Elon Musk's proposed 'Hyperloop' to take passengers from LA to SF in 30 minutes

[Mack Knife]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

He has followed through on other ideas to make them fully fleshed and practical. This is an idea he has thrown out and said "it'd be pretty cool if someone did something like this some day."

Maybe he watched some movies and got the idea there? Nah, couldn't be something like that.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Mack Knife

Maybe he watched some movies and got the idea there? Nah, couldn't be something like that.

Maybe he got inspired as a lad...

[Count David]

From the video:

"The tube would suck, you guessed it, people."

Does USA Today not have a video editor? Sheesh.

[tickyul]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Ridiculous as in unfeasable, or ridiculous to have the thing built and actually work? For those of us who frequently go between NorCal and SoCal, it would be pretty gosh darned neato.

Ridiculous as in...WHO THE **** is going to pay for this mess!!!!!!!!!

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by tickyul

Ridiculous as in...WHO THE **** is going to pay for this mess!!!!!!!!!

We need a prototype and and a ballpark estimate. HSR went off the rails with their projections; wouldn't want to repeat that again.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

We need a prototype and and a ballpark estimate. HSR went off the rails with their projections; wouldn't want to repeat that again.

Yeah, wouldn't want it to go down the tubes.

[sponger42]

Whether it be the hyperloop, maglev, or some modified form of HSR, California needs to take the opportunity in building this transitway to INNOVATE. This is going to be a mega-engineering project no matter which way you slice it. In three decades, people are going to be touring through museums or educational centers that talk about the technical details of constructing the LA-SF transitway. It would be nice if those people were actually wowed by the vision of the people who built the system.

My biggest problem with the HSR proposal, as it exists, is the inefficient manner in which all HSR trains operate; with multiple stops along, what should be, an express route between two major hubs. Why does the f---ing train need to stop in BFE, California to pick up or drop off 10 people, inconveniencing the other 500 who just want to get from LA to SF quickly?

Instead of stopping, the train should be of a modular design with trailing cars decoupling a few miles ahead of midpoint stations. Then it is just individual rail cars which decelerate into these smaller stations where they load or unload passengers. Once loaded, they accelerate back up to speed on a spur line, then rejoin the main line ahead of another train and recouple to the next train on the fly. This system would make every train a direct express to your destination, be it San Francisco or SLO.

Eventually the HSR project is going to acquire the necessary right-of-ways and move forward. Lets be smarter about what sort of system we build on that land! Let's make something innovative that sets California apart, rather than some lower-speed imitation of the 1970's era Shinkansen.

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by nslander

If it works, it can replace air travel. But a prototype might be nice- a gerbil sucked through a Habit-Trail with a vacuum cleaner. Anything. Otherwise, it’s back to filing mindless NIMBY lawsuits.

Certainly worth testing out, a prototype built sending a gerbal from LA to Sf through a tube. Just make sure Richard Gere's as* is no where near the end of the tube..

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by cb73

Would it really be a good thing to travel 600-700 miles an hour for 30 minutes? And any accident--you'd wouldn't have a hope.

One could say the same about airplanes.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Radical347

One could say the same about airplanes.

A good example. However who started making airplanes and forming airlines? It wasn't the Government at either State or Federal level. It was an idea that was right and it basically funded itself in the beginning. Whe someone wants the Gov't involved it usually means political payoffs, contracts to supporters and huge cost over runs.