An invisible train is set to be on Japanese tracks by 2018, in an effort to blend the carriages into the landscape.
The train sports a semi-reflective surface which gives the illusion of invisibility when it is speeding across the countryside.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/04/12/invisible-trains-to-speed-through-japan/
Hey, I’ve got a name for it!
“The Silver Sausage!”
Seriously though, how do you railfan an invisible train?
Will crossing accidents or pedestrian/MOW worker fatalites go up, since no one can see it coming?
An invisible North American train Haiku:
Cross buck crossing
Black coal cars in black of night
Car beneath crushed a terrible sight
Will Claude Rains be the engineer?
Good one Chuck, wish I’d thought of it!
After all the efforts the FRA has been making to make trains MORE VISIBLE in this country.
Just guessing here, but I wonder if this camouflage was done in response to complaints about seeing the trains by the folks it passes by.
I don’t see where this would be a problem on a dedicated, crossing-free ROW.
What’s needed is a system that will make the train “invisible” when there’s no crossing danger, but very visible when needed.
Klingon cloaking device, Version 2.0
Won’t need help at keeping crossings and foul zones clear, phasers and photon torpedos should do the trick.
How would you even know you had an invisible train? How did Wonder Woman know she had an invisible airplane? (didn’t see that one coming, did ya?)
Use a polarizing filter when photographing the invisible trains.
Would that produce a photo of a Polar Express?
Would you board an invisible train through an invisible door? OUCH, THAT HURT!
So how would you find the invisible door on the invisible train?
The invisible man knows.
(The Shadow do.) [:^)]
Only the outer shell is invisible - once the doors open, you can see inside the cars… (Thanks, Megamind)
Since it’s Japan, you won’t have to look. Just queue up along the lines painted on the (high) platform and the door will open right in front of you.
Then some dude in a black uniform will pack you in with the rest of the sardines…
Chuck (remembering Shinjuku)
If it’s version 2.0, I’d expect it to be not only a cloak, but a phase. So the train would pass right through cars at crossings.
Ok, I’ll stop.
Was this built for Wile E. Coyote by the ACME company?
No, that would probably involve gravity, rather than optics.