And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Japan’s levitating maglev train reaches 500 km/h (311mph). Would it derail if you put a quarter on the track (not unless it disturbed the "maglev").
That's what the high fences are for. Also the current hi speed has an excellent safety record and maintenance program. They send out a maintenance train every morning before the rush. Still I'd rather ride a steamer any day.
First, most of the trackage will be on a straight line, this the train will zip in and out of mountain tunnels. Second, like the current Bullet Train, much of the track is elevated, which keeps noseypeople and animals out. Supposedly, in 2027, there will be linear train sevicr between Tokyo and Nagoya.
Over the Shinkansen's 50-plus year history, carrying over 10 billion passengers, there have been no passenger fatalities due to train accidents such as derailments or collisions, despite frequent earthquakes and typhoons. There's no reason their maglev will be any different. With regards to earthquakes they have a gazillion sensors, quakes have primary (P) and secondary (S) waves, the primary waves that are nondestructive precede the secondary waves (these are the destructive ones causing all the damage). When they detect the P waves the rail network gets shut down immediately. Some years ago a couple of Shinkansen carriages got derailed but they were already stationary when it happened. When it comes to quakes, they're miles ahead of the rest of the world.
When I left Kyushu in 1980 I read an article that they had successfully done a 10 to 20 km (IIRC) test track in Miyazaki ken with speeds that were not nearly this high. They’ve had almost 50 years to work this out, so they better be getting close to an actual operating system having solved most of these issues.
I’ve ridden the Shinkansen a few times, and it is fast and convenient, and comfortable. It’s way better than even the limited express trains that Nihontetsu operates. The Maglev will be a significant upgrade to the Shinkansen. The main advantage will be getting airline type travel times without going outside the city to an airport.
Living on the East Coast for nearly 40 years and taking Amtrack for much of the time, the Excella (high speed train) would travel just over 100 MPH and that was plenty fast for me (and for the very old railroad tracks). Leave it to the enterprising and high attention-to-detail Japanese to come through with the higher high-speed train!!!
I've already gone my top speed & have no need to go anywhere that damn fast. That thing is going to crash, & it will crash at some point, & it's going to be spectacular.
maglev floats several inches above the lower rail, so a quarter -or a small tree branch- would just get ignored (leaving aside the wind, which might just be a problem). OTOH, I'd damn sure worry about anything that decreased the magnetic field, like a shorted coil of something conductive. Probably harder to derail than a regular wheel-on-track train, but the kinetic energy difference between say 50 miles an hour and 300 is impressive- like, 36 times as much for those numbers - so if it DID hit a wall, the detonation would be biblical. As in zero survivors found. Recognizable pieces are right out of consideration.
And you do not believe the engineers have not taken that into consideration? Supposedly, the travel time between Tokyo and Nagoya will be reduced to 40 minutes, compared to the 2 hours or so it takes now. There is the question of what need there is, besides that it can be done, to get from Tokyo to Nagoya in under an hour.
This will never happen here in the US. The lefties who are SCREAMING for high-speed trains are the same lefties SCREAMING when one blade of grass has to be removed to build a train track.
In a college welding class, the instructor told us that the Japanese weld a lot of railroad rail, end-to-end. Twice a year (preparing for warm weather and preparing for cold weather) they sent a whole lot of people out with long, T-handled wrenches to loosen the rail on the curves, and reset the rails to allow for thermal expansion and contraction. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_track#Continuous_welded_rail
I have no desire to be in anything doing 311 mph without me having the control stick and an ejection seat.
ReplyDeleteIt's all fun and games until an earthquake strikes (not uncommon in Japan) and the train goes airborne.
ReplyDeleteOr it hits a deer or a cow.
DeleteThat's what the high fences are for. Also the current hi speed has an excellent safety record and maintenance program. They send out a maintenance train every morning before the rush. Still I'd rather ride a steamer any day.
DeleteFirst, most of the trackage will be on a straight line, this the train will zip in and out of mountain tunnels. Second, like the current Bullet Train, much of the track is elevated, which keeps noseypeople and animals out. Supposedly, in 2027, there will be linear train sevicr between Tokyo and Nagoya.
DeleteOver the Shinkansen's 50-plus year history, carrying over 10 billion passengers, there have been no passenger fatalities due to train accidents such as derailments or collisions, despite frequent earthquakes and typhoons. There's no reason their maglev will be any different. With regards to earthquakes they have a gazillion sensors, quakes have primary (P) and secondary (S) waves, the primary waves that are nondestructive precede the secondary waves (these are the destructive ones causing all the damage). When they detect the P waves the rail network gets shut down immediately. Some years ago a couple of Shinkansen carriages got derailed but they were already stationary when it happened. When it comes to quakes, they're miles ahead of the rest of the world.
DeleteWhen I left Kyushu in 1980 I read an article that they had successfully done a 10 to 20 km (IIRC) test track in Miyazaki ken with speeds that were not nearly this high. They’ve had almost 50 years to work this out, so they better be getting close to an actual operating system having solved most of these issues.
DeleteI’ve ridden the Shinkansen a few times, and it is fast and convenient, and comfortable. It’s way better than even the limited express trains that Nihontetsu operates. The Maglev will be a significant upgrade to the Shinkansen. The main advantage will be getting airline type travel times without going outside the city to an airport.
Goes fast, but can it stop on a yen?
ReplyDeleteVery good.😊
DeleteThey say that the Commifornia fast rail laid down just 100 yards of rail line before they went bankrupt after spending some 3 Billion dollars.
ReplyDeletethe right people got the money and thats what really matters
DeleteIf the job is going to be f*cked up, the State of Ca will follow through.
DeleteIt's good to be a Democrat appointee to a failing project.
Deletehttps://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=Executive+Director%2C+High+Speed+Rail+Authority&y=2023
The pension will be pretty good too.
I wonder how much "the big guy" got in kick backs?
DeleteWhoo! Madera to Fresno in 10 seconds!
ReplyDeleteOr, Fremont to Newark.
DeleteOn that train all graphite and glitter
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free
Ok, you can be the Night Fly. Go get your pot of java...
DeleteLiving on the East Coast for nearly 40 years and taking Amtrack for much of the time, the Excella (high speed train) would travel just over 100 MPH and that was plenty fast for me (and for the very old railroad tracks). Leave it to the enterprising and high attention-to-detail Japanese to come through with the higher high-speed train!!!
ReplyDeleteI've already gone my top speed & have no need to go anywhere that damn fast. That thing is going to crash, & it will crash at some point, & it's going to be spectacular.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is quick!
ReplyDeletemaglev floats several inches above the lower rail, so a quarter -or a small tree branch- would just get ignored (leaving aside the wind, which might just be a problem). OTOH, I'd damn sure worry about anything that decreased the magnetic field, like a shorted coil of something conductive. Probably harder to derail than a regular wheel-on-track train, but the kinetic energy difference between say 50 miles an hour and 300 is impressive- like, 36 times as much for those numbers - so if it DID hit a wall, the detonation would be biblical. As in zero survivors found. Recognizable pieces are right out of consideration.
ReplyDeleteThe maglev train actually starts on wheels which get retracted after a certain speed.
DeleteAnd you do not believe the engineers have not taken that into consideration? Supposedly, the travel time between Tokyo and Nagoya will be reduced to 40 minutes, compared to the 2 hours or so it takes now. There is the question of what need there is, besides that it can be done, to get from Tokyo to Nagoya in under an hour.
DeleteThis will never happen here in the US.
ReplyDeleteThe lefties who are SCREAMING for high-speed trains are the same lefties SCREAMING when one blade of grass has to be removed to build a train track.
That is why they are called "Libtards."
DeleteIn a college welding class, the instructor told us that the Japanese weld a lot of railroad rail, end-to-end. Twice a year (preparing for warm weather and preparing for cold weather) they sent a whole lot of people out with long, T-handled wrenches to loosen the rail on the curves, and reset the rails to allow for thermal expansion and contraction. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_track#Continuous_welded_rail
ReplyDeleteTom Scott did a video on this train https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZX9T0kWb4Y
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/GXjxgVcLnek?si=-EDNUjndI9Wa81xw
DeleteWas about to repost that vid because the gif lacks sound, and it's a thing to hear
DeleteI like how the people take a step back when it passes.
ReplyDelete