Summarized:
As Johannes pointed out, it is a bad idea to tow a train of
contragrav-only carriages by a single contragrav-and-thrust engine in
front. You can get away with one cockpit for the entire train in the
first unit, but each unit needs thrusters. That kills my idea to have
cheap and interchangeable carriages behind a more expensive engine.
My reply was that in this case you could have identical grav trucks.
Johannes said that you could still save personnel with several follower
trucks slaved to one crewed leader.
http://www.popsci.com/article/cars/robot-truck-convoy-tested-nevada
Craig and Evyn had some ideas how Grav Trains could be made to run
tracks. I like the idea of drawing power from the track best, especially
at TL9 or lower. If Grav Trains cannot maneuver, central traffic control
becomes more important. That is simplified if Grav Carriages are
combined into trains.
A completely different approach would be to have long, articulated grav
flyers and to call them "Grav Trains". No flexibility of swapping
carriages, but there could be reasons why you want a articulated
vehicle. Perhaps they enter subway tunnels when they reach urban areas?
That could be combined with the contact power option.
Regards,
Onno
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