Update from 3rd Rail

I am with Scott - they yanked out all the rail lines in the 1950s, and now you cannot get there from here.

The bullet train is not necessary.  What we need is more conventional rail passenger trains.  You cannot really go anywhere on Amtrak - unless you start at 4 AM and have lots of time for layovers and delays.

 Scott, if I may ask, has your company ever released a G gauge engine? I like my O scale Allegheny of yours.

If you want to know what happened to the excellent mass transit system the LA region use to enjoy, just watch "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"

Allan

We produced some On3 locos in the 1980s.

And it is very well known history that Standard Oil, GM and Firestone conspired to replace the electric traction systems in both Northern and Southern California with their busses, tires and Diesel fuel.  

I read about a matching trailer that you coupled (train related) to a European all electric car for long trips. It had a diesel genset and charger aboard.  The guy testing it said the biggest problem was other electric cars wanting a charge.

I would love to have an electric car.  The biggest problem is the range.  One of my weekly trips is from Alameda to Livermore, CA.  The round trip is 70 miles.  There are four big guys, including me are in the car.  There are huge traffic jams on I-580 because of just too many cars and trucks and continual construction.  Traffic speeds constantly alternate between 0 and 70 mph for no apparent reason.  You had better be at 70 when the rest of the traffic is going at that speed.  We like to keep the air conditioning running because temperatures in the Livermore area approach 100 degrees this time of year.  

I don't think that affordable electric cars, such as the Leaf or the Volt,  have the range for this type of trip.  The Tesla does have the range but it is unaffordable for me.  My neighbor does have a Tesla.  It is truly a WOW car.  It does have its range limitations, however.  A trip from the Bay Area to Reno over the Sierra mountains without recharging would be a problem.  My neighbor says it takes about 10 hours to fully recharge using his home recharging system.  My neighbor is a scientist and has a state of the art fast charge system.

One of the biggest problems with mass transit in the USA is that unlike Europe we are so spread out.  Mass transit works well where people can commute from their homes to a central business area such as those provided by cities.  In CA, however, we are getting away from central business districts.  For example, Chevron, AAA Automobile Club, and many other companies used to be headquartered in downtown San Francisco.  These companies now have their headquarters spread all over the SF Bay Area.  There is no way that a mass transit system can built to economically serve all of these widely separated locations.

Another problem with mass transit is that the USA has a 24/7 economy.  The freeways within the SF Bay Area are full of traffic at all hours of the day.  I don't see how a mass transit system can be built to provide service 24/7.

Joe

The Volt has a gas motor that starts when you deplete the batteries. You get 30? miles on the battery and the gas motor will get you the rest of the way.

Scott are the light weight aluminum passenger cars in production?

Thanks for this information.  I thought that the Volt was an all electric car for some reason.  Perhaps the name is misleading me.  

My neighbor who owns a Tesla also mentioned several other savings that come with operating an electric car that are not readily apparent.

Some of these are:

1.  There are no oil changes.  The car doesn't have any oil.

2.  There are no engine coolant changes or refilling.  The car doesn't use coolant.

3.  Brakes and tires last much longer because of the regenerative braking system.

4.  There are no tuneups or spark plug changes, belt changes, hose changes, etc.

5.  There are almost no regular maintenance items beyond refilling the windshield wiper fluid.

Joe

And change the windshield wiper blades!

Now, Texas has an odd law.  Big T wants to sell cars direct.  The state of Texas, who promotes itself as business friendly, makes you sell cars through dealerships!

Tesla is facing this problem in several states.  It is the dealer (political donor) protection policy disguised as consumer protection.

Californians and,  I guess, most other buyers pick up their car at the factory.  The cars are made in Fremont, CA.  Fremont is in the SF Bay Area just north of San Jose.

The factory used to be a joint venture factory between Toyota and GM called NUMI Motors.  It made small Toyota and Pontiac cars and trucks.  The factory was closed when GM dropped Pontiac.  Toyota decided to move their production to another part of the USA.

The factory remained closed for about 5 years.  Tesla took over the factory and brought a lot of lost jobs back to the SF Bay Area.  Many of the former NUMI Motors workers have been rehired.  I hope that Tesla will be a successful example of how "going green" can create jobs.  Tesla, in my opinion, will need to develop a more affordable car before this can be done.  

Joe 

As a current BMW M5 owner I want a Tesla in a big way.  :-)

However, my current driving pattern affords me to garage the M5 99% of the time as I ride the train to work 5 days a week and only take the M out for fun drives and out to the SCCA race track for some spirited driving.   The Tesla wouldn't really "save" me anything.  

That said, we (my wife and I) just finished doing a complete restore on a Aston Martin DB5.   I can't wait to do a few laps around the track in a Tux :-)

Folks, I know this is an interesting subject for some of you, but we have drifted a long way away from the purpose of this forum, to talk about O Gauge Trains.

I'm going to close this one now. I hope you understand.