h a l f b a k e r yA riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a rich, flaky crust
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Lots of people like trains, and little trains are very cute. So, give people what they want ......
The idea is to build a small town, big enough to accomodate 20,000 inhabitants, on a "totally train" theme. There are footpaths, and cycleways, but - the big difference - no roads.
Instead, all parts
of the town are linked by loops of railway track. In the residential areas, down the centre of the "street", runs a 100mm or 150mm wide train track, complete with tiny sleepers, signals, points, passing loops, and level crossings. Seen from above, the town might take the form of the petals of a flower, loops of track radaiting out from a central ring. The bigger and busier the "streets", the wider the tracks (up to 500mm)and the bigger the locos and carriages.
Larger buildings may have "tunnels" running through them, and indoor stations, as may supermarkets.
The town is built on flat land adjacent to a main full-guage rail line with which its services connect.
Some of the locos will be steam - coal or wood burning - while others will be diesels. At night, electric traina will whirr and purr silently along the tracks, delivering milk and groceries to the "siding" that takes the place of a garage by each house.
At the heart of the community is the town hall/loco shed and the town square has a fiddle yard alongside.
Train travel is free to all residents; the costs of running the railways are financed partly from property taxes, and partly from the fees charged for tourists to ride the rails. Residents also get the chance to work as engine drivers, guards, conductors, and firemen, complete with uniforms.
Post is collected from gantries by the trackside into catching nets on the sides of the trains.
There are lots of little bits of woodland, parkland, tiny bridges over streams, and other features through which the trains run. Supermarkets will have tiny trains instead of trolleys.
For the emergency services, there would have to be a mix of special trains and "road" vehicles authorised to use the cycleways; but only for emergencies.
<later>
The "streets" consist of shallow concrete channels which carry all the services, overlaid with concrete slabs supporting the tracks. This makes maintainance of underground services very simple.
[Alternative category: Vehicle:Mass Transit:Fun]
Did you mean altitude?
http://www.google.c...as_nhi=&safe=images
[normzone, Sep 17 2008]
[link]
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I haven't read the whold idea yet, but I've said this before and I'll say it again: Essential. + |
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I read somewhere recently that a car running on rails will get 5x the fuel-economy, but this has nothing to do with that. Dunno whether to + or - it because of inherent creepiness. I keep wanting to drop Stephen King in there (and after "The Gunslinger" series I'd like to append "from altitude" to that). |
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Are there separate tracks for
emergency vehicles for when a
fire happens? Or do they have
to ride the trains with
buckets of water? :) |
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Not going to work. Imagine that everyone gets in their personal train and goes to work. You'll have today's traffic jams, only you won't be able to pass the car in front. Even worse if you're stuck behind a freight train. |
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On the other hand, if this is a town where there is no individual transport, only rail-based mass transport, then that's a different story. Still, the track layout would have to be very complicated to allow passing of a dead train. |
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If everybody had their own personal train, you'd want tracks that ran behind houses (for parking) as well as in front (thru traffic) or else there'd be too much clatter clatter clatter. |
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I can't work out what the
target of this satire is[-
]...but I like the visual
image of the little trains.[+] |
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So I have to [=] at the
moment.... |
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For once, it's not satire. The idea is perfectly serious. A whole commmunity that does away with cars and has cute little trains instead. There are no "personal" trains; just very frequent schedules. Yes, the track layout would be complicated, possibly with overpasses and underpasses, but that would be part of the charm. |
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Ah..so not satire then - just
merely insane. |
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That's tipped the scales...
[+]. |
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So if something catches fire,
or someone needs police, or
someone needs an ambulance,
how do emergency vehicles
circumvent the 'traffic'? |
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Whimsical and altogether silly
idea. |
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//how do emergency vehicles circumvent the 'traffic//
Dedicated tracks.
Whimsical and altogether silly idea. [+] |
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works for me [+], "hardwire" oft-used functions... not really on-board with the "theme park" stuff: in-store trains, silly uniforms, various motive powers, taking turns driving(hmm...well, maybe), etc. |
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Are the people allowed to go out of the
town? How? |
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They get on the "big" train at the station ..... durrrrr.... |
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"The town is ...... adjacent to a main full-guage rail line"... |
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//how do emergency vehicles circumvent the 'traffic// |
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Each individual vehicle would have a segment of track mounted on top of it. In gridlock, multi-story configurations could be developed. |
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It might be an idea to sink the railway lines into roads, so they can be driven over. That way emergency services can get in and people can drive out of town if they want. |
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If the trains run frequently enough and cover enough destinations, the cost of gasoline will stop people using cars all the time. |
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Whimsical and altogether silly idea. [+] |
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