Take a rail to from Ames to > Des Moines and when you get there what happens? ======================================= Well . . . in 1920 you could then take a train from downtown Des Moines to downtown Chicago (loop-to-loop, you could say). And by the way, the "loops" in both towns got their nicknames from the excellent urban rail systems there--the El in Chicago, which is still going strong, and the street railway system in Des Moines, which more than 50 years ago was abandoned and paved over. (From what I read during a recent trip to Chicago--we went there by Amtrak, departing from Osceola--the Chicago loop may have got its name from a surface street railway that preceded the construction of the Elevated. From Chicago, we took the train they call the City of New Orleans to the city of its name: a fun trip, on schedule, on well-maintained track.) About weather and trains, of course a massive snowstorm will stop any transport, but I was thinking about a thin layer of snow or ice that makes the pavement slick and sends cars and trucks into the ditch along our Interstate highways with monotonous predictability. That same thin layer of snow or ice should have mimimal effect on the operations of a well constructed and competently operated railroad. Tom Mathews Des Moines, Iowa (Which has no passenger rail service.) All progress is change, but not every change is progress. In a message dated 2/19/2009 10:15:51 A.M. Central Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: A couple of quick things: Severe weather (snow, ice) can block or delay rail transport, but locomotives can be (and are) equipped with plows, sand for rails, etc. Trains' efficiency remains one of their trump cards. Another is their comfort and convenience (in a well designed system). If you don't absolutely positively expensively have to be on the other end of the hemisphere by tomorrow, there's no more civil way of getting there than a good train. And as for going by rail from Des Moines to Ames...what COULD happen is that when your train stops at the platform in Ames, you take your bicycle from the special storage compartment at the end of your car, and you roll it out of the car, down the platform, through the terminal, and pedal away. When we traveled by train through Scotland a couple of years ago, every car was equipped with bike racks, and there were plenty of bicyclists using them. Buses and metro rail systems across Europe and increasingly here in the US regularly accommodate cyclists. Bill Witt Quoting Ronald Spears <[log in to unmask]>: > > Went to England - very good transport - buses ran every 10 minutes > in the city of Super Mare but it is a rather small and compact > country - dynamics are a lot different. Take a rail to from Ames to > Des Moines and when you get there what happens? > -------------- Original message from Thomas Mathews > <[log in to unmask]>: -------------- > > > > Awesome letter, Dana! > > It's true, we had a better, safer, more energy-efficient > transportation system in 1920 than we do today. The early 20th > century system, as you note, was based on rail, not automobiles. > > The absurdity of our highway-based transport is obvious during a > snow or ice storm which would not affect railroad operations, but > which sends cars and trucks off the road or into multi-vehicle > pileups. > > All progress is change, but not all change is progress. > > Tom Mathews > > In a message dated 2/16/2009 7:02:51 P.M. Central Standard Time, > [log in to unmask] writes: > What do we need for transportation? > Deborah Fink, Ames Feb. 12, 2009 > > Regarding David Swenson's Feb. 5 Iowa View: He's is absolutely right > in his criteria for ranking stimulus projects. Infrastructure and > schools are urgent and practical targets. > > What I missed was any movement beyond the status quo. We need a > certain infrastructure of roads and bridges because we drive cars > almost everywhere we go. Should we maintain this infrastructure? > > For more on this article go to > http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009902120342 > > Dana- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: > [log in to unmask] Check out our > Listserv Lists support site for more information: > http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List > Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp > > > A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. 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