All aboard the China-to-London freight train

Hi Folks,

A little far away from our main topic of passenger trains, but still of rail interest:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38654176

Having lived on an Island for most of my life, the channel tunnel still amazes me!

Ed.

Fascinating. And I assume this involves switching from standard gauge to broad gauge and back to standard gauge trackage.

Maybe we can talk China into building a Tunnel under the Pacific and send the goods that the US had become hooked on via High Speed Trains!

On second thought,with Herr Trump taking over Friday, probably not since he's gonna bring all the jobs we lost to China back to the Rust Belt!

Russia has proposed a tunnel under Bering Strait. I suspect even if such is built it will end at a bumper post in Alaska while we bicker over funding the construction of the connection to it for the next hundred years

Eric S said:

Fascinating. And I assume this involves switching from standard gauge to broad gauge and back to standard gauge trackage.

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Actually the train itself doesn't run thru.

At every change of gauge they reload the containers onto a different train.

Though the technology exists today to rapidly change gauge of cars at gauge break points. Specifically multi-gauge capable Talgos run service across gauge breaks and are able to change gauge very quickly.

Yeah, that's what I wondered - whether the containers were switched or whether it involved rail cars like Jis mentions.

My understanding is that at gauge changes, the containers are loaded onto a fresh train, which makes it slightly less of a big deal, I guess.

Probably they all built different gauge railways so they could not be invaded by foreign trains!

Ed.

caravanman said:

My understanding is that at gauge changes, the containers are loaded onto a fresh train, which makes it slightly less of a big deal, I guess.

Probably they all built different gauge railways so they could not be invaded by foreign trains!

Ed.

Click to expand...

That is exactly the reason. But with modern airlift, it makes it somewhat of a moot point.

Heh heh. Is that why the Brits built the Irish railways using a different gauge? To keep the Irish Railways from invading Britain?

jis said:

Heh heh. Is that why the Brits built the Irish railways using a different gauge? To keep the Irish Railways from invading Britain?

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My Irish parents might well think so.

Of course it the GWR had got its way UK trains would be running broad gauge trains at higher speeds with enhanced loading gauge.