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A comment on In 1919, an Army convoy drove cross-country from Washington to San Francisco. Parent comment

Re:In 1919, an Army convoy drove cross-country from Washingt... by technofiend on Monday July 08, 2019 @01:12PM (#20384559)
Or any bullet train for that matter... The French and Japanese have had a friendly rivalry for decades. But both like the Chinese are willing to dedicate right of way for high speed trains. The American system's shared lines for passenger and freight traffic creates limitations the other systems do not share.
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Re:In 1919, an Army convoy drove cross-country from Washingt... by ceejayoz on Monday July 08, 2019 @03:42PM (#20386060)
Switzerland has shared lines, but the freight traffic is required to be able to go at the same speed as the passenger trains. They have shorter trains with more engines than you'd see in the US as a result.
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Re:In 1919, an Army convoy drove cross-country from Washingt... by chrisseaton on Monday July 08, 2019 @04:40PM (#20386533)
I don't know if it's just where I happen to see them (near inhabited areas), but US freight trains seem to literally move at walking pace. Ringing the bell the entire time while they do it.
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Re:In 1919, an Army convoy drove cross-country from Washingt... by jdsully on Monday July 08, 2019 @05:51PM (#20387127)
They can get up to 50-60mph but only outside of built up areas with long straight track (e.g. in the Great Planes). They mostly go slow for fuel efficiency (it takes a lot of power and distance to build up speed).

Here's one going 70mph in Texas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMhSRP7RBpo

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Re:In 1919, an Army convoy drove cross-country from Washingt... by askvictor on Monday July 08, 2019 @06:02PM (#20387204)
Switzerland is also tiny, making travel time less of a concern.
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Re:In 1919, an Army convoy drove cross-country from Washingt... by rolltiide on Monday July 08, 2019 @03:58PM (#20386194)
The passenger trains are really fast so its not really a compromise there
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Re:In 1919, an Army convoy drove cross-country from Washingt... by ceejayoz on Monday July 08, 2019 @04:09PM (#20386289)
Right, that's the point - a dual system can be made entirely workable. You just can't let the freight railroads set the rules like they have here in the US.
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Re:In 1919, an Army convoy drove cross-country from Washingt... by pjc50 on Monday July 08, 2019 @05:41PM (#20387048)
The UK system also has shared lines, but prioritize passengers and has a severe capacity problem.
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