great and Climate Security Will Save Us - Johns Hopkins University
Press (2018) [Book]
USA LOCOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING: "EGEB: GM and Wabtec Will Develop Electric Freight Locomotives" - Electrek (2021)
REPORT: "Hydrogen Patents For a Clean Energy Future: A Global Trend Analysis of Innovation Along Hydrogen Value Chains" -
International Energy Agency (2023)
For the State of California chooses Hydrogen Powered Locomotives: California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) choose all its passenger rail 100% emissions free, California Caltrans
chooses new Hydrogen-Powered Zero Emission Multiple Units (ZEMUs) with 800km operating range in between re-fuelling, starting
in 2027. The United States built by Stadler’s factory in Salt Lake City, replace current state-funded, Amtrak California.
Ballard supplies the hydrogen fuel cells.
Stadler Locomotive Manufacturing (All, Streetcars...): Salt Lake City - USA MADE
Private Railroad is Expanding! - Infra (2023)
HIGH-SPEED RAIL
"{U.S} Senator Vance Hartke and Senator Lowell Weicker propose bill to build rail system between Boston and DC. Could
make Boston to New York or New York to Washington, DC trip in 2 hrs. - this is faster than airplane trip downtown to downtown.
Cost is $5 billion for 2 phase program. First phase cost is $625 million - less than eyesore, 194 mile Connecticut turnpike,
which is polluting and overcrowded. Second phase would provide for 400 mph. ground travel. Cost is $4.5 billion. This mass
transit program is badly needed if United States is to face 20th century."
Clayton advocates for an Electric Train, REX, and is "anti-plastic" [Storyline from 1982 world technology newspaper
headlines]
"What If The United States Had A National High Speed Rail Network?" (2022) - Geography By Geoff
BALTIMORE is #10: "The 10 Key Stations for High Speed Rail in USA, Mexico, & Canada: Most Important Cities" - City Nerd
"Let's Replace Planes with Bullet Trains! The 10 Busiest Short-Hop Air Routes In the United States" - City Nerd (2022)
AMTRAK: "Five Things To Understand About Amtrak" - High Iron
"Amtrak's Genius Plan to SAVE American Rail" - Infra (March 2023)
"My Honest Opinions About California High Speed Rail" - RM Transit (2023)
"Why United States Railroads Should Electrify Their Mainlines" - Alan Fisher (2020)
"56 High Speed Rail Links We Should've Built Already" - City Nerd (2024)
"How Brightline Plans To Bring High-Speed Rail To The U.S." - CNBC (2023)
High Speed Rail legal definition is a train that sustains 125 miles per hour or more.
Brightline in Florida, though labeling itself as a, "High Speed Rail" is not, because it cannot sustain in parts
even 110 miles per hour, and needed slower speeds.
CHINA HAS LIFTED ITS PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY THROUGH BUILDING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF TRAIN ROUTES THAT OFFER FREEDOM TO TRAVEL THROUGHOUT
THE COUNTRY
HOW? SPURS ENTREPREURSHIP ECONOMIC GROWTH DUE TO BEING ABLE TO CONNECT TO RESOURCES, SCHOOLS, TRADE AND SELL LIVESTOCK & GOODS
- COUNTRYWIDE
"Many take it to rural fairs with their farm produce or livestock. Some take it to visit relatives. For students, it's
just like their 'school bus'. And the lowest price has remained at two yuan – about 30 cents.
'I just bought some wild potherbs at 10 Yuan per kilo on the train. I'll be able to earn one hundred Yuan per kilo by reselling
them at a market in the city.'
'Without this train, we'd have to walk, as the transportation in our hometown isn't convenient. For a long time, there were
no other options.'"
"The Unstoppable Growth of China's High-Speed Rail Network" - The B!M (2021)
"Why China Is so Good at Building Railways" - Wendover Productions (2018)
"Using High-Speed Rail to Help the Poor" - Accurate Append (2020)
"The Impact of High Speed Railway on Government Expenditure on Poverty Alleviation in China - Evidence From Chinese Poverty
Counties" - Journey of the Asia Pacific Economy (2022)
Take a ride here on, "THE ICE" - "Germany's High-Speed Train - Deutsche Bahn" - WELT Documentary (2020)
Did Riding on "THE ICE" Make You Want More? Check Out, "World Transit," advocate, vote, build,
and ride Maryland's Circular High-Speed Trains!
WORLD TRANSIT
"'A mess,' 'a disaster,' 'on the verge of collapse.' This is the reputation of public transportation in the United States
these days—long passed over in favor of roads that only induce more traffic. And yet studies show that every
dollar invested in transit yields a $4.00 economic return to local communities, while also providing
increased access to jobs, goods, and services for its residents, plus significant reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions
in a time of climate change.
Meanwhile, a neighborhood’s service shortcomings correlate with lower incomes and higher rates of unemployment,
and in Baltimore, where most riders are people of color and commute times rival gridlocked Los Angeles, a disjointed
transit system—including an isolated subway and slow-to-grow bike lanes—continues to perpetuate
inequalities.
"The Sad and Awful Way We Destroyed the World's Greatest Passenger Rail": U.S.A. - City Nerd (2023)
"The Sad and Awful Way We Destroyed the World's Greatest Passenger Rail": U.S.A. - City Nerd (2023)
- Transfers Magazine [A multi-state federally-funded research publication of the Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation
Center (PSR)]
RESULT: "Low- and High-Income households both drive less when they live closer to rail, but the size of that reduction
is larger for higher-income households. For instance, those earning at least $100,000 who live zero miles from a rail
station drive about 7 miles less per day than households earning the same amount who live a mile from a
rail station."
- Transfers Magazine [A multi-state federally-funded research publication of the Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation
Center (PSR)]
"When we add a lane to a congested highway, traffic may ease in the short term. Soon enough, though, people who had avoided
the road, choosing to travel at other times or using other routes or methods, return. Congestion is back to where it started
– or worse."
- Transfers Magazine [A multi-state federally-funded research publication of the Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation
Center (PSR)]
"Mexico-USA-Canada Single Rail Network Takes Off Next Year" - Railway Business Magazine (2022)
The World Bank is working on ways to bring the benefits of movement - so that people can get where they
want to go, goods can move quickly and efficiently to markets< where they are needed—while taking the
carbon out of transport. In many places, railways can deliver the prompt mobility and logistics economies need, with
a low carbon footprint.
In a conversation with Martha Lawrence, a Senior Railway Specialist at the World Bank Group:
One passenger train can carry a thousand or more passengers. One freight train can carry one thousand to five thousand
tons of freight. Using diesel fuel for rail freight, while not necessarily optimal, generates only a quarter
to a third of the GHG emissions produced by trucks.
A complete transition to electrification or other non-carbon fuel can bring added benefits, although this will take years.
For the short-term, moving traffic from air or road to diesel-powered rail will reduce emissions by 70 percent or more
per passenger-kilometer or ton-kilometer. That's an important part of the move toward zero emissions. ....
Strong potential markets include places where traffic is heavy and where lower costs and more efficient service can attract
customers. For passengers, this means urban and suburban trips of about 80 kilometers or less, a maximum of around one hour
of travel time. For people going from city to city, trips on conventional railways of up to about 500 kilometers will attract
passengers. For high-speed rail, that expands to about 1,200 kilometers, or about three hours of travel time.
For freight, it is a little more complicated. Competitive markets for freight are determined by volume, distance, and the
kind of goods being moved. For example, rail is the best system for nearly 100 percent of large mineral transit, while
rail is likely to be competitive for only some manufactured goods moving longer distances. Freight rail is also more
competitive when pick-up and delivery are at places served by trains because those sites don't require transfer
to trucks for last-mile delivery.
"In China, the GuiGuang railway project is connecting less-developed regions in the southwest to the Pearl River Delta. Local
people use the line to get to better jobs and tourists use it to visit the scenic countryside.
In India, the World Bank is financing a dedicated freight corridor, which will meet the country’s rising demand for
energy-smart and environmentally sound transport. Over the next 30 years, the project will cut 67 million tons of CO2 emissions.
A new rail link through high mountains in Uzbekistan aims to better tie the country together. Since buses are barred from
using the mountain road into the Ferghana Valley for safety reasons, almost everyone travels by car or shared taxi. In 2012,
an estimated 10,000 vehicles per day travelled across the pass. About a quarter of those are trucks, hauling about 7 million
tons of freight. Once the line is up and running, it will take 200,000 tons of CO2 a year out of the atmosphere."
"Railways" - The World Bank
"The Trains that Subsidize Suburbia - GO Transit Commuter Rail" - Not Just Bikes (2021) [Suburban Wastelands]
"Go Transit is THE single largest parking provider in the entire province of Ontario. Bigger than the Toronto Parking
Authority, and bigger than any private parking garage operator. And yet, almost all of their 70,000 parking spots are
free to use. Completely subsidized by the taxpayers of Ontario. Yet another way that suburbanite drivers are
being subsidized by productive urban places {its urban people}. Every person who drives to a GO Station, parks
for free, and takes the train, is enjoying a subsidy. There is no discount on ticket prices for those who
walk, or for those who cycle to the station, so they've built a system that provides financial incentiver to drive
to the train."
Olympic Medalists Win Railroad Tickets for Life in Hong Kong - The Standard (July 28th, 2024)
HYDROGEN POWER
"I supercommute Through 4 States to Get to Work. I Love Earning a 6-Figure NYC Salary but Living a Suburban Life in Delaware."
- MSN (May 20, 2024)
"Teenager Explains Why he Chose to Pay $6,300 a Year to Live Permanently on Trains" - MSN (May 22nd, 2024)
THE "RAILS TO TRAILS" ISSUE: END TO CREATE, "TRAILS NEXT TO RAILS":
"There is a big transportation issue here since the 1970's. The land along the right-of-way has suburbanized and the population
has tripled. This is key issue with majority of transit issues in the United States. Transportation is often an afterthought
to growth, and to developing land. But places on the East Coast where we were lucky to have legacy Rail lines everywhere,
we have an option to rectify this. If rail trails do what they say in the small print, which is part of their goal is usually
to save part of the right-of-way for future use. But there's a big * on that small point rail because trails can often hurt
future rail expansions more than saving it. Having a nice trail can sometimes cause people who live near it to become NIMBYS
against transit expansion both modes of public transit can exist with each other, with the right investments. .... We're
pitting the wrong 2 people together {transport riders and cyclists) It's been that we build all our infrastructure for cars.
It's because it is separate from cars {safety}..."
"Why Rails to Trails are Problematic - Alan Fisher (2023)
"The Government Screwed Up the American Rail System. Now It Can Make Amends: Bad Regulation Turned the U.S. Rail System From
a 'World Leader' to an, 'Also-Ran.' Now, Congress Has Another Chance." - The Washington Post (2021)
Just like Maryland must get rid of its, "Regional transit only" policies, "First, Congress must repeal the
PRIIA definition that effectively prohibits growth of the long-distance network."
""You and your family could travel coast to coast without a single tank of gas onboard a high-speed train,"
Biden said at the plan's unveiling.
But the idea isn't just nice family trips — it's to use improved rail infrastructure and service to alleviate
problems such as traffic and air pollution as well as improve access to jobs. Transportation is the
largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
"The American Jobs Plan will build new rail corridors and transit lines, easing congestion, cutting pollution, slashing commute
times, and opening up investment in communities that can be connected to the cities, and cities to the outskirts, where a
lot of jobs are these days. It'll reduce the bottlenecks of commerce at our ports and our airports," Biden said."
ANYWAYS, WHAT'S WRONG WITH RESTORING TOURISM FOR SMALL TOWN HOSPITALITY?
IT is estimated that well over 1 and 1/2 BILLION dollars (78+ million for 54% completion) when
envisioned to complete pulling out train rails and tracks and pave concrete/asphalt/cement/tar "trail" across the United States
of America for an "individual" able-bodied only used vehicle; "The bicycle." While the intension was good, exploration and
exercise, "Rails to Trails" was extremely short-sighted and did not factor in that we direly need these, "abandoned rails"
again to fight Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change, and Global Warming. What use is it when the concrete/asphalt/cement/tar
paths, which we know scorches Mother Earth with its paving methods known all to well to Urban Heat Islands, and its suburbs,
all over the United States. Especially at a moment where we need to reduce all types of pollutions, especially soil, water,
and air, single use tired-vehicled trails, are no less than a highway system for bicycles, with manufactured toxins too.
Bicycle tires too have PPDs and PAHS chemicals, though smaller than larger automobile, truck, bus, tractor.... levels of carbon
emissions through their tires and tire erosion.
We must use trains to reconnect our towns and cities, reducing the need for automobiles (ending congestion and need for new
roads). and having freight be picking up and delivering, generating manufacturing in small towns to go directly to market,
and distribute products without trucks as much as possible. Now we must spend millions over millions billion+ at least restoring
the rails that were foolishly removed. Bicycles need not more than a few feet wide path. So no, cannot have 10 bicycle riders
wide all in unison, military/police style, nor would anyone one want to. Wanting to see the same things as an exclusive train
passenger sees from a window is glorious. Bicyclists need to learn to share.
BICYCLE PATHS NEXT TO - NOT INSTEAD OF TRAINS.
Rail routes across Maryland consists of two key lines: Towpath of C&O Canal National Historical Park and Great Allegheny Passage.
The two trails meet in Cumberland, connecting all towns to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to northwest and all towns along, to
Washington, D.C. to southeast.
Japan Has a Better Way: Dual Mode Vehicles - Train-Bus
"Play Safe" (1936)
"Porky's Railroad" - Warner Brothers (1937)
"Shining Rails" - (1950)
Decades ago Penn Station was buried to make way for Madison Square Gardens. As big as Grand Central Station is, a formal
above ground Penn Station is gravely needed again. There is no firmer statement than New York City attempting to at least
expanding to double capacity for train travel. Yes, that is train travel. They understand that short haul flights
are not sustainable, and actually can take more time and cost more than per ticket - but the yearning for breathing clean
air, and drinking Lead, PAHS, & PFAX-free ... water.
"Taking Penn Station from a tired transit center to a crown jewel of New York's cityscape will rank among the largest
real estate projects in American history."
"What Foes the Much-Debated Penn Station Redevelopment Project Herald for New York?" - Crain's New York Business (2022)
| ALWAYS ADDING NEW INFORMATION & LINKS |
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| COMING SOON! |
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Organization of this page is in progress, as well as having a Baltimore Section.
Zoom in to Baltimore, and then find Taneytown to follow the route stops. Automobiles cannot access much of the route. Mapquest
shows where houses... are.
"Transforming Transit": How to Plan a Good Railway Station" - RM Transit
"Train Stations are Making a Comeback. But Why?" - City Beautiful
Interesting statistics coming soon.
"What Stones Along Railway Tracks Mean" - Bright Side
"Are Americans Ready to Love Trains Again?" - Bloomberg Originals
"Amtraks Grand Plan for Profitability" - Wendover Productions (2019)
"How Amtrak Plans To Modernize Its Trains By 2030" - World Wide Rail Fans (2021)
"Why Train Tickets Cost So Much In America" - CNBC (2022)
"The Transit That's Always On Time" - RM Transit (2022)
"Transportation is always about the future. If we're just fixing today's problems, we'll fall further and further behind.
We already know that a growing population and increasing freight traffic will require our system to do more." - U.S. Secretary
Department of Transportation, Anthony Foxx [Obama Administration]
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| BALTIMORE MAP OF RAILROAD YARDS - Todd's Railfan Guide |
Dark grey = Highways | Light and Lightest Grey = Streets | Purple-Grey shows Numerous Rails, Depots, and Yards
"The Great Transportation Conspiracy: How GM and its Allies Dismantled America's Mass Transit - Harper's Magazine (1981)
"National City Lines Conspiracy and Conviction in Federal Court" - Brooklyn Historic Railway Association
"Kennedy Bids United States of America Investigate General Motors Locomotive and Bus Role" - The New York Times (1972)
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