GM used to make locomotives via its Electro-Motive Division (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro-Motive_Diesel). They sold the division back in 2005, and I don't see them reentering that market anytime soon, since General Electric now dominates it.
The mantle is composed primarily of solid rock. From Wikipedia:
Mantle rock consists of olivines, different pyroxenes and other mafic minerals. Typified by peridotite, dunite, and eclogite, mantle rocks also possesses a higher portion of iron and magnesium and a smaller portion of silicon and aluminium than the crust. In the mantle, temperatures range between 100C at the upper boundary to over 3,500C at the boundary with the core. Although these temperatures far exceed the melting points of the mantle rocks at the surface, particularly in deeper ranges, they are almost exclusively solid. The enormous lithostatic pressure exerted on the mantle prevents them from melting.
Your missing freight.
As the above posters have said, the U.S. passenger rail system sucks. However, we have the best freight rail system in the world, hands down. Trains here are rarely less than a mile in length, transport huge amounts of cargo, and do it all at a profit. Our freight railroads are private industries, after all. Oh, and the biggest growth area in the railroad industry right now? Intermodal, i.e: truck trailers and shipping containers. Railroads here compete with trucks, and they're winning. Take a look at BNSF Railway's stock price, if your sceptical.
Now as for China, they're probably going to use this rail line for shipping out mineral ores and other raw materials. I doubt that the native people will see any benefit from this rail line.
Re:HOW DO I GET ONE OF THOES JOBS?!
on
By Road and Rail?
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· Score: 2, Informative
Yes, they're breaking the law now, but that might change. The railroads have their own police departments. How long until the RIAA persuades their politicians to grant them police powers?
You can also get Batboy and Cowboyneal in the add on pack.
Re:Perhaps a tad more risky
on
Back to the Trees
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· Score: 1, Troll
There's also the issue of earthquakes out here in California. For all you easterners out there: trees tend to shake and swing during earthquakes. I've read acounts of the 1964 Alaska quake (magnitude 9.2) where the trees whipped the ground. Sorry, but I'm not going to live in a house that doubles as a trebuchet.
The key difference here is that when water vapor builds up in the atmosphere, it rains. Carbon Dioxide, on the other hand, just sits there. There are processes at work that reduce CO2 (increased vegetation, for one), but they work over extreamly long time cycles, and can't keep up with our CO2 output.
I take it you've never looked at a freight railroad main line before. Welded rail is actually widely used among freight railways because it reduces maintenance costs, not increases them, as you claim. Your point about freight trains pushing the rails out of alignment remains valid, however.
Links 'n quotes:
Alaska Railroad
Quote: The conversion to CWR dramatically decreases maintenance costs, and improves ride quality as shown in the successful CWR test section in South Anchorage.
Federal Railroad Administration
Quote: Continuous welded railroad track is constructed with extremely long lengths of rail rather than traditional 39-foot lengths of rail. With far fewer rail joints than "jointed rail track," continuous welded rail offers a smoother ride and easier track and rail car maintenance.
Now, of course, the automobile dominates passenger traffic and the trucking industry dominates freight and our potentially efficient rail infrastructure is a government-subsidized crumbling ruin that neither the auto, trucking or oil industry is interested in seeing re-emerge.
Wrong. Railroads in the United States are profitable, privately run companies, which make their money from hauling freight. 40% of all frieght travels by rail in the US. Rail infrastructure is not a "government-subsidized crumbling ruin," as you claim. It is very much intact and well maintained by private money. The railroads were deregulated around 1980, and have been doing fine ever since. The fastest growing area in the industry is intermodal: hauling trucks and containers on flat cars. Research, man! Try it sometime!
Slashdot Mirror
City of Heroes has been doing all of this for 5 years now, fyi.
GM used to make locomotives via its Electro-Motive Division (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro-Motive_Diesel). They sold the division back in 2005, and I don't see them reentering that market anytime soon, since General Electric now dominates it.
Congratulations, it's a suburb!
Mantle rock consists of olivines, different pyroxenes and other mafic minerals. Typified by peridotite, dunite, and eclogite, mantle rocks also possesses a higher portion of iron and magnesium and a smaller portion of silicon and aluminium than the crust. In the mantle, temperatures range between 100C at the upper boundary to over 3,500C at the boundary with the core. Although these temperatures far exceed the melting points of the mantle rocks at the surface, particularly in deeper ranges, they are almost exclusively solid. The enormous lithostatic pressure exerted on the mantle prevents them from melting.
Your missing freight. As the above posters have said, the U.S. passenger rail system sucks. However, we have the best freight rail system in the world, hands down. Trains here are rarely less than a mile in length, transport huge amounts of cargo, and do it all at a profit. Our freight railroads are private industries, after all. Oh, and the biggest growth area in the railroad industry right now? Intermodal, i.e: truck trailers and shipping containers. Railroads here compete with trucks, and they're winning. Take a look at BNSF Railway's stock price, if your sceptical.
Now as for China, they're probably going to use this rail line for shipping out mineral ores and other raw materials. I doubt that the native people will see any benefit from this rail line.
Well, you can try asking for one. The railroads (in the US) are hiring right now due to the combined effects of the recent economic upswing and new retirement rules, which caused an unexpected surge in early retirements. Here's some sites to check out:
Demand clogs traffic, profits for Union Pacific
Union Pacific website
BNSF website
and more
OK, I misspoke, they're not breaking the law. Ignore the first sentence.
Yes, they're breaking the law now, but that might change. The railroads have their own police departments. How long until the RIAA persuades their politicians to grant them police powers?
Here's a few: Norfolk Southern Police Department
American Federation of Railroad Police
Lots of links = badass
Large Railroads of North America:
Union Pacific
Burlington Northern Santa Fe
CSX
Norfolk Southern
Canadian National
Canadian Pacific
Kansas City Southern
And then there's Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern, which wants to became a bigger player in the transportation market through their proposed powder river expansion project
And it's all run without your tax dollars.
If you made a dam in Oklahoma say, you could power texas, arkansas, kansas, missouri, and perhaps even some states as far as colorado
To bad that such a dam would flood texas, arkansas, kansas, missouri, and perhaps even some states as far as colorado.
You can also get Batboy and Cowboyneal in the add on pack.
There's also the issue of earthquakes out here in California. For all you easterners out there: trees tend to shake and swing during earthquakes. I've read acounts of the 1964 Alaska quake (magnitude 9.2) where the trees whipped the ground. Sorry, but I'm not going to live in a house that doubles as a trebuchet.
The key difference here is that when water vapor builds up in the atmosphere, it rains. Carbon Dioxide, on the other hand, just sits there. There are processes at work that reduce CO2 (increased vegetation, for one), but they work over extreamly long time cycles, and can't keep up with our CO2 output.
Links 'n quotes:
Alaska Railroad Quote: The conversion to CWR dramatically decreases maintenance costs, and improves ride quality as shown in the successful CWR test section in South Anchorage.
Federal Railroad Administration Quote: Continuous welded railroad track is constructed with extremely long lengths of rail rather than traditional 39-foot lengths of rail. With far fewer rail joints than "jointed rail track," continuous welded rail offers a smoother ride and easier track and rail car maintenance.
Now, of course, the automobile dominates passenger traffic and the trucking industry dominates freight and our potentially efficient rail infrastructure is a government-subsidized crumbling ruin that neither the auto, trucking or oil industry is interested in seeing re-emerge.
Wrong. Railroads in the United States are profitable, privately run companies, which make their money from hauling freight. 40% of all frieght travels by rail in the US. Rail infrastructure is not a "government-subsidized crumbling ruin," as you claim. It is very much intact and well maintained by private money. The railroads were deregulated around 1980, and have been doing fine ever since. The fastest growing area in the industry is intermodal: hauling trucks and containers on flat cars. Research, man! Try it sometime!
Association of American Railroads
Union Pacific Railroad Homepage
DM&E expansion project. This page is a little sparse, so try Google.