Is all this fake high-speed rail driving anyone else nuts?

george matthews wrote:

David Benton wrote:i know its hard for some to see beyong a horse and cart . the container has bee around for 50 years . the french also proposed a system whereby high speed freight trains ran a route system , and containers were swapped between trains automatically at junctions . it was proven viable , im not sure if its been started or not .
forget all existing concepts of tofc , double stack containers . probably think more single level container train , fixed consist maybe 20 -50 cars long .

There is also the concept of the Multiple Unit freight train.

Not just a concept, but actually in service, though not on an HSR line:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M250_series

Cool.

kaitoku wrote:

george matthews wrote:

David Benton wrote:i know its hard for some to see beyong a horse and cart . the container has bee around for 50 years . the french also proposed a system whereby high speed freight trains ran a route system , and containers were swapped between trains automatically at junctions . it was proven viable , im not sure if its been started or not .
forget all existing concepts of tofc , double stack containers . probably think more single level container train , fixed consist maybe 20 -50 cars long .

There is also the concept of the Multiple Unit freight train.

Not just a concept, but actually in service, though not on an HSR line:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M250_series

Again, not high speed rail, but part of Japan's narrow gauge network. Yes, narrow gauge.

george matthews wrote:

David Benton wrote:i know its hard for some to see beyong a horse and cart . the container has bee around for 50 years . the french also proposed a system whereby high speed freight trains ran a route system , and containers were swapped between trains automatically at junctions . it was proven viable , im not sure if its been started or not .
forget all existing concepts of tofc , double stack containers . probably think more single level container train , fixed consist maybe 20 -50 cars long .

There is also the concept of the Multiple Unit freight train.

Again, a dead-end concept. The Germans attempted the "CargoSprint," but it wasn't much of a success. I believe that a few are now being used to track work or track inspections in the UK - not cargo.

David Benton wrote:i know its hard for some to see beyong a horse and cart ..

Actually, it was the end of the "horse and cart" and the arrival of practical, internal combustion engine powered trucks that doomed the old-fashioned freighthouses.

David Benton wrote: the container has bee around for 50 years .

But the improvement in container handling only came in recent decades. The transcontinential double stacks you see in North America are testament to the efficiency of modern global shipping. Compare this to the old method of unloading crates by hand in ports, a process that took days and weeks and resulted in tremendous levels of breakage and pilferage.

David Benton wrote:the french also proposed a system whereby high speed freight trains ran a route system , and containers were swapped between trains automatically at junctions . it was proven viable , im not sure if its been started or not .
forget all existing concepts of tofc , double stack containers . probably think more single level container train , fixed consist maybe 20 -50 cars long .

Again, I'd advise you to consult actual practices and look at the economics behind such practices. Double stacks exist because of the very obvious efficiencies, and frequently containers are offloaded and trucked the last 100-500 miles because the transfer and handling of the containers would be uneconomic.

Fixed consist concepts are also never going to work. As previously stated, the CargoSprint is being used in the UK for trackwork, not cargo.

the fixed concept has worked in NZ , allowing rail to compete for container business over distances as short as 200 miles .

Again, not high speed rail, but part of Japan's narrow gauge network. Yes, narrow gauge.

Pooh pooh Japan's narrow gauge system at your peril. This is not some 3ft. tourist train operation in the Rockies or a sugar cane hauler in the tropics- Japan's 1067mm Cape Gauge (I prefer the term Cape Gauge rather than the toonervillesque narrow gauge) has passenger traffic volumes that put most standard gauge systems to shame. BTW, the 1067mm gauge has a loading gauge larger than Britain's standard gauge and quite close to the continental loading gauge.

I think shorter haul intermodal can work, but not with any of this crazy stuff. We'd be talking about a diesel and some cars, and maybe even something like roadrailers. However, that's getting rather far from the topic of HSR...