The X Train!

[bicknell]

http://www.xtrainvegas.com/

Terrible web site, but LA to Las Vegas in sin city style....

[Catt]

Website sucks,music is kind of cool though. ;D

[up1950s]

I gave up , too annoying !

[Iain]

Dang it, I thought someone was coming out with models of the Baldwin powered lightweight streamliners.

[Philip H]

Would prefer the XXX train, or the Hooters (tm) train . . .

[Bob Bufkin]

Gotta admit, the gyro lights on the Hooter's train look great and the wings they serve in their diners ain't bad either.

[sirenwerks]

I think I'd rather see a maglev development. That technology needs a test situation to prove itself in the states. Another tourist train made up of an E unit and ex-C&NW/Metra double deck cars just ain't good for rail at this time. Sure, it would get a lot of attention at the start but the ride would be slower than a car even, riding freight-line rails, and a private venture would be too easy to go under.

Granted, tax dollars would pay for the maglev project, but the LA to LV run would be perfect, given there's so much open land out there. And, if Cali ever gets its bu!! in gear with high speed rail, the link at LA would jump start the idea of a national rail system.

Imagine a bullet train flying past the edge of the Mojave, flashing by those slow pokes on 58, their jaws dropping in disbelief, wishing they were with the cool folks on the XXX maglev? That's the problem with passenger rail, the lesson Amtrak just hasn't learned from Europe and Japan yet, rail travel needs to be sexy again. Face it, sex sells. 20th Century Ltd.? Hiawatha? Broadway Ltd.? Sexy! Even the California Zephyr, as family-oriented as it was, was sexy!

All 'they' need to do is start building from the East, two lines from Mid America, a southern route through LV and Phoenix, and another through SLC into Seattle. And the lines can meet in the middle somewhere.  Sound familiar? Cali can build its high-speed system and Oregon & Washington can link up with the Seattle line and connect with the Cali system Folks can switch trains at Redding or maybe even have a through train system.

It'll take a massive WPA-style effort, but it would kick a%%. If the east can't pull their weight and meet in the middle, do it anyway from the west, maybe those square heads will get with the program one day.

[SquirrelHollow]

All that came to mind, when Bryan said Maglev, highspeed, and Mojave, was more destruction of beautiful open ground...  and all those unguarded crossings that would have to become idiot, farmer, crazy white woman, and child proof.  (Unguarded crossings are the norm out west, for you eastern fellers - as long as you're outside a city.)  Boat loads of money.  BOAT LOADS of money would be needed for a project like that.

[jmlaboda]

UP and Amtrak both tried their hand at such an endeavor and failed... I don't believe that the capital funding will come in like they think it will to try to revive the concept, let alone, make it work at a profit.

[sirenwerks]

All that came to mind, when Bryan said Maglev, highspeed, and Mojave, was more destruction of beautiful open ground...  and all those unguarded crossings that would have to become idiot, farmer, crazy white woman, and child proof.  (Unguarded crossings are the norm out west, for you eastern fellers - as long as you're outside a city.)  Boat loads of money.  BOAT LOADS of money would be needed for a project like that.

Robert,

I believe the maglev tech requires elevation, or at least the developers would be smart enough to elevate it to rid a high speed train from having to worry about unguarded crossings.

As a self-described Westerner, you probably know that 58 skirts outside the US federal Mojave protected area. But really, there's not a whole lot going on along 58 along that part of California.

I mentioned the money when making the WPA analogy. It's not hard to look at WPA costs on projects like the TVA, and do a bit of post-30s cost-of-living increase math and duh, we're talking about considerable amounts of money over multiple years. As well, a project such as that would create considerable amount of work for Americans and long-term income generation for land owners.

As someone who has lived in both parts of the country, I am sensitive to the land issue, and ecological conservation. That being said, I take umbridge at your highlighting, in a reactionary 'tone' (ALL CAPS), what I already mentioned. Whether you're implying an anti-spending or conservation argument, but I'm happy to take the discussion off-list.

[SquirrelHollow]

All that came to mind, when Bryan said Maglev, highspeed, and Mojave, was more destruction of beautiful open ground...  and all those unguarded crossings that would have to become idiot, farmer, crazy white woman, and child proof.  (Unguarded crossings are the norm out west, for you eastern fellers - as long as you're outside a city.)  Boat loads of money.  BOAT LOADS of money would be needed for a project like that.

Robert,

I believe the maglev tech requires elevation, or at least the developers would be smart enough to elevate it to rid a high speed train from having to worry about unguarded crossings.

As a self-described Westerner, you probably know that 58 skirts outside the US federal Mojave protected area. But really, there's not a whole lot going on along 58 along that part of California.

I mentioned the money when making the WPA analogy. It's not hard to look at WPA costs on projects like the TVA, and do a bit of post-30s cost-of-living increase math and duh, we're talking about considerable amounts of money over multiple years. As well, a project such as that would create considerable amount of work for Americans and long-term income generation for land owners.

As someone who has lived in both parts of the country, I am sensitive to the land issue, and ecological conservation. That being said, I take umbridge at your highlighting, in a reactionary 'tone' (ALL CAPS), what I already mentioned. Whether you're implying an anti-spending or conservation argument, but I'm happy to take the discussion off-list.

In no way was I attempting to elicit an argument, or insult in any way. 

While I am a strong supporter of keeping mostly unmolested land the way it is, I probably could have stated my view a little better.  Like I said, I wasn't trying to start an argument.  I just hate seeing technology, urban development, and the modern world swallow beautiful places (nobody ever wants to live in the ugly places, after all). 

As for the all caps - I just wanted to restate that such a project would require what I view as an inconceivable amount of funding.  Because my outdoor activities are off-the-beaten-path more than most folks, all of the unguarded crossings came to mind.  The only real (mostly) fool proof solution to those crossings would be, as you said, elevated track or highway underpasses (highway overpasses would be too risky for the train - too many drunks and bored rural teenagers would take pot shots, and huck objects at the approaching trains).

As a self-described Westerner, you probably know that 58 skirts outside the US federal Mojave protected area.

I did not know that.  But, my "Mostly unmolested land" comment probably applies the the Mojave Protected Area as much as anything around here.  Almost any kind of "protected" area around here still has mining rites, drilling rites (leased or owned), access rites, and all kinds of other operations going on.  It's just joe-blow public that's not allowed to deface the areas.  Big business is exempt from the rules.  (Not trying to start any kind of argument.  - Just trying to explain my previous comments.)


It's not necessarily supporting my response, but this is one of the unguarded crossings that prompted my comment about them.  This is double main line with a siding, so a 3-track crossing.  Just today, I watched a PT Cruiser-pulled 10 to 13 foot travel trailer about get turned into splinters by a south bound freight.  It's tough to see to the north when heading east over this crossing, due to the old post office and some dirt berms blocking the view.  Doesn't look like it on satellite images, but the view is pretty obstructed.  Combine the poor visibility with a moron towing a trailer 10 times the capacity of the vehicle, and it was almost "lights out".

[sirenwerks]

Robert,

Sorry. I get carried away. I consider myself an environmentalist. However, watching certain parties trivializing the economic survival of the average person in the name of ecology in Eureka while I was there moved me towards a different approach - http://www.thebreakthrough.org/about.shtml. It feels like projects like this get attacked from both sides and folks miss the potential - can't see the forest for the trees, so to speak.

What I had in mind was more like the construction used on parts of the Chinese Qinghai-Tibet line, below, but with more aesthetic design. A raised line lessens environmental impact over the long-term and the construction is largely sectional, so construction impact is minimized too (compared to standard build-in-place construction). If I get my engineering right, the raised bridge design minimizes security risk as well.



My wish would be for rails to replace 58 altogether, as in build it where 58 is now. Wishful thinking though. Here's a pic of an elevated maglev design already built.

[Bruce Bird]

Elevated lines on bridges are great- if you have Scrooge McDuck money to blow.  And why is it whenever I see a photo of a monorail I think of the Simpsons episode......

Hooter's wings are small and not very good and the beer is overpriced.  The only thing good at Hooter's is what's stuffed into their iconic uniforms.  And if you don't pick well sometimes that's not very good either!