The Train and Railway Thread - CHOO CHOO!

Had a wonderful train ride to Inverness yesteray, crossing both the Forth Rail Bridge and the Tay Rail Bridge. The original Tay Rail Bridge was the longest in the world when it opened, and Ulysses Grant, visiting, said it was a "pretty big bridge for a small city". He was proven right when it collapsed in 1879, leaving 75 dead in Scotland's deadliest rail disaster. It was badly designed, badly built, and badly used and hurricane-force winds caused the central span to collapse, taking a train down with it during a dark and stormy night. The remains of the central piers can still be seen. It inspired a poem, the "Tay Bridge Disaster", widely considered to be the world's worst poem by the world's worst poet.

Nice to see this, Achaemenid. I tried doing this a few years ago.

And structural^note  In some cases, literally issues that go back to the building of the railways in the 19th Century, especially due to the Railway Mainia of the 1840s.

Mind you, apart from the continuing rebuilding of Reading Station, the biggest rail news from this part of the world is probably the "new" Class 458 stock.

Definitely an indication of the railways around here — part of the reasoning is to provide longer trains and greater capacity on the Reading-Waterloo line.

edited 17th Dec '13 5:30:15 AM by Greenmantle

Ah, good to see this thread up again.

I have an interest in Japanese commuter railroads once again. This time it is more extensive thanks to Google Maps labeling lines in English. I have more understanding of how they work and which systems exist, as well as the dark side of certain company practices...

My grandpa always liked trains.

I still have a conductor beaver he gave me.

This thread needs more Sheldon.◊

Hell with that, let's get some James Coffey up in here.

This guy's songs are all very samey, though.

@ Mikuru Fan: You're not the only one — with the amount of trains I've seen in anime, the Japanese Railway industry looks interesting.

Like a lot in Japan, there are some familiar elements to a Brit, but often appear in completely different ways.

edited 17th Dec '13 1:40:33 PM by Greenmantle

When I used to get the train back from work, I felt the same way on the 5:30 Eastbound from Bathgate station. So fine.

I see your lovely folk song and I raise you Navigator by The Pogues, about the "navigational engineers" who built Britain's railways and canals during the Victorian Age. Many were Irish, attracted to the back-breaking work by the promise of a square meal and more money:

"The supply of an Empire/Where the sun never set/Which is now deep in darkness/But the railway's there yet!"

Thomas the Tank Engine was brutal.

I know of Japan's railfans, and there are a lot of them. One time, hundredsof railfans gathered at Shibuya Station to watch construction workers remove tracks.

edited 17th Dec '13 2:44:04 PM by MikuruFanMobile

I think my feelings about trains are starting to get strained by the fact that over the last year my local TOC has so far failed to run a single train to time. Not late, but within the five-minute window. And that's when they're not being held up by militant birds on the overhead cable.

Trains in America are insanely inconvenient. We rank below even the worst third world countries in passenger service.

According to what list?

Personal experience

Well, from my own experience, we aight. Never had any trouble riding MARC to/from Baltimore. Or that one time I rode Amtrak. It's actually a very comfortable ride. I'd often fall asleep on the way home, only to wake up and suddenly be nearing Union Station.

When someone six rows behind you has been sick on the train and you're the best part of an hour from your stop, let me know.

Doubly bad because they did it into the vestibule for the door I needed to use.

You live east coast, where all the goodies are.

The closest I've ever come to that is some guy on the seat in front of me and my mom talking loudly enough on the phone for everyone to hear.

So do trains in Arizona just suck?

edited 17th Dec '13 3:29:18 PM by PhysicalStamina

And before anyone says "why didn't you just move coaches?" the train was standing room only (to the point where anyone was allowed to sit in First Class to ease the overcrowding) and I didn't fancy standing all the way from London to Birmingham (which is a two-hour ride).

Lessee... Two disconnected transcon lines, single track, only three trains a week, trains come at the middle of the night, and no direct connections between even the two biggest cities.

I believe so.

What the hell kinda train doesn't let you sit down?

What kind of line only has one track?

edited 17th Dec '13 3:34:36 PM by PhysicalStamina

A commuter train that's packed to the rafters. During the rush hour it's pretty common for trains in the UK to be that full, although in this case it was a Saturday night, hence the sick (someone had clearly had one too many).

edited 17th Dec '13 3:37:41 PM by Deadbeatloser22

I dunno. Minor branch lines?

EXCEPT THIS IS A MAJOR TRANSCON.

Oh, so it's like the Red Line during game day.

edited 17th Dec '13 3:41:39 PM by PhysicalStamina

I guess so.