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Dolly Parton's Dollywood Express

thetransitguy.substack.com

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Re: Dolly Parton's Dollywood Express

#71

Post by cleverwebble »

I grew up in a town called Seymour, which is in the same county as Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. It's Dolly country. She's a hero - she's done so much for her community. Much of the money you spend at Dollywood goes to help so many public causes. One of them is the Imagination Library, which gives out free books every month from birth to 5 years of age. I was one of the first families that got to take a part in it. I certainly don't remember much from when I was 5, but I do remember getting those books. I imagine it had a positive impact on my growth.

We'd go to Dollywood a few times a year - she would give out free tickets to people who worked in Gatlinburg to go. It's really well run, and their water park is great too. Growing up, we'd ride the train when we visited. While I didn't appreciate it much as a kid, when I grew up I realized how awesome of an opportunity that was.. I moved away from Tennessee about 12 years ago, one of the biggest things I have missed is Dollywood and their big steam train.

Re: Dolly Parton's Dollywood Express

#72

Post by xorcist »

pizzathyme wrote: post #49
shortformblog wrote: post #39

The irony being, of course, that it is surrounded by an area where it is basically impossible to get by without a car. My wife and I once left Gatlinburg after a week there and our tire blew out on the way out of town. It was a Sunday morning. Literally our only option to get it replaced that day was a Walmart location 15 miles away. So we had to wait for AAA for an hour and a half to tell us we were stuck using a do…

Exactly, more rails would not be useful because there is lower density in the US. Denmark is 141 persons/km^2, whereas the U.S. is about 36 persons/km^2 (census data). Even if you built train lines everywhere outside urban areas, any stop you step off at would still require a 20 minute drive to get to where you are going. (Or in your case 15!)

Is there a reason Denmark was chosen for comparison, rather than neighboring Norway (15 persons/km^2) or Sweden (25 persons/km^2)?

Re: Dolly Parton's Dollywood Express

#73

Post by shortformblog »

sandworm101 wrote: post #69
hollywood_court wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that standard though? If I get a flat, I hop out and replace it with a spare. Then I drive to a shop to have that flat tire either patched or replaced entirely. I know some new models don't include spares, but they often have run flats and temp sealant kits included. What are the other options?

Ya, changing a flat tire was once part of learning to drive. Also, manual transmissions, jumpstarting, swapping a fuse, and basic low-speed maneuvers like rocking out of snowbanks or crossing large potholes. All that is now gone. Most care owners dont know what a tow eye is, let alone where to find one. It is so bad that there are now university-level "adulting" courses for millenials. First up: changing a tire. http…

We know how to change a damn tire. We just couldn’t easily buy one because Gatlinburg didn’t have any garages open on Sunday morning.

Re: Dolly Parton's Dollywood Express

#74

Post by sarchertech »

shortformblog wrote: post #57
pizzathyme wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, more rails would not be useful because there is lower density in the US. Denmark is 141 persons/km^2, whereas the U.S. is about 36 persons/km^2 (census data). Even if you built train lines everywhere outside urban areas, any stop you step off at would still require a 20 minute drive to get to where you are going. (Or in your case 15!)

There are plenty of places where it would make sense, actually, but Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are very much not on that list. They are towns surrounded by mountains where once you get off the strip, you may not even run into a gas station or grocery store for a while. Also, that was 15 miles, not 15 minutes. I think it took us more than an hour to get there with all the traffic. Excellent example of a tourist trap.…

It’s not just surrounded by mountains, it’s just outside the border of Great Smokey Mountains National Park. It’s essentially a dead end for rail because to continue on you need to either go up a mile in elevation in a very short span or tunnel mountains inside a national park.

One of the worst places for rail east of the Mississippi.

Re: Dolly Parton's Dollywood Express

#75

Post by madcaptenor »

strictnein wrote: post #31
deelowe wrote: post #15

Took the family to Dollywood this year and it was by far the best run theme park I've been to. I was amazed at the cleanliness, friendliness of the staff, and how well maintained everything was. The train was really cool too. One of only two times I've been able to see a real coal fired steam engine functioning.

It's a great park with some surprisingly enjoyable rides. Lightning Rod is one of the most intense coasters I've been on. Definitely a little rough at times, but man it does not hold back at all. And it's kind of hidden in the layout of the park, with a lot of the track over the top of a hill. A visit to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area and the Smoky Mountains is great trip, especially with kids. Lots of quirky nonse…

I live in Atlanta and have not been up there. I have kids. I should probably fix that.

(That is, I should "fix that" by going up to the Smokies with them, not by getting rid of the kids!)

Re: Dolly Parton's Dollywood Express

#76

Post by bpt3 »

jandrese wrote: post #52
NoblePublius wrote: post #25

“ I love Disney and I love Dolly Parton, but it says something deeply broken about our national priorities when their theme park trains outclass public infrastructure in billion-dollar economies. Be serious.” Europe has lots of train infrastructure because it was very poor after WW2, and its people could afford nothing but train fare. America has lots of car infrastructure because it was very rich after WS2, and its…

> It’s not because American government doesn’t invest in public transit. It’s because Americans, even poor Americans, overwhelmingly choose personal transportation. If there is no usable public transit then people have to use cars. But if they have cars then there isn't the will for the public transit. A vicious circle. Public transit does need to be built somewhat on a "if you build it they will come" philosophy, wh…

It is built in major metro areas, and requires endless subsidies to stay afloat in all but one of those areas.

Public transit cannot compete with private transit outside of cost unless you have a very, very high population density, which makes it unpopular with people who can afford alternatives (i.e. almost all Americans).

Re: Dolly Parton's Dollywood Express

#78

Post by hinkley »

dylan604 wrote: post #54
hinkley wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We condensed redundancies in the 80’s to improve profit margins for rail. Those lines could have supported more cargo and passenger trains but they’re gone now. It’s difficult to add rail through populated areas. And some population centers are big enough that going around them is not feasible. Like you could go around Portland Oregon to add new west coast routes without much high profile eminent domain, but can you…

You can't do that through Texas which is why the plan for a high speed rail making the triangle between DFW, Houston, Austin/San Antonio never succeeds. There's so much wide open space in Texas, but it's privately owned so eminent domain is a huge issue.

Even in the Midwest you see little doglegs in county and state highways where it’s obvious one farmer would not part with a 40 ft slice of land at the edge of his property so the road has to swing into his neighbors and then back.

Re: Dolly Parton's Dollywood Express

#79

Post by sarchertech »

madcaptenor wrote: post #75
strictnein wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a great park with some surprisingly enjoyable rides. Lightning Rod is one of the most intense coasters I've been on. Definitely a little rough at times, but man it does not hold back at all. And it's kind of hidden in the layout of the park, with a lot of the track over the top of a hill. A visit to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area and the Smoky Mountains is great trip, especially with kids. Lots of quirky nonse…

I live in Atlanta and have not been up there. I have kids. I should probably fix that. (That is, I should "fix that" by going up to the Smokies with them, not by getting rid of the kids!)

100% you should do that.

I grew up in metro Atlanta and some of my favorite childhood memories are of family trips to the Smokies.

Mingus mill is one of my favorite places in the world.

I live in Chattanooga now and we take the kids every 6 months or so.

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