March of 1973- The American LMTV train

[Ichingcarpenter]

The LIMTV (linear induction motor test vehicle) is tested at the Department of Transportation's high speed ground test center near Pueblo, Colorado, in March of 1973. The experimental vehicle is designed to operate at speeds up to 250 miles per hour, using electro-magnetic forces for noiseless propulsion. (Bruce McAllister/NARA)


BTW.... its almost 2012 now.

[Confusious]

1. And we don't have them today, either

The power usage would have been enormous without a room temperature super conductor.

it's called a "test vehicle" for a reason. The ideas don't always work right away, or even 30 years down the road.

example, fusion. Been working on that since the 1950's.

Bullet trains in the rest of the world lay straighter tracks and have tilting cars so they can get up to 250 miles and hour.

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. BTW its 40 years ago not 30 years

The US was at least trying 40 years ago......
But I guess you are right that its better that they stopped trying.

[Confusious]

4. Sometimes some things are insurmountable

at the time, and only a fool continues to try.

It's not like someone else had a better idea on how to make it work. You drop it, and come back to it when the next big idea comes along.

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. My point is that train looks almost modern today

We didn't do the next big idea, no matter if it was a mag train or not.

[Confusious]

8. The reason is because the problems were pretty big at the time

They still are.

[WildNovember]

3. Looks like there are plenty in operation & have been for some time, though....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_motor

[Confusious]

5. Try maglev on Wikipedia

lowest price these days:

18 million a kilometer

high price

100 million a kilometer

around 4000 kilometers to NY from LA. 72 billion dollars to 7.2 trillion. give or take.

most run from parking lots to airports, or at special events. None are longer then a couple hundred kilometers.

[WildNovember]

6. Just saying, they exist, and have for some time. Cost is a different argument than the one

you originally made. Besides, cost doesn't seem to stop us from building esoteric weapons. $328 billion request JUST for the F-35 Fighter program, for example.

http://armscontrolcenter.org/policy/securityspending/articles/fy_2012_detailed_numbers/


Countries much smaller and poorer than we are are building them, but it's too difficult a/o expensive for us? Doubtful.

[Confusious]

9. Yes, they exist, but not on any scale

One at the world expo, one at Disney, a few going between airports.

I never said they didn't exist today, the reason they didn't back then and haven't taken hold now is because of the problems. The big one is cost. the others are power requirements. Take a lot of power to make those magnets push.

[WildNovember]

11. I guess you didn't read the link. Quite a few more than disneyland trains.

Linear motors:

Because of these properties, linear motors are often used in maglev propulsion, as in the Japanese Linimo magnetic levitation train line near Nagoya. However, linear motors have been used independently of magnetic levitation, as in Bombardier's Advanced Rapid Transit systems worldwide and a number of modern Japanese subways, including Tokyo's Toei Oedo Line.


* Bombardier ART:
o Airport Express in Beijing (opened 2008)
o AirTrain JFK in New York (opened 2003)
o Detroit People Mover in Detroit (opened 1987)
o EverLine Rapid Transit System in Yongin (under construction)
o Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur (opened 1998)
o Scarborough RT in Toronto (using UTDC's (predecessor) ICTS technology - opened 1985)
o SkyTrain in Vancouver (Expo Line (using ITCS) opened 1985 and Millennium Line opened in 2002)
o Beijing Subway Capital Airport Track (opened 2008)

* Several subways in Japan and China, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries:
o Limtrain in Saitama (short-lived demonstration track, 1988)
o Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line in Osaka (opened 1990)
o Toei Ōedo Line in Tokyo (opened 2000)
o Kaigan Line in Kobe (opened 2001)
o Nanakuma Line in Fukuoka (opened 2005)
o Imazatosuji Line in Osaka (opened 2006)
o Green Line in Yokohama (opened 2008)
o Tōzai Line in Sendai (under construction)
o Line 4 of Guangzhou Metro in Guangzhou, China (opened 2005).<5>
o Line 5 of Guangzhou Metro in Guangzhou, China (open in December 2009).
o Line 6 of Guangzhou Metro in Guangzhou, China (under construction).

Monorail:

There is at least one known monorail system which is not magnetically levitated, but nonetheless uses linear motors. This is the Moscow Monorail.

Magnetic levitation

* High-speed trains:
o Transrapid: first commercial use in Shanghai (opened in 2004)
o JR-Maglev
* Rapid transit:
o Birmingham Airport, UK (opened 1984, closed 1995)
o M-Bahn in Berlin, Germany (opened in 1989, closed in 1991)
o Daejeon EXPO, Korea (ran only 1993) <9>
o HSST: Linimo line in Aichi, Japan (opened 2005)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_motor

[Confusious]

12. No I read about maglev

How many trains are there on this planet?

how many are maglev? Is that a complete or mostly complete list?

There are a 'few'

you didn't read my post.

There are more Farraris on this planet then maglev trains, and I've never seen a farrari, in traffic or up close.

A number you can count on your hands and toes doesn't make a whole lot.

The reason is the technical hurdles, and that translates to cost. 40 years and they cost 18 to 100 million dollars a KILOMETER. on good terrain.

A conventional bullet train would cost less then a tenth of that a kilometer.

[xchrom]

10. Or battle boats where the toilets don't work. Nt