If by "night train" you mean a train that makes all or part of its journey overnight, the answer is yes. Amtrak runs several across the country. They are commonly referred to as "long distance" trains. Some routes, such as the Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief and Sunset Limited run for two consecutive nights. All of Amtrak's long distance trains offer sleeping accommodations very similar to, but not quite as nice as, the famous Pullman cars of years past.
Go to www.amtrak.com to see a route map. Better yet, get a printed copy of their national timetable which has a map showing which portions of routes are in daylight and which are at night.
In the past there were some trains that completed their entire journey in a single night. One of the most famous was Southern Pacific's Lark, which ran overnight between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
As for my feelings about them, as well as the feelings of others, they are well documented under the Amtrak forum archives. The fact that I'll be boarding one tonight should tell you something.
I'm curious how this relates to your automotive design studies.
Posts: 2649 | From: California's Monterey Peninsula | Registered: Dec 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
cheers for that information its greatly appreciated!
as for how it relates to automotive design we have been set a group "research" project and must research into "Is it goodnight for the Night Train?." after this research project we will then be using the information gathered to design a method of trasport to replace the night train depending on what we find out.
thanks again for your comments
-------------------- R. Morris Posts: 5 | From: coventry | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Please let us know what you come up with for a replacement. Perhaps we could be your sounding board for ideas to see if they'd be practical in the real world.
Posts: 2649 | From: California's Monterey Peninsula | Registered: Dec 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
In the past in the US there were many night trains that had relatively late evening departures and early morning arrivals at cities between 200 and 400 miles distant. Many of these were very basic "maids of all work", a middle age to old age section sleeper or two or three, a coach or two, quite a few stops for mail, Most of these died in the mid-50's to early 60's killed off by people driving or short flights. By that time the equipment was showing its age and since these were marginal to heavy losers financially, the railroad companies did not do anything to modernize them. The modernization money went to the longer runs, generally the 500 mile plus runs where you had about a supper time departure and early to mid morning arrival. These trains covered distances beyond the 4 to 6 hour drive time that made the half day return drive reasonable. In prop plane days they were less affected by air competition. As the financial squeeze hit harder on the still privately funded and HEAVILY TAXED American railroad system, these trains also began to be neglected and the treated with outright hostility by their operators.
Therefore, we really have no idea what the market is in the US for a properly funded and marketed system of night trains because we have had no such system for over 50 years. Only of a few routes do we have today anything that resembles the very common former businessman’s and travelers' convenient night train. In fact, between Washington and Atlanta is about as near at it gets that I can think of. The night sleeper between Washington and Boston disappeared several years ago.
From an American perspective, the question of, "is it good night for the night train” was answered years ago but it was actually murdered by a combination of government neglect and outright favoritism to its competition and neglect and gradually being bled dry by its operators.
In other parts of the world, night trains are very much alive and well. In fact, just to name one example, the passenger loading is such that there are, if I recall correctly, three between Shanghai and Beijing, running about one hour apart.
George
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged |
This is a copy of a questionaire iv been asked to hand out, id be greatful if anyone could fill it in an send it back to me.
plz copy an paste the questionaire into an email an send it completed to Mrichard778@hotmail.com
thank u very much.
Is it Goodnight for the Night Train?
This is a questionnaire to find out why different modes of transport are used instead of the Night Train and if there is a market for the Night Train.
Please copy an paste into a new e-mail, edit the page so that your left with only the answers u choose and send it back to me at Mrichard778@hotmail.com
1. Do you ever use trains as a method of transport?
Yes No
If not, is there any reason why not?
2. Do you see travelling as a way of getting from point A to point B or as a natural past time?
Point A to B Past time
3. Would you/ do you, ever travel at night?
Yes No
4. What mode of transport do you usually use?
o Car o Bus o Taxi o Train o Airplane Other:
5. If you were going to go travelling e.g. around Europe, what form of transport would you most like to use?
o Train o Car o Buses o Walk/bicycle o Airplane Other
6. When travelling would you consider using your method of transport as accommodation as well?
Yes No
7. What do you think of the idea of travelling at night to your destination?
o Something I do regularly o Something iv done once o Something id like to try o Have never thought about it o Not interested in travelling at night
8. Would u pay a little bit more to travel in luxury?
Yes No
Thank you for filling out this questionnaire
-------------------- R. Morris Posts: 5 | From: coventry | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Before I would even consider sending some answer to this by email, I would question whether this is even real. I would at the least expect a questionnaire relevant to a college credit course to be set up with correct grammar, proper capitalization and spelling. Yet we see her a total lack of that, such as "u" for you, "iv" for "I've", which should be written out as "I have" in a document of this nature. There are several others but these should suffice for examples.
In short, I want proof that you are for real.
George
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks George for asking this. I have been suspicious since I first read the question. I am not an engineer but automotive design and night trains do not seem to be in the same ball park. I thought I would just wait and see what happened.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I am very sorry you have any doughts about me and my questionnaire. In short i am a current student studying at coventry uni and i am studying automotive design. as part of the course we are tought about how to carry out research for potential design projects, there for we have been given a "research" project titled "is it goodnight for the night train?" we must in groups create a report on our research into night trains. As for the questionnaire i do appologise for the incorrect spelling an grammer, ill admit it was late one night when i typed it up and as u can probaly see i cant spell to save my life. i assure u this is the real deal. as it turns out due to the fact you dont believe i am who i say i am an there for havnt completed the questionnaire there is now no reason to fill it in as time for filling it in has passed and the project is being submitted for marking on friday. i had hoped on some real useful feed back on here and i am sorry i gave u any doughts about my intensions.
-------------------- R. Morris Posts: 5 | From: coventry | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Sorry, but I still do not understand what the possible demise of the night train has to do with automotive design
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by train lady: Sorry, but I still do not understand what the possible demise of the night train has to do with automotive design
Seens to me its about researching how to design something, not about auto design. Basic research skills. Less difficult sometimes if you ask people to research something that they are not so close to. Helps folk think outside the box more.
That's from having done research and helped people plan and implement research.
And trainlady - I am not asking you to excuse the spelling issues, I am just just addressing the questionaire issue.
Ira
Posts: 300 | From: Denver, CO USA | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
This person has also raised this same issues on railfan.net. However, no questionaire has been posted there. He did get some good thoughtful responses so maybe he considered that sufficient. Also, there are moderators there that do have a reasonably good nose for on line skunks.
I still remain skeptical about someone who purports himself to be a student at a British university and does not follow the basic rules of grammar, including in his post that is supposed to assure os of his genuineness. Remember, this is supposed to be for a research project, and unless things have changed drastically, presentation of the data and results is an important part of product. I work with quite a few British engineers and none would let anything leave their desk, even a quick emial, that was anywhere near this bad. Of course the guy I work with are mostly 40 plus, as opposed to the 20+/- age of this person, but I still seriously doubt that any institute of higher learning in the home of the language would tolerate such mangling of written English. It looks like from his last sentence that we have probably heard the last of him, anyway.
George
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hmm, that's the University I went to. Sadly the standards of grammar, spelling, and punctuation are lacking in this country - albeit just as much as others. It was embarrasing to visit the Philippines recently with my fiancee to find that they are real sticklers for correct English and it shows - well... American rather than English! ;-)
I would hazard a guess that this is for real. But it seems more of a college or school level than a uni level. And with just a couple of weeks to do it in seems as if it was left rather late. It is possibly a foundation level course rather than an actual degree. These are pre-degree courses for what are basically the college drop-outs.
Most odd.
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
| IP: Logged |
Point taken. Glitches and typos I can understand. However, his assurance post was no better than anything else and was completely devoid of any of the normal capitalization (whether you spell that with a zed or an s) expected in English writing.
Even though I work with a goodly number of Englishmen, I still do not comperhend your educational system where you talk of "A levels", "O levels", etc. and that everybody seems to want to put the entire alphabet after their name on their business cards. About all I really know for sure is that the UK's BS degree takes 3 years instead of four and that those with a UK degree in engineering find that it does not meet the educational qualifications necessary behind the experience requirements for the Professional Engineers License, so you are never qualified to even take the licensing exam.
What we do have in the US is a series of two year degree programs that give you an AA (Associate of Arts) degree. Generally these programs can lead to verious ceritifications and if you select your courses right these will give you the first two years of course work for a normal four year Batchelor's degree and can also in itself improve your employability even without a certification or going further. Could these be equivalent to the "foundation level courses"?
George
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
'O' levels were phased out about 25 years ago. They were replaced by the GCE and then the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). You take these during the final two years of secondary school (roughly high school), 15-16 years of age.
'A' levels are the next step, again two years long when you're 17-18 years old. The alternative is a BTEC or NVQ which are taken at college - again, two years. These are more practical than theoretical like 'A' levels.
I'm not too sure what you mean by putting letters after their name - generally only doctors and higher level degree graduates do that.
You're not quite correct on the BS degree - yes, the basic course is three years, but the honours version (the more usual version) is four years. I'm not sure which particular PEL you are talking about but there are equally US qualifications which do not meet European standards. Take the Institute of Railway Signal Engineers - this professional membership is required for UK railway engineering and is either required or preferred for many other countries - and yet the US has very few members for a country of its size. The West Coast Main Line project in the UK did originally have an American contractor (US&S I believe) but they had to be removed from the project due to a severe skills shortage - they just did not have the professional experience or qualifications to do a job to UK requirements. Of course, the "official" reason is more delicately put than that, but those "in the know" are aware of the real reasons. They may be good at long and thin railways with passing loops but big stations and four track high speed main lines just weren't within their capabilities.
Membership of the IRSE is achieved from a combination of experience, exams, and any relevant qualifications. Sheffield University, for example, run a specific degree course. Qualifications can involve scheme design, telecomms, equipment design, etc.
I think the closest equivalent to your AA degrees is an HND - this is a two year course but only knocks *one* year off a four year degree subject to certain minimum standards being reached, and only on certain degrees.
One really doesn't want to do a foundation year - it has no employment benefit. It's like saying "I needed extra help before I started my degree".
We don't have a "major/minor" system - you can pick and choose your modules from a set list but generally most people prefer to specialise in their degree subject rather than diluting it with a sideline - though I concede that can be useful, sich as a foreign language.
Hope that explains our education system a little better. I will concede that our English grammar, spelling, and punctuation is, ironically, pathetic - because it's not taught as rigorously as it should be. The Labour government have gone to great lengths to improve on the 3 Rs with a resounding failure (pretty much sums up everything else they've managed since 1997). Though not quite so spectacularly as the Dan Quayle "potatoe"!
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
| IP: Logged |
Since I may have to deal with these people at some time in the future, I will make no comment on US&S work in the UK, except to say sometimes the people in the proposal are not the same ones that show up on the job. It is about the same as as what you get by using that most deadly of specifcation terms, "or equal." In reality it means the cheapest thing the contractor can get away with, and it is almost never "equal" or anywhere close to equal to the quality of the nominated items. I lke to get the spec to either be pure performance and named materials requirements or to a set of nominated alternatives, "no substitutions allowed." Then you usually do get something that works like it ought to.
George
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged |
id jus like to say one last time i am who i say i am, im not intirly sure why anyone would bother coming onto this forum to talk about night trains if they werent really interested in it! an as for my spelling an grammer, well as this is only an internet chat room i dont usually bother writing propperly. this could be seen as making what i tried to find out on here as uninportant or proffesional but i didnt think my grammer would be looked at so seriously! i cant spell to save my life an have a habit of writing in "txt" language, e.g. using "u" insted of "you" etc! as for my course an my intensions on here i am studying automotive design as my spesurlist subject! at the mo its more of a transport an product design course! we are being tought to be "designers" to go out into the world to design anything from cars, to trains, to kettles to shoes! i hope to spesulise in automotive design at the end of my 3 years!
i am leaving this sight now as the project is over and i have had enough of people thinking im anything other than i say i am!
-------------------- R. Morris Posts: 5 | From: coventry | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
This may be an internet chat room, but it is not a bar full of drunks. You came in asking for advice on what was presumably a scholarly undertaking in a way that indicated a lack of any scholarly abilities. And then you are offended because people doubt your veracity? If you were to fill out a resume (CV in Eurospeak) the same way, guess what, you will probably get no response whatsoever. If you want to be taken seriously, you must at least make an attempt to look like an educated professional on paper. You are not in the teenage text message world here, nor will you ever manage to make a decent living if you stay there. Frankly, most adults I know with limited education write better than you do.
Posts: 2810 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
George is right - if you want a sensible answers then you have to ask a sensible question. If you can't be bothered to write using the basic rules of English, then we can't be bothered to reply. Thankfully my niece has a better grasp of English, despite being 8 years old.
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
