Maglev Model Trains

Madman

Madman

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While surfing Youtube last night, I came upon this. At first I thought it had wheels, but further investigation proved me wrong.



 
No friction = higher efficiency, basically nearly the only drag is wind. The speed depends on the system of propulsion, if pulsed magnets were used (as in a railgun) then the speeds would be quite terrifying.
 
The biggest problem with Maglev is the infrastructure particularly points which need massively long big lumps to swop over the whole bit of track rather than just a couple of rails on tracks. Curves can also be an issue for very high speeds needing pretty well near straight lines which is why you see much of the Japanese lines running through tunnels or in mountainous terrain. If you think HS2 in UK is expensive, just see what Maglev could cost here, you would be talking £Trillions rather than £Billions.
 
dunnyrail said:
. If you think HS2 in UK is expensive, just see what Maglev could cost here, you would be talking £Trillions rather than £Billions.
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Since reading this post, I assume we now need to add some 0s to the £Trillions!
Why does anyone actually need yo go that fast though?
 
dunnyrail said:
The biggest problem with Maglev is the infrastructure particularly points which need massively long big lumps to swop over the whole bit of track rather than just a couple of rails on tracks. Curves can also be an issue for very high speeds needing pretty well near straight lines which is why you see much of the Japanese lines running through tunnels or in mountainous terrain. If you think HS2 in UK is expensive, just see what Maglev could cost here, you would be talking £Trillions rather than £Billions.
Click to expand...

There are those times when re-inventing the wheel wastes alot of time and money. The Maglev system seems to only be viable for very long distances. As you mentioned, "switch tracks" would be a real PITA.

Instead, building upon proven technology by improving the right of way for traditional steel rail track would, in my opinion would make so much more sense.

There has been talk about building a cross country rail line in the U.S. Basically a brand new line with its own dedicated right of way. High speed trains would, in theory, compete with airlines, which have over crowded the skies.

Perhaps a train with enough speed and safety that would be able to cross the 3000 miles in maybe two days, tops. When you consider the amount of time it takes to fly, a full day is eaten up by getting to the airport, going through security, deplaning at the other end, then making you way to the center of the city of your destination. Remember, rail stations go from downtown to downtown, while airports are almost always located far from center city.
 
Madman said:
There are those times when re-inventing the wheel wastes alot of time and money. The Maglev system seems to only be viable for very long distances. As you mentioned, "switch tracks" would be a real PITA.

Instead, building upon proven technology by improving the right of way for traditional steel rail track would, in my opinion would make so much more sense.

There has been talk about building a cross country rail line in the U.S. Basically a brand new line with its own dedicated right of way. High speed trains would, in theory, compete with airlines, which have over crowded the skies.

Perhaps a train with enough speed and safety that would be able to cross the 3000 miles in maybe two days, tops. When you consider the amount of time it takes to fly, a full day is eaten up by getting to the airport, going through security, deplaning at the other end, then making you way to the center of the city of your destination. Remember, rail stations go from downtown to downtown, while airports are almost always located far from center city.
Click to expand...
Uk HS2 has a proposed top speed of 225 mph. Assuming a dedicated line in USA with just a few stops it ought to be possible to do coast to coast in 15-16 hours.
 
dunnyrail said:
Uk HS2 has a proposed top speed of 225 mph. Assuming a dedicated line in USA with just a few stops it ought to be possible to do coast to coast in 15-16 hours.
Click to expand...

:clap:.....That's the same schedule as the Old Pennsylvania Broadway Limited kept from New York to Chicago.....:clap:.....A distance of about 900 miles. What we need is another John F Kennedy to give the country the challenge. But we live in another time, far from the Camelot days of then.
 
Madman said:
When you consider the amount of time it takes to fly, a full day is eaten up by getting to the airport, going through security, deplaning at the other end, then making you way to the center of the city of your destination.
Click to expand...

That is not my experience for transcontinental air trips in the US, but YMMV. Also CBD to CBD journeys in the US are less common that you seem to be assuming, so a central station location is not necessarily an advantage by itself.

There are some good business cases for some high speed rail services (no matter what the technology) but they generally only make sense for middle distance travel, not long hauls.
 
Software Tools said:
That is not my experience for transcontinental air trips in the US, but YMMV. Also CBD to CBD journeys in the US are less common that you seem to be assuming, so a central station location is not necessarily an advantage by itself.

There are some good business cases for some high speed rail services (no matter what the technology) but they generally only make sense for middle distance travel, not long hauls.
Click to expand...
Except for train nuts, I would certainly have done coast to coast dropping off at places I stopped back in 1994 if there had been decent train speeds back then. Even 125MPH like we had here then would have made the journey manageable. USA is in the dark ages for trains except for a few exceptions, Boston New York Washington (we did that by train in 1994) , High Speed in Florida and High Speed on the way in California?
 
Software Tools said:
That is not my experience for transcontinental air trips in the US, but YMMV. Also CBD to CBD journeys in the US are less common that you seem to be assuming, so a central station location is not necessarily an advantage by itself.

There are some good business cases for some high speed rail services (no matter what the technology) but they generally only make sense for middle distance travel, not long hauls.
Click to expand...

Acronyms are not my strong point. I managed to interpret, YMMV or Your milage may vary. That was because I looked it up. But CBD to CBD journeys eludes me.
 
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