I enjoyed this just like I enjoyed Don Oltmann's original about the ex-PRR.
But I confess I'm still waiting for dharmon to finish the description of the awesome tech conspiracy 'future' that was beginning to come clear at the end of Detective Cinderdick. His Jane Austen style 'ending' came too soon...
@Northwest:
I enjoyed the post. I like the imagination of how technology could fundamentally change railroading in the future. I must admit, though, i am a bit skeptical that RR management would acquire enough respect for their crews to allow them to play music and brew coffee in the cab! Maybe instead they could have a barista from the local Starbucks hoop up a cup of coffee as the train was passing through!
SFbrkmn Very l-o-n-g boring. I don't agree at all and loved every minute of reading it. I enjoy descriptions of real cab-rides, also. An Israeli friend, who received my forwarding, questioned how i could possibly concern myself with North-American railroading on Israel's Memorial Day. I gave him avery strong, but very personal answer, and I'll be glad to tell anyone who asks at daveklepper@yahoo.com.
Very l-o-n-g boring.
I don't agree at all and loved every minute of reading it. I enjoy descriptions of real cab-rides, also.
An Israeli friend, who received my forwarding, questioned how i could possibly concern myself with North-American railroading on Israel's Memorial Day. I gave him avery strong, but very personal answer, and I'll be glad to tell anyone who asks at daveklepper@yahoo.com.
The railroad version of 'The Jetsons'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQgcLYXKNSA
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
It is interesting, but I would also explore other ways of makeing those points. Here is one approach I would try: Go straight into the new technology in a synopsis, and then unfold that in layers, so a reader can absorb it all and finally see the big picture in detail. The technological improvements seem to be the point of the narrative, but just having them pop up spontaneously in the narrative seems to give them less importance than they deserve, since the travel narrative itself seems to distract from the points of technological improvements.
I am not saying that you should just start over. Your narrative does give good context to the technical advancements over 28 years. But there is a lot of information there, and I would at least explore alternative ways to present it to make the point as clear as it can be.
A great prediction, and we religious people say: "From your mouth to the Eternal's ear," or in this case, "From your pen (computer) to the Eternal's eye."
T think it is thoroughly realistic and will copy it to friends.
There is one technical change I suggest: Inductive powering individual freightcar computers from the catenary for charging their batteries is inefficient and may not be totally reliable. Digital information transmission lines actually have a benefit from dc bias or even if superimposed on low-frequency (50 or 60 Hx) AC. Modern distribiuted loudspeaker systems can have an amplifier, delay unit, frequency response corrector ("equalizer") for each individaul ceiling, pew-back, or whatever koudspeaker, with delay, frequency response, and oupur level controlled by a central computer, and in the most advanced sysstems, this can change in real time, as the speaker or musician moves. Of course rhe computer-signak controlled local control equipment and the power amplifier itself at each loudspeaker is powered through the same pair of wires that carries the digitized audio signal and the digital control signals.
So the batteries in the freightcars can be charged by the digital transmission line from the much-greater-capacity batteries in the leading locomotive. And they should be.
And is not this analagous to the air-brake system, past, present, and future?
And where does the electricity come from? Solar and wind aren't reliable, and there has been no new power plants built there for a long time. Importing power from the Palo Verde Nuclear Plant in Arizona?
I like it! One thing though in 2048... I see Caltrain owing all main lines including full electrification at 25Kv60... Caltrans, Metrolink, and associated authorities are making plans of some sort as we speak for electrification of the LOSSAN corridor in the future.. The rest will follow suit.
Loved it!!!!
I'm retired, live alone, spend all day surfing the web, and that was way too long to read. Sorry.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Deleted pending further action elsewhere...
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