----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, October 11, 2002 9:58 AM
Subject: Re: autochargetrain
> You have just described AMTRAKs AutoTrain (except for the charging).
>
> You drive your car on in Northern Virginia, enjoy a relaxing ride through
the southern states and drive off in Florida 12 hours later.
>
> They should expand this to nationwide service. They won't, but they
should.
>
> Wallace
> How may I assist you?
>
Hi All;
Thanks! Wallace, for streughtening me out. I should have been more
definate when I mentioned it. Didn't want to emply that it went EVerywhere
in the USA. It should! As you say.
You can thank the present Administration for this one. Amtrak is fighting
for it's life, just at a time that, in the present scheme of things, is
needed more than EVer, to, help save imported oil. Like the carbuilders
don't want Joe Sixpack running around in a car with only ONE moving part in
the motor(engine). They don't want him an' his kids hopping aboard the Acela
to glide off to NY or Boston, NOT spending money on gas and wearing out his
car.
The Acela train has gone over quite well. For you left coasters, it is a
loose sort of homespun copy of TGV of France and Japan's wildly successful
Bullet train. It is aimed at the business traveler, cost is no object,
cheaper than the plane, folks. 120 Bux OW from NY to Bos. is well over twice
the regulat train fare, but it packs them in! All the glamour of a new
train, and the New Train Smell! Folks like that. I had a friend come up
from DC on it. I said, "Go on the regular train, which can do 125 MPH, too,
track conditions permitting, a lot cheaper" He said" Hell, companies'
paying for it, I don't care" One victory for Amtrak's marketing dept! But it
is poutting the Iron Horse before the cart, so to speak. We only have 18
miles of track up to 150 mph speeds, at that speed it doesn't take long to
run it! They should have taken the curves out of the existing line, or
better yet, built a new line, like in Japan and France, so it could open up
to 200, like the techies SAY it could do, had the streight track. So we
bought all these hy-speed trains, and nowhere to show them off to full
capacity. Sort of like buying commuters Porshes, Vipers White Zombies and
Corvettes to commute on the beltway, during "Rush Hour" to save a few
minutes. They never get out of second gear!
All these above trains ARE electric, now. Amtrak finished NH's plan to
electrify to boston in 1915, by 1999, we don't rush into things on the
RR,<g>! Only because Amtrak inherited the Pennsylvania lines, and New York,
New Haven and Hartford, both outfits which led the way in electric traction,
95 years ago. NHRR with Hi voltage AC@11k25hz, up and running in 1907.
Pennsy liked what they saw, started in in the Philly area with electric
commuter lines in 1915. Those "Red Cars" ran into the late 80's ,would be
running still, had anybody wanted them . Pennsy continued this theme into
NYC-Washington Electrification, completed in 1938. Their benchmark
locomotive, the classic GG-1 ruled supreme, over 135 were built, an hour
fell from the timing ,when they swept into action, easily hauling 1500
passenger trains over 100 mph, day in day out. Some were, during WW-2
,logged over 1000 miles a day. I believe tonnage and passenger hauled
records still stand, that the Pennsy set, back then. The famous GG-1 found a
home on Amtrak, later in their lives, pinch hitting on MetroLiners into the
80's Doing the required 125 mph to hold the schedule Beginning to show their
age by then, the heavy mainframes were cracking from metal fatigue , and
Amtrak was going to one man crews in the locomotive, no fireman, an archaic
term for Engineer assistent. If you are familiar with GG-1 Raymund Loewy
styling, classic Art Deco, you, the Engineer ,sat way back into the carbody,
for grade crossing protection, so visability was like that in a steam
locomotive, with that loong boiler in front of you. When making left turns
the Fireman was your eyes. Oh you sorta could stand up and sneak a peak over
the nose on a G but not really well enough to see a toddler on the tracks,
in time to blow the horn. You sure couldn't swerve! I was privilidged to
have gotten to run some of these, when I first hired out. John Wayland
woulda loved a ride. They SOUNDED like a Large piece of electrical machinery
should sound! Great gear noise, and a wonderful cacopany of Hi power
switchgear if you were running from the end that the electrical cabinitry
was. The happy hum of 12 traction motors, in flite, should play back on a
Wayland sound system, on the Turnpike, just fine! A few of these classic
EV's have survived in Train museums, nationwide, yours to enjoy. Not to see
run, sigh! As 11000 25hz ,power needed to power them up, isn't in the
catalogue of PG and E or what ever they get their power.
Bottom line: Getting carried off in clouds of contentment on RR's AGAIN.
But they have alot in common with the EV situation. An ecologically good
system to move people and freight, but not used very well; here. No freight
is hauled by electric locomotives here in the USA! It should be, abeit,
Diesels haul freight here big time and are 4 times more efficient than 18
wheelers for doing it. A teaspoon of Diseasel fuel moves a ton of freight a
mile on the Train! Could do better if it was electric. Amtrak has chased the
fraght trains off the Hi-speed north east Corridor, where the Pennsy moved
tonnage, they "Get in the way" is the excuse, so we have Wall-to-wall 18
wheelers on the road. One guy, the enginer can "Drive"150 trailers at once,
without being an acrobat. Been there, done that, it's fun!
Seeya
Bob off trak on trak, again!
