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Results 3931 - 3960 of 3997
08-27-2008 - 00:34
synonymouse
I wish I could be as rational and sanguine as Old Pole Burner but obviously I am not. When I first came to the Bay Area in l966 all the older rail fans told me about the BART gauge issue and they wer
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-26-2008 - 20:30
synonymouse
Considering the vast sums of money that have been lavished on BART I see it as an underperforming disappointment. They tried to reinvent the wheel and failed in my opinion. In view of all the hype a
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-26-2008 - 12:46
synonymouse
I was mulling over how to defend light rail against heavy rail when the impressive image of one of those big Kawasaki South Shore cars rolling down a street in Michigan City, Indiana came to mind. If
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-25-2008 - 10:40
synonymouse
3934. Re: bart to Marin
It would be interesting to see how BART's aluminum beer can cars would fare in a collision. Their construction is so sub-standard they've crinkled in normal use. A fairer example of a heavy rail tra
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-24-2008 - 21:10
synonymouse
There has been a proposal to build a rail tube to Oakland paralleling the BART tube. I think the time frame was about 30 years from now. Your idea is intriguing but I don't know if the engineers are
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-24-2008 - 12:25
synonymouse
3936. Re: bart to Marin
Never is a long, long time. Circumstances can change in a way no one can foresee. It is possible that a great and permanent increase in fuel costs could make the buses and ferries much more costly t
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-24-2008 - 00:47
synonymouse
No one has mentioned the freeway revolt in San Francisco in the early sixties which stopped a massive network of highways connecting to the Golden Gate Bridge. The monstruous elevated Embarcadero Fre
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-23-2008 - 12:50
synonymouse
3938. Re: NWP etc
The GG Bridge has always intended to build a lucrative second deck for toll-paying automobiles. Historically only San Francisco opposition has prevented this. Engineering consultants will tell whoev
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-23-2008 - 12:18
synonymouse
The comments on the bike path I couldn't agree with more. But SMART has so many other serious shortcomings. For instance: How come doodlebugs? How come 6 years? How come a commute operation when
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-23-2008 - 00:52
synonymouse
I am really looking forward to that first garbage train thru Novato.
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-22-2008 - 20:16
synonymouse
I do not believe the NWP is viable either, but it is obvious that the controversy will only be settled by a real world test. Clearly there is a contingent convinced that it can reopen successfully.
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-21-2008 - 19:09
synonymouse
3942. Re: Traction motors
A traction motor without gearing could open up some real possibilities. For instance if you could eliminate the solid axle and incorporate the strength and rigidity of the truck into the body of the
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-21-2008 - 10:19
synonymouse
3943. Re: Traction motors
In streetcars the traction motors can also be geared at right angles to the axles, as in the Duewag monomotor truck. I believe these are called hypoid gears and the wheel diameters have to be equaliz
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-19-2008 - 08:56
synonymouse
I believe there was a plan to resurrect this line in the 70's before the establishment of Tri-Met. What killed the idea? It seems like a natural.
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-18-2008 - 11:03
synonymouse
So it appears unlikely that it would ever be returned to service?
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-17-2008 - 21:16
synonymouse
Was the Portland Traction right of way near Oregon City converted to a bike path?
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-17-2008 - 00:08
synonymouse
Barry is right about the bike path. Rights of way are next to impossible to obtain and this one should not be encumbered. The bike enthusiasts are a very effective lobby, much more successful than t
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-15-2008 - 22:57
synonymouse
3948. Re: SMART iffy
It was just the local paper's web poll. What surprised me was the high level of negative feeling, which is not disinformation. Same thing is apparent in the Marin IJ's letters to the editor - a gene
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-14-2008 - 19:33
synonymouse
3949. SMART iffy
The local Petaluma paper published an unscientific poll on SMART today and the results were surprisingly negative, about 70% against. Most comments homed in on the fact that a real transit system is
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-14-2008 - 09:01
synonymouse
The right of way would pose no problem for BART, so much beloved admired and sought after by Marin County. They would build a Great Wall of China, a massive elevated structure about 4 stories tall.
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-11-2008 - 11:51
synonymouse
If my memory serves me correctly BART was not at all pleased with Berkeley's chutzpah. Point is the BART blitzkrieg is unstoppable because it is a huge bureaucracy supported by an entrenched politica
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-11-2008 - 00:32
synonymouse
What you can get away with all depends on who you are. BART doesn't seem to have any problem erecting ugly, noisy elevated structures throughout its empire. I guess BART can get away with anything s
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-09-2008 - 09:57
synonymouse
I suggest that cutting a mostly new right of way will be necessary both for "incremental" fast trains as well as for ultra-fast trains. There are geographical impediments that existing railroads have
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-08-2008 - 20:47
synonymouse
The high speed rail plan is sound overall, but problems arise when politics conflict with practical engineering. All major infrastructure projects are expensive but they will prove justified over tim
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-08-2008 - 18:05
synonymouse
Isn't it odd but I find the Santa Clara cars rather attractive. Perhaps it's because they have somewhat old-fashioned, squarish lines. My problem is that I feel that almost everything looked better
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-08-2008 - 13:42
synonymouse
I beg to differ. When they first began operations in the East Bay I used to go over to check it out. You could look into the operator's cabin at the digital speedometer, which would read around 99 t
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-08-2008 - 13:29
synonymouse
Maybe it's the aluminum gray and the bowed sides and the fact they crinkled like a beer can. de gustibus non est disputandum. Maybe if they painted them.
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-08-2008 - 09:58
synonymouse
Do train lovers have to love all trains equally? What if it happens to be the railroad equivalent of a Yugo?
For example the only thing about BART that I ever really liked was the fact it that use
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-07-2008 - 19:19
synonymouse
3959. 2 NWP questions
Two questions, one very local and the other general. I see a new retaining wall going up along Lakeville in Petaluma behind Long's Drugs. Is this the new spur to Dairymens Feed I read about?
The
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
08-07-2008 - 18:56
synonymouse
After reading the letters to the editor in the Marin IJ today I may have to amend what I said about SMART winning. I was surprised by the level of vitriol directed not just at SMART's shortcomings, w
Forum: Discussion
Forum: Discussion
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