Trains Magazine has an article online backing up this month's cover article. The cover article itself posed an interesting question. You're at a party when, wonder of wonders, someone discovers that you're a train geek and they start talking about the "little known facts" of railroading, which actually could be myths. Do you know which are true facts and which are mythical falsehoods?- Standard gauge came from the width of a horses backside/a Roman chariot
- Rails-to-trails and then trails-to-rails actually works
- A passenger train's carbon footprint is less than the number of fully-loaded automobiles
- Trucks are losing the battle against freight trains
- Money-losing Amtrak costs more than highways or airlines
- A mile of railroad costs more than a mile of highway
- Maglev will never be more than a novelty
Are any of these true? You'll have definitive answers to these issues and more if you read the current issue of trains. Next time you're at a party, you might save yourself with these answers. Or maybe you'll just smile and nod as they go on in their ignorance.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Colorado Railroads is a site dedicated to preserving and presenting rail transportation in the Centennial State. Join the growing fascination with railroading and the lives and industries connected by a ribbon of steel across, over and through the Continental Divide!