Posted on 06/25/2011 12:02:28 AM PDT by red flanker
Are you from the department of central planning?
I have no problem with trains.
I have a problem with subsidizing them.
If someone would risk their own capital to acquire a thousand miles of right-of-way between Chicago & Sacramento, along with the rolling stock and the fuel used to make it go, and hire a staff to maintain tracks and rolling stock and serve customers etc.; and then make a profit by transporting 204 people on it over a couple of days, I say cool.
True, dat.
Name ANYTHING that the government doesn’t subsidize today. It’s the heart and soul of crony capitalism. I don’t agree with it but Amtrak is not alone.
Nuclear plants are always built with government capital because private capital won’t invest. Airlines only pay a fraction of their true cost of operation. We taxpayers build and run airports and the FAA. Ticket holders subsidize general aviation too. Companies today won’t build factories without taxpayers giving them incentives. Trucking companies don’t begin to pay the true cost of highway construction and maintenance that they cause.
Why won’t they release the name of the truck driver in this case? Only minutes ago “Skid marks show the lead driver, who died in the crash and authorities have refused to identify, applied the brakes beginning at about 320 feet from the crossing but was unable to stop in time, officials said.”
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/25/MN9T1K2PVL.DTL#ixzz1QO9aCRJq
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/26/MN9T1K2PVL.DTL&tsp=1
The delay in releasing the guy's ID is making the entire "investigation" suspect, at least to my mind.
Concur. Given the amount of fire damage to fire resistant passenger cars, this is quite unusual.
Furthermore, 300+ft skid marks??? At a speed of 60 mph, thinking distance is 60ft. Braking distance, 180ft. Overall stopping distance 240ft.
Cheers,
OLA
Well there may be some inside joke but I assure you that if your family was on that train, you wouldn’t be in much of a joking mood. You see, the Amish don’t have cell phones or home phones so I am the only contact that they have had since the accident and that was 3 hours after it happened. We have called the hotel where they are supposed to be staying several times and they are not there. I came on here because I was told that there was a pic posted of them and my husband wanted to see with his own eyes that they were okay, only find comments that were made about them. I am very defensive about the Amish because they have changed my life in such a positive way.
I understand and I appreciate the explanation. You will have to excuse me, I am still quite shook up over the whole thing and the fact that we haven’t been able to contact them since it happened. They called me 3 hours after the accident and that’s the last anyone has heard from them. I came on here because I was told there ws a pic posted of them and my husband wanted to see with is own eyes that they were okay. That’s when we saw the comment.
From one of the news sources:
People with questions about the status of loved ones on the train can call Amtrak at (800) 523-9101.Praying that your family is safe.
This article from the San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/26/MN9T1K2PVL.DTL&tsp=1
stated that there were grade crossing signs beginning at almost 900 feet from the crossing, another set of signs at 650 feet, and skid marks indicating that the truck applied its brakes 320 feet (”but was unable to stop in time”) from the crossing. Something doesn’t add up. An experienced truck driver leading a convoy would have begun to slow down at the first set of signs at 900 feet. Barring any other scenarios such as being “electronically distracted” by a cell phone, it doesn’t seem likely that this professional driver would try to do something so foolhardy and dangerous as trying to beat a train. The train always wins.
I was just replying to someone who thought the name was blasphemy.It was me. I said it was sacrilege to call that piece of AMTRACK junk "The California Zephyr".
The freight railroads :-)
"I’m a truck driver. I’ve driven that stretch of 95 many times on the way from Idaho to Yuma, AZ. The road is straight as an arrow. There is nothing to obstruct one’s view of the rail crossing. When the lights are flashing they can be seen a mile away. The driver was hauling ass and tried to stop too late as evidenced by the skid marks. That means he was awake but oblivious to flashing red lights and a train moving across his path until they were right in his face. Eventually cell phones will be designed so they don’t work when they’re moving."
# 25 June 2011 at 9:01 pm
Yes I called the number yesterday. They told me that they were already put on another train to go to their next destination. They were supposed to arrive yesterday around 2 pm. As of last night they still didn’t arrive. So we’re not sure what’s going on. I haven’t spoke to anybody today, so someone else in the family may have gotten in touch with them. Thanks for the prayers. I’m sure they are okay. Everything is probably just chaotic right now because the officials are still trying to locate some 28 missing ticket holders.
Lol--now she needs series Viking Kitty tutorial, before she makes a hugh gaffe.
If I was worried about finding missing friends and relatives, I would probably find a more productive use of my time than surfing around and chatting on a political news forum.
But hey, that’s just me.
The Amish use trains for long-distance travel, so that they can avoid the modern technology of airplanes and the degrading treatment meted out by TSA agents. There were a few Amish families on board the last time I took a train out west.
Would you invest if some wild-eyed hippie with an axe to grind could go to court and use government laws and regulations to hold up your multi-billion dollar project for years on end with no clue as to when or whether the litigation would ever end? The government breaks your legs, then complains about having to subsidize your crutches.
Would you invest if some wild-eyed hippie with an axe to grind could go to court and use government laws and regulations to hold up your multi-billion dollar project for years on end with no clue as to when or whether the litigation would ever end? The government breaks your legs, then complains about having to subsidize your crutches.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.