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General railway discussions
- Thread starter Urban Sky
- Start date
micheal_can
Senior Member
HSR is not right for the entire country, but from London to Quebec City, it is. It has the right density within the right distance that it would be worth the added cost to build it.
dowlingm
Senior Member
Between P40s and LIRR C1s it’s almost like someone there is putting out railfan bait
Allandale25
Senior Member
I believe this article shows the route: https://riverreporter.com/stories/a...ranton-to-nyc-rail-line-picks-up-steam,126898
It has a map:
Update: this article is connected to the video above and has even more details and an additional map.
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Admiral Beez
Superstar
I expect Trump will strongly consider outright canceling free trade with Mexico and renegotiating a separate FTA with Canada. If we find this week that Trump has gained both chambers of Congress we should expect dramatic changes to trade, including impacts on rail issues. I wonder if Amtrak will take a hit.
rbt
Senior Member
Agreed. Also I expect part of a new FTA with Canada will be a requirement that we match all USA tariffs, both existing and future, to prevent Canada from being a route around their new global tariffs.
If that's an ask, it'll be a very difficult decision for Poilievre as every other trade agreement Canada has will be void.
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crs1026
Superstar
Northern Light
Superstar
While this is certainly possible..............
I would point out, that with a few notable exceptions, Trump's rhetoric and often his advertised policy moves did not really align.
As example, much was made of his tariffs on China during his last term. Worth noting trade with China did dip briefly, then was further impacted by COVID, but by 2023, Imports from China and the U.S/China Trade deficit were fairly comparable to 2018.
Not the high impact that was advertised.
That notwithstanding that the Biden-Harris regime maintained most of those tariffs and actually increased several.
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Meanwhile, the ripping up of NAFTA was supposed to favour the U.S.......but lets have a look at those trade numbers:
From: https://www.statista.com/statistics/218273/total-value-of-us-trade-in-goods-with-canada-since-2004/
Canada's total exports to the U.S. have grown substantially as has its trade surplus.
But at least he penalized the Mexicans right? Ummm
Mexican Exports to the U.S. - 5 year trend:
Mexico Exports to United States
Exports to United States in Mexico decreased to 33944269 USD Thousand in January from 41075168 USD Thousand in December of 2023. This page includes a chart with historical data for Mexico Exports to USAAAAAAAA.
tradingeconomics.com
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None of which is to say that this time won't be different.
Just be careful not to conflate rhetoric or superficial gestures with substantive policy.
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crs1026
Superstar
Several people have pointed out that Trump is unlikely to directly criticize the current trade deal, as it was negotiated on his watch, so he would be admitting he did a poor job.
Nevertheless, the data you presented does give the buy-American faction grounds to argue that the deal must have been flawed - in that it gave Canada and Mexico so much room to increase trade. That argument has so much room to bend the sub-data back and forth that I won't go there....the point is merely that the argument doesn't have to be proven to be used.
My fear is not Trump so much as a majority Congress who will feel the onus to restore American jobs, and won't be any more inclined to reasonble arguments.
I would predict that a negotiation is coming, and Canada should prepare for it wisely.
- Pul
Allandale25
Senior Member
Posted today:
Bojaxs
Active Member
Thought this was interesting. Wabtec testing out a battery powered freight locomotive. I wonder if Wabtec can perfect this technology could they come out with a battery powered MPIExpress locomotive? Perhaps GO could have electric trains without overhead wires?
The second half of the video was more interesting with the locomotive idling.
The second half of the video was more interesting with the locomotive idling.
crs1026
Superstar
It looks like the test was the battery engine working against two diesels in dynamic brake mode. Much of the sound was the traction gear and blowers, and the dynamic brakes on the diesels, which are likely identical between the two modes.
There's no doubt that a battery loco can "equal a diesel" in the sense that the amps going to the traction motors will be identical and therefore the traction motors won't know the difference...... until the battery is drained. I wonder what the duty cycle consisted of, and how much regen energy the battery unit collected. BHP is a one-way railway in the sense that it is (net) mostly downgrade for loads from the mines to the docks at sea level, and upgrade for empties back to the mines. I wonder how that impacts the duty cycle.
- Paul
dowlingm
Senior Member
Wouldn’t that be reasonably similar to the Quebec/Labrador iron ore operations?
crs1026
Superstar
Very much so - although I am not knowledgeable about how much up and down there is along the way, but for example Hedland on the BHP is 1780 ft above sea level, and Schefferville is about the same amount above Sept-Iles. Not a large grade for 200+ miles of line, but the energy requirements will include that gradient.
- Paul
dowlingm
Senior Member
I have a feeling the MPI brand is dead, so any new locos reverting to GE, such as their P47AC proposal
Meanwhile electrek reports on a UK trial of a Hitachi battery intercity trainset. Mind you, the distances between cities in England are not exactly Canadian distances.
'UK-first' intercity battery trial train outperforms diesel
A "UK-first" intercity battery trial train proved that single battery technology can outperform diesel engines cost-effectively.
electrek.co