Trains

     Although I know this isn't a hardcore gear head topic, it is still a form of transportation so I would like to discuss it today.  Trains are some of the most effective and efficient ways to move both people and goods long distances.  They are miracle workers, it takes the massive power from only 2 to 6 trains to move thousands of tons of things hundreds of miles.  How do they do it?  Through the miracle of the wheel and the rail my friends.  For this entry, only modern trains will be covered for the sake of time.

      There are many different types of trains, all tailored to perform a certain duty very well, and very efficiently.  A massive amount of freight is moved using these machines in this country alone. It is much easier and cheaper to ship by train then by semi- truck when dealing with large numbers of goods across any distance.  The best example of this is coal.  I can remember sitting at home and watching the coal trains come by when i lived in Colorado.  They were all numbering well in excess of 100 cars, all filled to the brim with the black stuff.  The locomotives seemed to pull these mile-long trains with ease, and they would do it for incredible distances.  Naturally as a kid i was fascinated and began to obsess with trains myself.  As it turns out, these massive beasts that pull seemingly impossible weights have lots of refined technology in them.

      The first type of train i would like to discuss would be the modern passenger trains.  In the United states the only passenger train company is called Amtrak and they run all across the country.  There are 2 different types of Amtrak trains, there are the east coast style and the rest of the country style.  The reason for the difference is that many tunnels and bridges on the East Coast are too low to allow the train that run the rest of the countries' lines to fit under them.  The solution was to build one story cars that curved with the tunnels.  The trains that run the rest of the country (basically west of the Appalachian Mountains) are what you would call a Superliner.  They have two stories on most of the cars, and have many different capabilities.  These allow for greater views of the landscape and for a more comfortable experience.  Amtrak uses both diesel and electric locomotives with the former found mostly west of the Appalachian Mountains and the former being found mostly only in the urban connecting lines of the Eastern Seaboard.

      The other type of train running the country is the freight train,  These are being seen less during the day and more at night, so if you do see one during the day, then you got lucky.  There are many different regional operating freight companies operating in the U.S. but they all have the same motive in mind: to move as much freight as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Major companies like Union Pacific and BNSF control much of the main lines.  These trains are classified as one of to categories: mixed or specific freight. The difference is very simple, one train has more than one product in transit and the other has only one product in transit.  I hope you can figure out the matching of the names.

      Although they may not be as prevalent and visible, these workhorses keep our country running and doing so in an efficient way.