61–70 of 145 posts
I've taken multiple Amtrak routes, all out of the Northeast Corridor but eventually crossing the country West or South. You don't take Amtrak because you want to get there fast, and you don't really take it because it's cheaper than flying. You take it because you can , and because it's more important to you to be (comparatively) comfortable instead of rushing from A to B. You take it because of the sights, the peopl…
I've taken multiple Amtrak routes, all out of the Northeast Corridor but eventually crossing the country West or South. You don't take Amtrak because you want to get there fast, and you don't really take it because it's cheaper than flying. You take it because you can , and because it's more important to you to be (comparatively) comfortable instead of rushing from A to B. You take it because of the sights, the peopl…
The only profitable routes are Boston to Washington DC.
Outside of that it's both better and worse. Sometimes you meet friendly people, sometimes your stuck next to folks with hygiene issues.
I've had way more chance encounters flying, went out with a girl once.
It's cool, but so underfunded that I don't think it'll ever catch up to say Japan. An 18 hour highspeed NYC to LA train would be amazing.
I think I did Chicago to NYC once. Afterwards my thought was , cool I did it, I don't need to experience that again.
If you were trying to highlight the Netscape ISP site OP, thread here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47565264
Story discovered via usability of that site. Will use it more.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m curious if a classic starlings antenna works at 100-300 km/h with occasional rotation, or will it need to be mounted on a targeting motor on top of the train?
Works on planes at 1000km/h so should be fine on trains in the open countryside (not in tunnels of course)
> The train is still longer, and time is money, we are taught. But certainty has value, too, even if it means at 11:29 p.m. departure. Unfortunately this is misleading. Outside of the Northeast Acela corridor, there is no certainty in train travel in the U.S.. Although legally passenger trains are now supposed to have right of way over freight trains, in practice that’s just not the case. So a 14.5 hr train journey c…
Delays? What if you can’t buy tickets at all. I was looking at Tucson to Seattle trip on a relatively short notice - all sleeping tickets were sold out multiple weeks in advance. And due to the length of the trip it’s not practical with non-sleeping seat.
I've taken multiple Amtrak routes, all out of the Northeast Corridor but eventually crossing the country West or South. You don't take Amtrak because you want to get there fast, and you don't really take it because it's cheaper than flying. You take it because you can , and because it's more important to you to be (comparatively) comfortable instead of rushing from A to B. You take it because of the sights, the peopl…
The romance of it is wonderful too, but even from a purely practical standpoint the only real downsides are the slow speed and inconsistent arrival times.
I've taken multiple Amtrak routes, all out of the Northeast Corridor but eventually crossing the country West or South. You don't take Amtrak because you want to get there fast, and you don't really take it because it's cheaper than flying. You take it because you can , and because it's more important to you to be (comparatively) comfortable instead of rushing from A to B. You take it because of the sights, the peopl…
This is not really true, at least for the northeast corridor. Amtrak is the fastest way to get from DC to NYC for example due to traffic in the city if driving or taking the bus, and the distance from the airport (LGA or JFK) to the final destination in the city if you're flying. I take Amtrak somewhat begrudgingly because it often can be way more expensive than flights which are subsidized generally speaking over pa…
I spent the entire trip (including a 4 hour delay where we didn’t move) in the cheap seats from Atlanta to New Orleans smelling the farts of someone with serious GI issues while a college kid walked up and down the aisle spraying axe body spray to drown out the smell.
The United States is a very unique case—its capitalist development progressed faster than in other countries. Although many industries today are controlled by oligarchs and politicians and no longer serve the public interest, this history remains distinctive and worth remembering.
> ”… booked the train overnight and into game day across a 650-mile route … A 14½-hour weekend train ride” Just by way of comparison, in China the 819-mile train route between Beijing and Shanghai takes 4.5 hours.
Imagine if we had passenger rail like Asia does, it would be amazing. But sadly it's all a matter of political will, the US simply does not want to create such a rail system where we can take bullet trains from NYC to LA.