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Gunn to be fired?
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by zephyr: [QB] [QUOTE]Originally posted by George Harris: [qb]These places are not running 1940's technology, and we are not doing so in the US either. If you think so, better read up on the 1940's.[/qb][/QUOTE]George, let's stipulate the obvious. There have been a tremendous amount of rail technological advances since the 1940's (as well as just about anything else I can think of). But I had in mind the utility of various means of travel as seen from the eyes of the user (the passenger). Let's say you and I fire up our time machine and transport a passenger on a 1949 California Zephyr to today's Amtrak version. Our time traveling friend will certainly see some differences (What do you mean I can't light up a Lucky Strike?). He can now flush at stations; he'll wonder why no other passengers are wearing coats and ties; and may note the absence of that clickity-clack sound of the rails. And so forth. Despite the changes, I think our time traveler will adapt very quickly to his train of today. It's really not that much different from that 1949 train we yanked him out of. At the end of his trip, I suspect he might rate the 1949 Zephyr higher than today's. Today's train is actually a bit slower than the original CZ; there's less amenities; and it's not as punctual (and, oh, did I mention that issue with the Lucky Strikes?). But now let's fly our time traveler from Oakland to Chicago. Or drive him there. The changes our buddy will notice in these modes of transportation will probably leave his mouth in a perpetual state of agape. The improvements since the 1940's in the utility of using other major modes of LD transportation have been much greater than those made in rail. Sure, the U.S. took it's unique fork in the road in developing ways of "getting there." But the past is past. Today, long distance rail travel (what's left of it) is not really much different from what we had a half century ago. So the question is simply where do we go from here? With the cards as dealt. And the real big problem is: I can't get our time machine to work. I've been desperately trying to return our time traveling buddy back to where we found him. I need some technical support here, George. He's getting on my nerves. His incessant smoking, constant complaining about "that complete stranger (a lady, no less) insisting on rummaging through his luggage" at the airport, and whining about the lack of a "real" [i]Life[/i] magazine is driving me crazy. Got an extra room over there in Taiwan, George? Anyone? Help. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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