Harland & Wolff is bankrupt

RMS Adriatic of 1907

The company that revolutionized the design of passenger ships in the 1870s and would go on to build some of the most famous vessels in history, including one that was in her time, the largest and most luxurious ocean liner ever seen, is reportedly now insolvent.

San Francisco to New York in 1852

For those with an interest in life in the land of long ago; there is a remarkable journal of a trip from the city of San Francisco to New York fully twenty years before the completion of the trans-continental railroad. The voyage takes the gentleman on a primitive steamship down the coast of California to the Isthmus of Panama, thence overland to the Caribbean side and then up to New York with various stops and adventures along the way. The story begins about halfway down column four on page six of the New York Tribune here. To be honest, I found the entire paper to be a fascinating glimpse into a world now long gone, right down to the advertisements and the pouting about the results of the recent election. 

WSJ: The Achilles Heel of the Electric Car Revolution- Poor Charging Infrastructure

Bradley Wilkinson is the owner of a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt, and the kind of electric-vehicle diehard who knows how to squeeze every last mile of range out of his vehicle.

Even so, during his most recent road trip, from Tampa, Fla., back home to Fort Carson, Colo., he spent about 58 hours on the road. In a gasoline-powered vehicle, on average, the 1,900-mile journey would take about 30. His relatively sluggish pace was due to his need to regularly power up the Bolt’s battery at a “fast” charger—so called because they’re many times faster than typical home chargers.

Less experienced EV owners report far bigger inconveniences than Mr. Wilkinson’s. Those include: too few charging stations, too much demand at the stations that are available, broken chargers, confusing payment systems, exorbitant electricity rates, and uncertainty over how long their cars need to charge.

While EVs can be powered up at home, industry analysts and academics believe that a fast-charging infrastructure is essential to getting beyond their current limited adoption. This next wave of slightly-less-early adopters is critical to a global automotive industry betting heavily on battery power.

Yet so far, only one carmaker has offered a reassuring pitch about conveniently and reliably recharging on the go: Tesla. And Tesla’s fast-charging technology doesn’t work on non-Tesla cars.

Building the requisite charging infrastructure for the rest of the EV universe will be expensive. The Biden administration has proposed building a network of 500,000 chargers in the next five years, which would cost billions. The fact that many believe such a government investment is required shows just how little faith many industry insiders have in the ability of private enterprise to solve this problem. One issue: Building out the nation’s charging infrastructure might not be profitable.

Read the rest here.

The Boulevard on a Rainy Day

Upper Broadway 1899. Click here for full size.

From Beyond the Gilded Age

California abandons $77 billion high-speed rail plan

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday he’s abandoning a plan to build a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, a project with an estimated cost that has ballooned to $77 billion.

“Let’s be real,” Newsom said in his first State of the State address. “The current project, as planned, would cost too much and respectfully take too long. There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency.”

The idea championed by Newsom’s predecessor, Jerry Brown, is years behind schedule. The latest estimate for completion is 2033.

Newsom, though, said he wants to finish construction that’s already under way on a segment of the high-speed train from Bakersfield to Merced, through California’s Central Valley, arguing it will revitalize the economically depressed region.

He’s also replacing Brown’s head of the state board that oversees the project and pledged more accountability for contractors that run over on costs.

Read the rest here.

In case anyone has an extra half million or so lying around...

Henry Flagler's private rail car is for sale.

Ocean Liners

For those who share my interest in archaic forms of transportation you may wish to check out Georg Link's YouTube channel. He has uploaded scores of short videos dedicated to passenger ships, both old and new, that are filled with photographs presumably from his private collection.

A Golden State train wreck

State Sen. Joe Simitian’s district office near Stanford’s campus is nestled among shops sporting excruciatingly cute names (A Street Bike Named Desire,Mom’s the Word maternity wear) intended to make the progressive gentry comfortable with upscale consumption by presenting it as whimsical. This community surely has its share of advanced thinkers who think trains are wonderful because they are not cars (rampant individualism; people going wherever and whenever they want, unsupervised).

Nevertheless, Simitian was one of just four Democratic state senators who recently voted — in vain — to derail plans that eventually may involve spending more than $100 billion on a 500-mile bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Simitian makes the obligatory genuflection: He favors high-speed rail “done right.” But having passed sixth-grade arithmetic, he has doubts. At one point, an estimate of 44 million riders a year — subsequently revised downward, substantially — assumed gasoline costing $40 a gallon.

Read the rest here.

California Approves $8 Billion Boondoggle

The $8-billion legislation will fund the project's first stretch, covering 130 miles from Madera to Bakersfield.

The project had become increasingly controversial as Democratic senators from around San Francisco and Los Angeles asked why construction was was set to start with a 130-mile stretch in the Central Valley.

"The ridership is not in the Central Valley," said Sen. Leland Yee (D- San Francisco), speaking Thursday night. "The ridership is along the 101 corridor," referring to the U.S. highway stretching from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.

Read the rest here.

There are places where high speed trains make sense and would be a good investment. This isn't one of them.

Senator Rand Paul detained by TSA

Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., has reportedly clashed with the Transportation Security Administration at a Nashville airport, according to tweets from his press aide and father, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.

At about 10 a.m. ET, Paul's press aide, Moira Bagley wrote: Just got a call from @senrandpaul. He's currently being detained by TSA in Nashville.

Soon after, Ron Paul wrote: My son @SenRandPaul being detained by TSA for refusing full body pat-down after anomaly in body scanner in Nashville. More details coming.

NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell reports that aides to Sen. Paul say he set off a full-body scanning machine while going through airport security Monday morning.

Read the rest here.

Major Air Crash At Reno Nevada

RENO, Nev. — A plane crashed into a seating area Friday at the annual Reno air races on Friday, injuring more than 75 people, 25 critically, officials said. There was no immediate word on deaths.

The accident happened just before 4:30 p.m. during the National Championship Air Races at the Reno-Stead Airport, KTVN-TV reported.

Witnesses told KTVN that planes in the Unlimited race were ascending when one aircraft started to nose-dive and then crashed near a spectator stand in the southeast corner. KTVN said the aircraft was a World War II-era P-51.

An official described the scene to KRNV-TV as "a mass-casualty situation."

A medical official said more than 75 people were injured, 25 critically, The Associated Press reported.

Read the rest here.

Europe sees return of horse drawn trash wagons

Horse-drawn rubbish carts are making a comeback decades after the demise of the rag-and-bone man in new trials by Suez Environnement, the European waste and recyling company.

Suez Environnement, the owner of Sita UK, is trying out the new horse-drawn bin lorries in cities across France - saving petrol money and therefore carbon dioxide emissions.

The company, which collects the bins for 62 UK councils, said initial data from the regions shows that people are recycling 15pc to 17pc more waste than before, as they are reminded of the need to be eco-friendly.

"It seems as though the mere presence of horses makes households think and act with more of an environmental conscience," a spokesman said.

The first areas in France to see horses trotting the streets to collect waste are Beauvais three parishes near Troyes, Verdun, Vendargue and Sezanne, where collections started in April and May this year.

If the trials are successful, the use of horses could be expanded further across Suez's operations in suitable locations.

Read the rest here.