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At the roads, some of the rail beds are still there. Some were ripped up when the roads were completely remade. Off the roads in our area, it's hard to see where the railroad once ran because the hilly part that was once the rail line has now worn down from hurricanes. I doubt the rail lines in our area that were shut down could so easily be restored. I think it's good that the railroads that are currently in use are also being used to haul freight. Moving freight long distance over rail line is better for our roads. Once it arrives at it's destination, move the freight car onto the trailer and the rig can carry it the rest of the way.
Location: Still in Portland, Oregon, for some reason
890 posts, read 3,685,470 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tightwad
Has anyone considered reclaiming the thousands of miles of abandoned rail beds to re-rail them as a way to cut cost to rail America?
Rail is sustainable where cars are not.
You realize they don't abandon these lines just because they're bored. Lines are abandoned because they aren't profitable or the business has dried up. They also cost money to maintain, even if you aren't using them.
Enough with the links. I want to hear YOUR solution to this "problem" in America. Quit parroting bits and pieces from other authors and actually write out a plan in your own words that addresses the issues and provides solutions.
Silly people that are against strip mining millions of acres of land across western North America. What are they thinking anyway? It's not like we need clean water, forests, mountains or places to grow food or anything. Just as long as we have tar sands and oil shale, right?
Thanks for stuffing a lot of words in my mouth.
Why don't you drop the drama and read that post again. You'll see that I pointed out a potential source of oil that is currently untapped because of cost and social conscience. I also pointed out that priorities can change as conditions dictate. That doesn't mean that we should strip mine North America or club baby seals in the 2014 Winter Olympics. It simply means that people adapt to new situations.
Perhaps one of those adaptations is developing a new technology to extract oil from shale and tar sands. Perhaps that means a transition from oil to some other fuel source. We could have some intelligent discussions about the possibilities, but it's a lot more fun to throw out silly statements that are light on logic and heavy on shock value isn't it?
I advocate for increased train use in the US. That being said I don't see it as a replacement for any mode of transportation. I've seen it used most effectively part of a bigger system. I might drive to the train station, take a train from the 'burbs into the city and then walk a few blocks to where I want to go.
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