10(+) Things Internet Comment Writers Should Know

[NorthWest]

I think it is about time for a new thread. So let's see if we can get another discussion going. I intend this thread as a place where those uneducated on railroad matters can get some insight before posting on news articles. We've all seen some utterly inane postings. I'll start off with a few, others can add, clarify, or correct as needed. I apologize for the font differences, since this is a long post I didn't want it to disappear while I was working on it, so I pasted in the rest of the body. Yes, I know I haven't written 10. I'm confident we'll get there.

1. The United States is not Europe or Japan. What works there does not necessarily work here and vice versa. While America lags the world in high speed rail, North America has the most efficient and effective freight rail system in the world. HSR works effectively in 100-600 mile long densely packed corridors (which Japan and Europe have in abundance; the US has far fewer) while freight is most competitive when hauls exceed 500 miles. The average journey in the United States is much longer than that of other nations. Freight rail is virtually ignored in Japan and is much smaller as a percentage of freight movement in Europe. While HSR in appropriate corridors will likely be constructed eventually, a nationwide HSR network will never appear as it does not make geographical sense. This does not mean the US is becoming a Third World nation as many assert. It simply means priorities are different.

2. Positive Train Control is not as simple as it appears. It is a complex system that has not fully been invented yet. Many news articles acts as if it were available off the shelf. Railroading has many variables, so the “if train A leaves Los Angeles at 6:00 traveling 60 MPH heads towards train B that left Chicago at 5:30 travelling 50 MPH, where will they meet?” type of situation does not apply. If one is on BNSF and one is on UP, they might not get within 200 miles of each other. Railroad signal engineers that have worked their entire lives on signal systems are struggling to make PTC work. They would have it installed by the deadline if they could.

3. Railroads are private corporations. Many have cited oil train crashes as an example of failing infrastructure. The government outside of a select few lines owned by Amtrak does not maintain the track. Railroad infrastructure is in the best condition it has been in decades, and is in far better shape than American highways. Yet, accidents will happen. It is an unavoidable part of life. (See more below.) America’s railroad companies have invested billions of dollars every year in their infrastructure, do not require a subsidy for freight transport, and pay taxes. They are also private property, so trespassing is a crime and often has dire consequences.

4. Railroad accidents are cheaper to prevent than to clean up; this is particularly true with large scale hazmat derailments. Class One railroads are self-insured up to a very high deductible and can only purchase about $1 billion in insurance (at a very high price). A large scale TIH derailment could wipe out one of the big six. Therefore, railroads do all they can to prevent derailments. They spend lots of money inspecting their tracks and developing new technologies to prevent derailments. Track and vehicle failure causes the vast majority of all derailments. Crashes still happen as the world is not perfect, but rest assured that the railroads are concerned with preventing accidents. They can’t afford not to be.

[ACY Tom]

5.  The physical factors involved in flying, driving on a highway, and operating a train, are so different that any attempt to interpret one with information from another mode is almost guaranteed to be faulty. 

[BaltACD]

It is the internet - nothing more and nothing less. 

If people don't agree with you.  BFD!  You will continue breathing and the sun will rise in the East again in the morning.

[Buslist]

Your point #2, that PTC hasn't been developed yet isn't quite right. The WABTEC system used as an overlay, and meeting the functionality required by the law is in place and operating in shadow mode on METROLINK in LA. The entire METROLINK network should have it up and running by the deadline. But that PTC that is supposed to increase capacity and provide untold business benefits, does not yet exist.

[greyhounds]

6) Trains are wonderful things.  We love trains.  But..  They are not the universal solution to all transportation issues.  A train, a truck, a barge, a bus, an airplane, and an automobile are but tools that do the same thing.  They get something or someone to a required loacation at a required time. (AKA as time and place utility.)  Often something other than a train is the best solution.  Having a government agency pick the best solution is not a good way to do the picking.

[Euclid]

7)  Tank cars are not tankers.  

[ACY Tom]

8.  Just because some new version of railroading is developed (such as monorails, maglev, etc.), that does not necessarily mean the new is better than the old in all --- or any --- cases.

9.  Conductors do not operate the locomotive.

Tom 

[Anonymous]

10.  Never speculate, theorize or ask open-ended questions.  Only provide the factual information (as you understand it) on a subject.

[NorthWest]

Not sure how I missed this one

11. Railroads are not dying. In fact, it is quite the opposite. They have experienced a renaissance in the last two decades and are actively expanding. Train counts are increasing and railroads are expanding their infrastructure. They are the most efficient type of land transportation. While railroads are a 19^th Century technology, they are still relevant today and are increasingly so as highways decay and exceed their design capacities. For what it is worth, the car is also a 19^th Century technology as Karl Benz began production of the first production cars in the 1880s. Just because something is old does not mean it is obsolete.   

[ndbprr]

Unfortunatly it is impossible to counter ignorance with facts or intelligence. The only way to counter ignorance is with absurdity which is over the head of an ignorant person or viewpoint.

[Norm48327]

Murray

10.  Never speculate, theorize or ask open-ended questions.  Only provide the factual information (as you understand it) on a subject.

 

Does that mean a certain someone who loves to speculate will no longer be allowed to post?

[Anonymous]

Norm48327

 

Murray

10.  Never speculate, theorize or ask open-ended questions.  Only provide the factual information (as you understand it) on a subject.

 

 

 

 

Does that mean a certain someone who loves to speculate will no longer be allowed to post?

 

If the poster would simply come to the point instead of trying to reinvent the wheel with all sorts of mind-numbing "what-ifs" and "yes...but's,"  it would be a much more pleasant posting experience.

[ricktrains4824]

Murray

 

 

Norm48327

 

Murray

10.  Never speculate, theorize or ask open-ended questions.  Only provide the factual information (as you understand it) on a subject.

 

 

 

 

Does that mean a certain someone who loves to speculate will no longer be allowed to post?

 

 

 

 

If the poster would simply come to the point instead of trying to reinvent the wheel with all sorts of mind-numbing "what-ifs" and "yes...but's,"  it would be a much more pleasant posting experience.

 

 

Yes.... But, what if I am asking a question on a new post, simply because I don't understand the subject? 

Couldnt resist it........... 

[Anonymous]

ricktrains4824

 

Murray

 

 

Norm48327

 

Murray

10.  Never speculate, theorize or ask open-ended questions.  Only provide the factual information (as you understand it) on a subject.

 

 

 

 

Does that mean a certain someone who loves to speculate will no longer be allowed to post?

 

 

 

 

If the poster would simply come to the point instead of trying to reinvent the wheel with all sorts of mind-numbing "what-ifs" and "yes...but's,"  it would be a much more pleasant posting experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes.... But, what if I am asking a question on a new post, simply because I don't understand the subject? 

Couldnt resist it........... 

 

Those are great questions, and are also in fact encouraged.

The ones that get tiresome here are the supposition questions.

Thats is why we coined the phrase "Yes...but."

 

[ouibejamn]

ndbprr

The only way to counter ignorance is with absurdity which is over the head of an ignorant person or viewpoint.

Well, okay then.  Thanks for sharing.

[Firelock76]

Rule 12...

Keep it polite, keep it respectful, you can question another posters views or viewpoints without questioning his or her integrity.

Disagree without being disagreeable.

If for some perverse reason you enjoy "You suck!"  "No, YOU suck!" discussions I'd suggest you try You Tube.

We're better than that.

[Anonymous]

#13:  Avoid subjects that can automatically lead to unnecessary drama:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w32gZmTiBqA

 

[Phoebe Vet]

ricktrains4824

 

Murray

 

 

Norm48327

 

Murray

10.  Never speculate, theorize or ask open-ended questions.  Only provide the factual information (as you understand it) on a subject.

 

 

 

 

Does that mean a certain someone who loves to speculate will no longer be allowed to post?

 

 

 

 

If the poster would simply come to the point instead of trying to reinvent the wheel with all sorts of mind-numbing "what-ifs" and "yes...but's,"  it would be a much more pleasant posting experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes.... But, what if I am asking a question on a new post, simply because I don't understand the subject? 

Couldnt resist it........... 

 

My 8 year old grandson replies to every fact presented to him with "but what if..."

[oltmannd]

BaltACD

You will continue breathing and the sun will rise in the East again in the morning.

Except winter in the arctic and summer in the antarctic!

[oltmannd]

14.  GE locomotives may, or may not, be better than EMD's!

[BaltACD]

oltmannd

BaltACD

You will continue breathing and the sun will rise in the East again in the morning.

Except winter in the arctic and summer in the antarctic!

No railroads in either location.

[wanswheel]

15. Abbreviate Amtrack. Spell out ATK.

[BaltACD]

wanswheel

15. Abbreviate Amtrack. Spell out ATK.

UMLER accepted abbreviation for Amtrak - AMTK

[zugmann]

Murray

#13:  Avoid subjects that can automatically lead to unnecessary drama:

 

 

 

 

So we can't talk about the railroad?

[Anonymous]

zugmann

 

Murray

#13:  Avoid subjects that can automatically lead to unnecessary drama:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we can't talk about the railroad?

 

Only if you don't speculate, over-theorize, and use mutiple open-ended rhetorical questions.

[zugmann]

You just wanna suck the joy outta everything. 

[Anonymous]

Yes...but....

[CMStPnP]

Well all I can say is I am happy I am not a younger guy reading this because it reads like a bunch of old grumps pontificating.

[ouibejamn]

[quote user="CMStPnP"]younger guy reading this [/quote

I'm not sure what the average age is of this site, but I doubt there too many who would qualify as "young".

[CMStPnP]

There are a few in the 18-25 year old age group you can usually get an approx of a posters age by how they write and what they write about.