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Richard Haut
millennium club
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 1200
Location: Nice, France
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 Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 12:07 am Post subject: new blog |
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http://archiblog.over-blog.com/
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Richard Haut has worked with the architectural profession for over 25 years and produces the weekly Richard Haut's Competitions, which has given architects details of many thousands of projects for which they can apply across Britain and Europe. |
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Kevin
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 1407
Location: Eugene, Oregon
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| Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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I'm especially intrigued by the piece on the new French tram systems, probably corresponding to what we'd call streetcars, stateside.
Congratulations, and looking forward to your ongoing postings! |
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Richard Haut
millennium club
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 1200
Location: Nice, France
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| Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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thanks, Kevin
the tram system is up and running and I will be doing a piece about it shortly.
Nice has been very good about reducing oil fuelled transport so aside of gas-only buses, there are trams and even a town bicycle system with blue bikes that one can rent and take anywhere.
also the transport system has a single price of one euro - whether it is for one stop, or a two hour journey into the mountains. It works very well.
some of the urban design work (largely by Bruno Fortier's team) integrating modern trams into 18th. Century squares has been impressive.
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Richard Haut has worked with the architectural profession for over 25 years and produces the weekly Richard Haut's Competitions, which has given architects details of many thousands of projects for which they can apply across Britain and Europe. |
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JWmHarmon
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 134
Location: Ohio
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 5:17 pm Post subject: Why not cars with tram or train wheels? |
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One of the reasons trains tend to be more efficient than automobiles and trucks is the lower friction and lower rolling resistance of metal train wheels on metal rails.
I used to watch the train track maintenance and inspection crews drive their trucks on the tracks. The trucks were equipped with small steel train wheels that kept the truck tires position in place on the tracks.
Maybe it is time to update and adapt that technology to automobiles incorporating it into the design of the wheels.
Cars could travel on rails at a specified spacing, all travelling at the same speed without driver intervention.
Every interstate highway in the United States could have a parallel track in each direction with provisions for getting off the track at specified locations and intersections.
Cars could have sensors to keep them a uniform distance apart while actually tail-gating.
They could alternately be attached to steel bars much like current train cars and be pulled by an engine that was operating at maximum efficiency.
Architecturally, we could build switching stations and access points for long distance driving.
One of the objections to rail travel is the need to leave one's car behind and then rent a car near your destination.
This would allow one to take his/her own automobile while giving the driver time for other activities or interests during the trip.
The basic idea is similar to the auto-train that used to transport cars on train car carriers while the passengers rode in passenger train cars.
I once took the auto-train from Florida to near the Washington, D.C. area.
Maybe it is time to update and expand on the idea.
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When building or manufacturing always ask, "How will we recycle that?" - JWmHarmon |
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SDR
millennium club
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 1884
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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Nice idea -- and not only for Nice !
In all the decades I've lived the thought of car-pulls never occurred to me. Let's see more -- has anyone beyond yourself pictured such a system ?
SDR |
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Richard Haut
millennium club
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 1200
Location: Nice, France
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 12:36 pm Post subject: |
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taking cars on trains is a good use of existing transport infrastructure; it saves massively on fuel; tiredness of drivers, etc. when it is for inter-urban travel.
cars-on-tracks would not be needed for that, but within an urban setting, the complexity would be immense.
however if cars are used increasingly as urban transport (short distances) or carried on a train to go from one city to another - then the practicality of electric or other alternative energy power increases.
one thing that I have noticed within Nice is that the cheapness and simplicity of use of the tram means that I tend to use it for journeys which before would have involved a fairly lengthy walk or for which I would have gone by car. The more practical new systems are to use, the more people will want to use them rather than feeling that they ought to.
my favourite example was using the Eurostar between London and Paris. Get on a train in central London, do nothing at all and then arrive in central Paris. Compared to air travel it was a real luxury. And the time it took ? If one includes the journeys to and from airports, plus the often lengthy wait at airports, I doubt that any time was lost at all. No luggage to continually drag about - no lengthy taxi rides or queues or awkward local train rides - the whole thing was simple and efficient.
make it cheap and easy to use and people will try it.
http://archiblog.over-blog.com/
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Richard Haut has worked with the architectural profession for over 25 years and produces the weekly Richard Haut's Competitions, which has given architects details of many thousands of projects for which they can apply across Britain and Europe. |
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