Train of the Week

I went hiking in England in the past week. Although most of my intercity travel was made by coach bus (for budgetary and logistical reasons), being who I am, I still had to slip a train ride in there somewhere, didn't I. By Geof Sheppard - Own work , CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link What could be a more suitable way to end my hike than a train ride on the quaint and picturesque single track Tarka Line from Barnstaple to Exeter? In the gentle green hills of Devon, DMUs on this line traverse a scenic 40 miles along the Rivers Creedy, Yeo, and Taw. The Tarka Line got its name from Tarka the Otter , a local animal hero from a novel by the same name. It is part of what used to be the North Devon Railway between Bideford and Exeter. Today, the line terminates in Barnstaple . Barnstaple Station today consists of a sole platform and track. By Geni at the English language Wikipedia , CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link Barnstaple as a Junction Station in yesteryear. By Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0 , Li...

By Hisagi - 投稿者自身による作品 , CC 表示-継承 4.0 , Link Hyperloop seems to be all the hype these days. Given the progress in its development, it's about time we can call it for what it is (as far as a "new" invention goes). I won't directly address it, however. Instead, here is another system, currently under construction, that will serve as a case study to the rest of the world on the mass adoption of maglev technology. CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link Formally called the Chūō Shinkansen , the new central mainline in Japan is fundamentally different than the high-speed lines that come before it. It utilizes the SCMaglev , or Super Condicting Magnetic-levitation, technology that has been under development since 1962. The SCMaglev uses one of the three principal implementations of magnetic levitation, called EDS , or Electro Dynamic Suspension. The other two consist of EMS (Electro Magmetic Suspension), used by Transrapid, and Inductrack System (Permanent Magnet Passive Suspension...