60 Minutes special on Amtrak done in 1973 (lots of buck passing but interesting look back in time), then it gets into HSR with an April 2026 update on California HSR and Brightline, then it flips to a 2018 episode on MTA, and finally finishes on bridges. The 1973 is the best one to watch, I think.
I found this video and the ones after very interesting for what they do not say. First the big reason that cars are popular is very simple (freedom) in America we go and do what we want also we do not have weeks of vacations like in Europe we actually work. Also the United States and the states that make it up are huge compared to other countries. In one segment they knocked the interstate system of roads. Why was it built? Because President Eisenhower. Was so impressed by Germanyâs Audubon to move the military fast and efficiently he wanted the same for the US. Also I also most threw up when the California high speed rail management stated â we are learning as we goâ . Great job is you can get it. I also found it amazing that the high speed enthusiasts kept stating itâs safer? Safer than what? Cars yes planes no. I think in the end instead of we have to build the most expensive system around. How about one that just works?
Amtrak is great at times and ridership is up but itâs a dog when it comes to cost. The Bright line in Florida is a great idea, but instead of build it slow and steady itâs âgo all inâ thatâs great but you need a well of cash and they are running out. I know people will say that many businesses when started loose lots of cash (Amazon) is a great example. But these businesses have been proven to turn a profit down the road. Passenger trains do not, and people are getting tired of higher taxes and then more taxes.
Craig
Penn Central Shops
Why do you think there is a difference between the two. Brightline runs short corridors with high frequencyâŚthats it.
Amtrak has a mixed market hodge podge, in my opinion. Amtraks other bad decision in my view was when management in the 1970âs decided on a model to be everything to everyone or a rail system everyone could ride at a cheap cost. They still use that model. Private railroads did not operate that wayâŚmultiple fares and multiple classes.
Actually, I think the bright line was a great idea, but instead of moving ahead slowly they went all in spent money they didnât have and now they have a terrible debt issue.
As for Amtrak, they have the opposite issue. Theyâre told they have to run Trains. Theyâre not giving enough money then this complaints about the Trains then they give them more money then there is no more money. I think you get the story about the money.. lol
In the end, I think the only passion of Trains that might work and may be able to break even one day of a short corridor type Trains long distance as a dog
We plan to spend ~$1.485 trillion on toys, many of which are quickly obsolete, almost as much as all the rest of the world combined, while other countries invest in infrastructure and innovation and research.
Say it louder for people in the back, @charlie_hebdo2 !
âCan you hear me at the back?
All you wide boys standing in a row.â - Ray Davies
The only problem is that if we didnât spend it on Golden Dome, thereâs no guarantee the $1.4T (or more, more, more with the inevitable overruns) would be spent on knowledge-building or other valid forms of âintellectual investmentâ.
The sad thing is that China has made an enormous push in the ârightâ directions over the past few years, often in what I consider appropriately rigorous ways, and are likely poised to âdo what we used to doâ in engineering and technology better. I donât much like that.
It starts at the top. Federal agency grants for various types of research has been cut tremendously since January 2025. It could/should start again, sooner if the error were admitted.
I was surprised and disappointed that the staff that would be assigned to DOGE did not start working on a list of NIH grants as soon as the election results were finalized, so they could hit the ground running. It only made sense to cancel research funding globally if, within days, there was an organized list of all âmeritoriousâ efforts to which funding could be promptly restored â weeding out all the crap studies that government money can help facilitate. I would expect Elon Musk to have understood this.
Even if the selection priorities were skewed, the evaluation would allow cogent and direct re-establishment of suspended projects with the advent of the next administration⌠again, with a shadow effort picking the merits and coordinating with the PIs well in advance of the actual executive order or whatever that would issue in late January 2029.
DOGE was Criminal FRAUD
It did not have to be that way, and it shouldnât have been.
On the other hand, I donât think it was being run for actual âefficiencyâ improvementâŚ
And the mob says âfollowâ so we go
And thatâs that
May I ask why you have declared it so?
no
Okay then.
Didnât know what they were doing. Had no experience in audits or investigations. Didnât even come close to reaching their goal. Only about 15% of goal. Was disbanded after just a few months because it didnât work.
If it did work it still be in business.
Oh, OK. I thought that they were still active, thoughâwhere did you hear they were closed down?
Some examples from the 1950âs and 60âs:
A small company approached Convair about providing samples of their newly developed silicon transistors, which could withstand higher temperatures than germanium parts. Convair wanted a large quantity for the Atlas missile program, the small company said we donât have the facilities to make that many. The Air Force stepped in and told the company to set up production facilities as the Atlas missile was a top priority at the time. The small companyâs name was Texas Instruments.
The SAGE program for the Air Defense Command was responsible for developing interactive computer systems, real-time fail-over, modems, core memory and methods for managing large software development programs. The experience helped with developing air traffic control systems.
The Minuteman missile program required a large number of integrated circuits, such that the craft style of manufacturing ICâs was not scalable. The resulting changes in manufacturing ICâs brought down the price to the point where the ICâs were cheaper than discrete electronics.
To be on topic for this forum, back in the 1930âs the US Navy was looking for sources of compact lightweight diesel engines for submarines. They figured that engines good for subs would also be good for locomotives.
I was thinking of the original recording by the songwriter Ray Davies of Kinks fame.