I've had some rail-related questions knocking around in my head for a while now. I haven't been able to google up the answers, so...
In Europe, I rode "second class" in a compartment with 3-3 bench seats facing each other. At night, the seats converted into six bunk beds. The space taken by that seating arrangement was only a little more than in coach seating, and the ticket cost was only a little more as well, but the increase in comfort was enormous. Why can't we have that here? Is it just lack of equipment, or a percieved lack of demand?
I was surprised to learn that train crews have private rooms on-board. This sounds very expensive; roomettes seem to sell for $300 per day or so. Is there a reason why crews don't de-train when their shift is over, sleep at a station, then get back on the next train to work another shift the next day?
Is baggage loading/unloading a significant contributor to dwell time? Has there been any thought given to putting baggage into "shipping containers" which can be loaded/unloaded from the baggage car as a unit? A car would hold half a dozen containers, and bags would be sorted en-route.
It seems I often see multiple locomotives pulling small (8-12 car) trains. (I'm mostly familiar with the CS, Surfliner, and San Joaqin routes.) But freight trains seem to have a much, much lower locomotive-to-car ratio, and the cars are probably heavier. Of course, freight moves at a slower speed. Is a single passenger locomotive incapable of pulling 8 cars at speed along level ground? (I would think that most of the drag would be wheel friction...which, being steel-on-steel, shouldn't be much.) Or are freight locomotives just that much more powerful?
In Europe, I rode "second class" in a compartment with 3-3 bench seats facing each other. At night, the seats converted into six bunk beds. The space taken by that seating arrangement was only a little more than in coach seating, and the ticket cost was only a little more as well, but the increase in comfort was enormous. Why can't we have that here? Is it just lack of equipment, or a percieved lack of demand?
I was surprised to learn that train crews have private rooms on-board. This sounds very expensive; roomettes seem to sell for $300 per day or so. Is there a reason why crews don't de-train when their shift is over, sleep at a station, then get back on the next train to work another shift the next day?
Is baggage loading/unloading a significant contributor to dwell time? Has there been any thought given to putting baggage into "shipping containers" which can be loaded/unloaded from the baggage car as a unit? A car would hold half a dozen containers, and bags would be sorted en-route.
It seems I often see multiple locomotives pulling small (8-12 car) trains. (I'm mostly familiar with the CS, Surfliner, and San Joaqin routes.) But freight trains seem to have a much, much lower locomotive-to-car ratio, and the cars are probably heavier. Of course, freight moves at a slower speed. Is a single passenger locomotive incapable of pulling 8 cars at speed along level ground? (I would think that most of the drag would be wheel friction...which, being steel-on-steel, shouldn't be much.) Or are freight locomotives just that much more powerful?
