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[quote user="beaulieu"][quote user="GP40-2"][quote user="futuremodal"] Lest we forget, at one time in this country fast freights were approaching 100 mph sustained speeds using 1930's technology.  If that trend had continued, who's to say we wouldn't have TGV-type speeds on our freight railroads?[/quote]100 MPH sustained speed? For freight in the 1930's? That is a rather absurd statement.Do you even have a concept of the amount of horsepower needed to allow a lightweight freight of say 4000-4500 tons to maintain 100 MPH?  [/quote]Heck, the number of Passenger Trains that could run that fast was quite small, mostly lightweight or semi-lightweights, with train weights of 500 - 600 tons. [/quote]Thus the pretextualization of "approaching 100 mph".  Example - The Hiawatha's could exceed 100 mph for some stretches with steam and heavyweight equipment.  Surely someone somewhere could visualize the concept of maximizing time freights, assuming he wasn't standing in a soup line.  Keep in mind this was at a time when air liners and OTR trucking were still in their infancy, and US highways had been built for Model T's, not Corvettes.  Consider this:  In the 1930's did any rail execs conceive of the possibility of losing mail contracts to air carriers?  Did they conceive of losing the hauling of consumer goods to trucks?  My guess is probaby not - they seemed focussed on maximum ton miles/minimum train miles, e.g. essentially drag freights, and customer satisfaction be damned.It was true in 1930 and it's true today:  Railroads have the theoretical surface speed advantage over all other surface transport modes, and they have the max tonnage advantage over all but water-borne carriers.  This theorectical combination of being able to move lots of tonnage at high surface speeds is one big advantage which has never been exploited as it logically should.  All these HSR examples in Europe, Japan and elsewhere should give a hint of the potential for rail freight transport to someone in the railroad business, someone other than a UPS or FedEx.  Should, but doesn't.
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