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You want High Speed? Go back to 1935.
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Futuremodal, I suggest IMHO that rail weights impact a much smaller surface and against a equal hard surface. <br /> <br />Trucking has a large degree of impact on weights. However air ride suspesions, load distribution technology and other things like "Tires" helps to soften literally the impact on the pavement. <br /> <br />Welded rail has helped alot on today's heavy trains. And changes to Asphalt and different ways of building concrete than the old style 10 foot plate. Or jointed rail held together by bolts. <br /> <br />High speed rail use concrete ties with some sort of dampers to absorb the forces and they apparently "Fly" just as easily as that laden freight train that lumbers along. <br /> <br />Curves, Acceleration and braking at the wheel level changes the "weight" on the rail greatly. We see this also in cars and trucks. If you attempt to change the velocity or direction of a moving weight or mass too quickly, you will fail to maintain control. A skid, jacknife or derailment results. <br /> <br />Examine the blacktop pavement on heavily traveled roads at intersections. If you see many many truckers stopping at a particular light the pavement literally gets "Pulled" like a bed sheet out of smooth. It becomes wrinkly and very rough to ride on. You can also see this when truckers pull away uphill from a light where the forces applied to the wheel "shoves" the material out of smooth. <br /> <br />Airport runways are so strong in some cases many feet thick built on layers of subroadbed and robust enough to accept a 747-400 at 140 mph coming or going at 500 ton. <br /> <br />I have seen rail that literally tears to ribbons that leaves metal shards strong enough to cut your feet off thru the leather boots. THAT rail you dont want to have high speed. Also rail that has ties sunk so far into the dirt that all you see is half buried rail heads are not exactly conductive to speeds. <br /> <br />Hence my position in ripping up the current track and rebuilding the NEC stands. heck I suspect MAGLEV might become accepted technology while slowtrack uhh.. Amtrack ambles along at 125mph 10 years from now.
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