Posted on 04/18/2019 7:07:42 PM PDT by KC_Lion
The Alaska Senate wants a federal border permit that would allow a railroad crossing to be built between the state and Canada.
Senators voted 19-0 on Senate Joint Resolution 11, according to a release from the Alaska Senate majority Monday.
Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, is chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and says a railroad through Canada would benefit people all over the state.
“A railroad connecting Alaska to Alberta would provide a huge boost to our state’s economy,” she said in the release. “Access to the North American railroad system would mean faster and more efficient shipping of goods, lowering the cost of living for all Alaskans.”
The Senate majority's release noted there would be no state funds used to build the railroad.
Congress approved construction of up to 1,000 miles of railroad to connect coastal and interior areas of Alaska, meant to support development, rail service and military operations.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktva.com ...
ditto
When we went on the train my Brother and myself were allowed to ride in a open boxcar for a better view.
They would never allow that today with all the lawsuits.
I did this trip, too, from Skagway, over White Pass which is the USA/Canada border, cut across about 28 miles of British Columbia to the Yukon border at the 60th parallel, ending at Carcross, Yukon (a bus takes you the last 45 minutes into Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. The train trip is a total of 67 miles. I was one of the only “walk on” passengers on my train, 99% of them having been on the cruise ships which dock at Skagway. I took the Alaska Marine Highway ferry for about 6.5 hours from Juneau to Skagway (I had flown to Alaska on Delta through JNU airport).
Unfortunately, this is a narrow gauge train which is unfit for big freight trains.
Alberta just voted in a new conservative government on Tuesday of this week; congratulations to them!!!
It would definitely help out the high cost of shipping from the lower 48, especially big items like tires and hazardous materials. The Port in Anchorage is about to be condemned so the pressure is higher for air freight.
But what i see that might be promising is an Alaska Express tour train, a North America fersion of the Orient Express, might be a 4 or 5 day trip but if it has luxurious sleeping, dining and entertainment it would sell out.
Or best yet put a steam engine up front with a diesel or two as backup. Steam enthusiasts would go nuts.
Sign me up!
Sweet! Make it happen!
Won’t some mosquitoes be harmed in the building of the railroad?
You know there already is a shortage of mosquitoes in Alaska.
We need some Gord on this thread
Canadian Railroad Trilogy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjoU1Qkeizs
That won’t happen. The Bering Strait is too dangerous and the large cargo ships can carry more than a train can drag. The difference in time of shipping stuff would only be a couple of days difference.
Would be nice, but that’s some mighty rough terrain to build through. Construction costs would be pricey.
SSNs have often arrived at their Bangor Washington base underwater and under the Hood Canal Bridge.
The problem with connecting to BC is the number of mountains in the way. The proposed route is in much flatter land north and east of the Alaska Range and the Rockies. Oil will be the main initial customer, but manifests will bring down the costs of consumer goods all along the route.
The train bridge will never happen. Pure fantasy.
First, the logistical challenges. It would require two — not one, but two — 25 mile long bridges from each end to each of the Diomede Islands. These bridges would span deep and swift moving ocean currents. This has never been done before. Sinking pylons into the deep ocean would push civil and ocean engineering to its limits. Then, the bridges would have to survive wind and shear loads like never done before, because the weather is particularly inhospitable.
Then there’s the economic justification. Who would use it? A few Eskimos and Chukchis who were related back when there was a land bridge? It would still be more economical to ship goods by container ship.
Think California’s $100 billion train to nowhere is costly and a joke? So would the RR bridge from Alaska to Siberia, and it would probably cost more.
That’s pretty much unavoidable isn’t it? Coming and going to and from bases is sort of a given.
As I assumed.
in this case, no, most subs, when I lived there, came in on the surface.
Meaning their location was no secret. Unlike when they are on deployment.
The Russian “trawlers” were just 20 miles or so offshore when the surfaced just off the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Secret from us but not so much from the Russians - subs from both fleets tracked each other all the time.
Of course. But in the open seas they lose each other. Or are you saying that the whole idea of subs operating covertly, and the tens of millions spent on giving them that capability, is nothing more than PR for us proles?
Of course. But in the open seas they lose each other. Or are you saying that the whole idea of subs operating covertly, and the tens of millions spent on giving them that capability, is nothing more than PR for us proles?
Meanwhile, they play “cat and mouse” all the time with one side tracking the other then the roles switch when one loses the other - its a game - deadly but still a game of who has the best sonar and the best acoustic specialists at any given moment. Sometime a sub will be ‘lost’ to the other side - usually the US sub, but not always. Sometimes the sub will be so quiet they will surface in the middle of a war game just to show they can go undetected - both the Russians and the Chinese did so - Were they actually undetected? Who knows.
Think of the under sea oceans as battlegrounds with each side constantly maneuvering to take a shot at the other but not actually shooting. Each side uses its best tech and best subs to gain the advantage on the other. Nothing new here.
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