Max land speed limit 150MPH?

[mikea]

I just saw a piece of a show on the History Channel on the Amtrak Acela bullet train. The host says that it goes 150 MPH because that is the fastest a land vehicle in North America can go. HUH?

He later talks as if that's the speed limit due the the rails being not dedicated and overhead wires. He says the train engine can do 190 MPH.

I giggled a little since 150MPH is the airspeed of my Cherokee at 75%.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

I just saw a piece of a show on the history channel on the Amtrack Acela bullet train. The host says that it goes 150 MPH because that is fastest a land vehicle in North America can go. HUH?

He later talks as if that's the speed limit due the the rails being not dedicated and overhead wires. He says the train engine can do 190 MPH.

I giggled a little since 150MPH is the airspeed of my Cherokee at 75%.

The little plane in the air still passed him...

 

[shywon]

I think the narrator said that 150 mph was the fastest speed allowed for a land vehicle in North America.

According to unverified sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_the_United_States

California is proposing a high speed rail that will travel at speeds up to 220 mph according to the Wikipedia article.

 

[Ted]

Eek... so I suppose that when I was drag racing that Mustang I was breaking more than just the posted limit...

 

[EdFred]

I've had my CBR up over 155 a couple times.

 

[steingar]

Yah, me too. Then again, if I had been caught I suspect the national 150mph limit would have been the least of my worries. Of course, in those days it would have been a big "if".

 

[Henning]

I just saw a piece of a show on the history channel on the Amtrack Acela bullet train. The host says that it goes 150 MPH because that is fastest a land vehicle in North America can go. HUH?

He later talks as if that's the speed limit due the the rails being not dedicated and overhead wires. He says the train engine can do 190 MPH.

I giggled a little since 150MPH is the airspeed of my Cherokee at 75%.

It is mostly an issue over the non dedicated rail lines for two reasons. One, traffic, two is track geometry. You need nearly perfect track geometry and concrete or steel ties. If you have rail dedicated to light high speed trains, this is easy enough to maintain. When you have to run heavy trains on it as well though, you run into problems not only maintaining roadbed level and track geometry, but the use of concrete or steel ties also becomes an issue because with heavy trains, the wood and gravel absorb a lot of shock and impact, where with steel and concrete, the weak point is the railhead to web area and you see a much higher occurance of Vertical Split Heads where the inner side of the head fractures away and with continuous welded rail, the VSHs can run several rail lengths. At least that was what I was seeing when I worked for Sperry Rail Service way back when. Another issue is the turns. The bank required for a 200mph passenger train is radically different from that required for a 80mph ore cargo train, and that can cause issues with heavier freight cars such as ore and coal gondolas.

 

[Anthony]

I giggled a little since 150MPH is the airspeed of my Cherokee at full throttle, in a 90 degree dive with a 100 MPH tailwind, burning an excess of 16 GPH.

There, fixed it for ya.

 

[mikea]

There, fixed it for ya.

So when I get 145 MPH indicated?????

Like when Meigs tower said, "You're overtaking that Grumman below you..." and so I was.

 

[Geico266]

There, fixed it for ya.

Can you fix the part where he says he giggled?

 

[mikea]

I just saw a piece of a show on the History Channel on the Amtrak Acela bullet train. The host says that it goes 150 MPH because that is the fastest a land vehicle in North America can go. HUH?
....

I think the narrator said that 150 mph was the fastest speed allowed for a land vehicle in North America.
...

Thanks for clarifying that.