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Ihave been busy at work and haven't been paying as much attention to the UP's BigBoy project as I had been. A couple of weeks ago this happened:
https://youtu.be/3GSKb2fyWEY
https://youtu.be/3GSKb2fyWEY
I've wanted to see it run ever since I heard of it.
Somehow,AMTRAK has authority over it being used for excursions,
& won't let them run it,as well as other trains like this.It was a huge
fundraiser for the museum.
<snip>
More to the point I suspect there aren't too many lines any more where the rail gauge is heavy enough to support a locomotive as heavy as Big Boy
Certainly makes sense that if the rails won't support the weight of the Big Boy, then the owner/manager of the rails wouldn't want Big Boy's weight in the mix.
I think on most USA highways, there are weight limits for vehicles that use them. Probably the same for railroads.
Our rails have been sadly neglected in favor of roads and airlines. Look at the Bullet Trains of Japan and the MagLev trains in China. Most of our trains are a disgrace.
In a bit of an irony, The reason passenger rail travel is barely viable around here is basically the same reason for the Airbus A380's demise.Our rails have been sadly neglected in favor of roads and airlines....
Here too. <Insert political comment here> :grin: Coming back to my father, he also reminded me that bullet trains etc don't have level crossings. the big issue here was not actually the track but the enormous expense of changing that - including every farmer between Toronto & Montreal
West of the Mississippi I suspect it was because so much was laid out when roads were just bare traces in the grass and minimizing cost meant allowing people to cross at their own risk where they wanted. Then no one ever wanted to spend the money to fix something everyone was used to anyway.