Off-Topic Discussions

What is it with California and trail derailments?

No idea.

But the photograph in this Link... I've stood right next to that entrance of that very tunnel before. In fact, I know the loop so well, I pinpointed where the photographer was standing: Link

It seems like there are more in California than anywhere else.

It makes me wonder if A. California simply has more rail traffic--which makes sense given the busy ports on the Pacific; And/Or B. The rail companies which operate the lines don't maintain their infrastructure.

I think it's the first. Cali is service by Union Pacific and Burlington Northern, the two largest railroad companies on the planet. Couple that to the fact that railroads have been booming in the past four or five years and factor in the fact that Cali has the 11th largest economy in the world, and more traffic seems to be the reason. An indicator of this would be the construction of a fourth line through the Cajon pass in 2009, the first additional line since 1913.

Both UP and BNSF are pretty admirable companies, save for UP's rabid contempt for railfans.

I'm not a fan of Union Pacific. After they bought Chicago and Northwestern, the hassle dealing with the tracks has been ridiculous. They replaced the surface crossing near by house with a underpass--or whatever they call it when they lower the road to go under the tracks (which remained at the same height)--and they took far longer than they said. They also seem to be constantly messing with crossings in the city so you have to go halfway around town just to get across the tracks.

That's one of UP's failings: the belief that anyone who can breathe is a braindead twerp whose only joy in life is wandering mindlessly down active tracks or actively attempting to disrupt rail traffic.

As a result, they don't hold back in any attempt to keep the public away from their property.

I recall I once asked both UP and BN for access to a railyard for a photo assignment in high school. The BN rep politely turned me down. The UP rep never responded.

I don't know what to say about derailment.

But the fact is that rail transportation is a lot less safer than air transportation. Even in here Australia, we can see derailment or tech failure with railway or trains every 2 months (Which I guess by using fingers...)

Debatable, of course.

The point is, for transporting absolute sh*tloads of anything on land, railroads will always be the best choice.