31–40 of 250 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s gotta be a Groupon for this. So long as anyone doesn’t have a major criminal record, I’m game.
Why would a criminal record be relevant at all? Other than prior convictions for train robbery, I guess.
We worked with Amtrak and an amazing team of train enthusiasts to get 3 vintage train cars on The California Zephyr’s route across the US. We started in Vermont and ended in Los Angeles, traveling 3,502 miles over 10 days.
Short documentary: https://youtu.be/2BID8_pGuqA
Planning documents and finances are open source at https://github.com/hackclub/the-hacker-zephyr
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s gotta be a Groupon for this. So long as anyone doesn’t have a major criminal record, I’m game.
So its a privately owned and operated rail car, that lots of people can group together with and pay the total cost of by individually paying a smaller part of it, like some sort of ... publicly accessible private transportation ... I think you might be on to something!
Uber for trains.
There, I said it.
This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…
Could you explain a bit more about why you would want this? This seems strictly inferior to buying a box truck and converting it for "van life".
This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…
You seem to know what you’re talking about, so… I’ve heard that occasionally (rarely) they need to put some “public” cars behind the private ones. And if that happens, you are not allowed to prevent the public passengers from walking through your private car to get between the public sections. Is that the case?
Train crew (conductors) always have the right to walk through the car. If your train goes into Tampa Florida for example, the train has to reverse out of the station to a wye so it can turn around. If you are the end car, the conductor will be there watching for problems, manning the emergency brake, and communicating with the engineer on their radio.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wye_(rail)
The new trainsets that Amtrak just ordered from Siemens Mobility come with cab cars, so the crew can use that to control the train and not be out in the weather (and have full gauges, etc.) The cab cars are part economy seating so if your private car is on that train, you will probably end up sandwiched between the cab car and the rest of the train and have people walking through.
This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…
> This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Could you explain a bit more about why you would want this? This seems strictly inferior to buying a box truck and converting it for "van life".
This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…
> This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Could you explain a bit more about why you would want this? This seems strictly inferior to buying a box truck and converting it for "van life".
This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…
> This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Could you explain a bit more about why you would want this? This seems strictly inferior to buying a box truck and converting it for "van life".
Van life is a first class ticket to becoming a tidbit in serial killers life story.
This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Which it would have to be, since everything about it isn't cheap. Purchasing a Pullman car then upgrading it to Amtrak standards will cost at least $300k. Any interior upgrades are on top of that (renovating the galley with modern appliances, adding central air since some cars used block ice for cooling). Amtrak requires you add 480v head-end power (but you will likely want a…
> This is my "if I won the lottery" dream. Could you explain a bit more about why you would want this? This seems strictly inferior to buying a box truck and converting it for "van life".
Downside is you're limited to where Amtrak goes (or having to hire a locomotive and getting permission from Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, etc. to use their tracks)
If I wanted to go the van-life route, I'd probably order a B-Box from Advanced RV in Cleveland. They have more interior room than a Sprinter and are better insulated. Costs about the same as a railcar and currently has a year-long wait.