Will trains become cars?

[bernhart_lossiemouth]

What do you think? Will trains become cars in the future?

If human continue to move in the same direction - trash everywhere, rippin up the railroads, teaching children acting in school instead of survival - then what hope do trains have? Will they become cars?

Euphod, what is your opinion? And the rest of the community?

Bern

 

[cascaderailroad]

You can only transport just so little much Titanium Dioxide, or Anahydrous Ammonia in a car ! :hehe:

It is true that so great much goods are still transported by long haul trucking, by tens of thousands of trucks all crossing the entire US daily ... Instead of by TOFC, COFC on a train.

What a waste of fuel. !

It is said that a train can transport 300-600 truckloads (of Chinese Birdclocks and Dollar Store junk), at a cost of 60%, or more, fuel savings.

 

[wholbr]

Hi Cascade And Everybody.
Without Doubt There Will Be a Decline in what is known as trunk vehicles in Britain (vehicles which run on motorways and A roads carrying bulk loads between central warehousing units and regional distribution centres) which are probably similar to the ones that Cascade is referring to in his posting as running goods all over America via the Interstate highways. Trials in the UK have been going on for some time by major supermarket retailers using the railways for bulk delivery to there regional centres where it is sorted and transfered to road vehicles for deliveries to the supermarkets.

The problem seems to be at the moment the precise time schedules that have to be met at all stages of distribution are not up to the standards required by the retailers in the railroad section of the transport. I would not be sure if it was the same in the United States but in Britain and much of the rest of Europe retail stores hold virtually no stock and what is sold through the tills is uploaded as data several times a day so the stock can be replaced every 24 hours at least through the distribution system.

Undoubtedly the railway transporting companies will eventually get the efficiency demanded by the retailers right and we will then see the numbers of long-distance trunk vehicles decline on British roads if only due to the high cost of fuel. However, undoubtedly you will never see a railway line leading to your local supermarket and therefore the future of the heavy goods vehicle is assured when it comes to short to medium distance delivery work.

With Internet shopping becoming more and more popular throughout the developed world we are also seeing a significant increase in the numbers of medium to heavy goods vehicles needed to carry out the vastly increasing " home delivery" side of the road haulage industry. A few of us love them and make our living from them many thousands of others hate them and would love to see the back of them. But love them or hate them one thing is sure, the heavy goods vehicle is here to stay and with a very long term future.

Bill

 

[RooRocz]

It's all evolution and natural selection: that which can carry most effectively survive. Over millions of years, horses grew appendages that became what we know as the horse & cart today. In turn, the horse & cart gradually developed more carts and developed mechanisms to lay down tracks, allowing it to out-compete the single horse & cart, becoming the horse cart railway. In turn, the horse cart railway slowly developed natural boilers, first out of iron, then later out of steel, and became the modern locomotive-hauled train.

However, the trend today is toward smaller shipments, so of course we're seeing locomotive-car hybrids. Look at hi-railers. Though they were originally bred by putting a locomotive and a truck in a dark roundhouse for a night, they're now appearing naturally in the wild. I think we'll see more of this sort of thing in the future.

 

[Euphod]

Many US trucks are being converted to run on Natural Gas, now that the price equivalent for such is below diesel. Will it be long before the railroads also make the switch?

 

[SD45T-2]

No, in fact. Hydrogen will be the fuel.

The Switcher BNSF built is still working.

 

[airtime]

I don't think trains will ever become cars, you see this rubbish on supposed tv shows of the future, but I believe cars will be cars, and trains will be trains, they will be better and faster, but neither will ever become each other, and if they ever do, it will be the single biggest cock up ever....:hehe:

Joe Airtime

 

[Euphod]

No, in fact. Hydrogen will be the fuel.

The Switcher BNSF built is still working.

So what? You can't say "in fact", until you know the cost of the conversions to a new fuel, and the cost of the fuel, which can change on a dime.

 

[cascaderailroad]

Hydrogen tends to be a just tad more violently explosive than gasoline ... It won't be in your grandchildrens lifetime !

 

[bernhart_lossiemouth]

I don't think trains will ever become cars, you see this rubbish on supposed tv shows of the future, but I believe cars will be cars, and trains will be trains, they will be better and faster, but neither will ever become each other, and if they ever do, it will be the single biggest cock up ever....:hehe:

Joe Airtime

Ahhh but the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing people he didn't exist.. Are you the devil?

 

[cascaderailroad]

Roadrailers are a perfect example of how Trains will stay Trains ... I hear the Roadrailer is on the way out ... an (never say die) eventual dying failure, that will never pan out to expectancies.

 

[airtime]

Ahhh but the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing people he didn't exist.. Are you the devil?

Now that would be telling

Joe Airtime