<![CDATA[It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport.]]>It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. But they require heavy batteries, so rather than putting them on the road (where they'll damage the road surface), why don't we build special metal tracks for them to go on? And, on long trips, join a bunch of them together so that you only need one motor and driver for a load of them travelling in a convoy? I bet you could make freight transport a lot more efficient if you did that.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/7cd88c27-7020-472a-a101-51dfdf0e6ed6/it-sounds-as-if-electric-trucks-are-great-for-long-range-land-transport.RSS for NodeFri, 17 Apr 2026 13:39:48 GMTSat, 11 Apr 2026 11:42:34 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:34:34 GMT]]>@8r3n7 This is so very well stated! Sounds like this might be a special interest of yours?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://lgbtqia.space/ap/users/116323610496872235/statuses/116394352634710194https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://lgbtqia.space/ap/users/116323610496872235/statuses/116394352634710194Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:34:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 22:47:01 GMT]]>@kkarhan @david_chisnall literally the only person who could through speech checks alone trick america into rail again 😂😂]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://comp.lain.la/objects/5f91d005-85e7-4c95-8993-2eeeced5c394https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://comp.lain.la/objects/5f91d005-85e7-4c95-8993-2eeeced5c394Sun, 12 Apr 2026 22:47:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 22:32:42 GMT]]>@david_chisnall

Link Preview Image
]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://masto.ai/users/rozeboosje/statuses/116394109358275470https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://masto.ai/users/rozeboosje/statuses/116394109358275470Sun, 12 Apr 2026 22:32:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 18:52:19 GMT]]>@unattributed @david_chisnall Nice picture, but all it shows is that the U.S. is rather backwards in this regard. Electric trains are used to haul freight in Europe,
and trains running on electricity are not just "short distance commuter trains".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Europe

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bzdev/statuses/116393242783076687https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bzdev/statuses/116393242783076687Sun, 12 Apr 2026 18:52:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 16:33:04 GMT]]>@unattributed @david_chisnall tram in a UK sense is any railway operating in a situation where it is not fenced off from other users. We had some quite long tramways, and we are building a lot more in light rail form. I don't think they solve most cases though.
High speed freight is old here - even before WW2 the LNER ran some very fast freight, and it seems in places even the US is now doing 75mph Intermodal.

Autonomous delivery bots are probably needed to keep the handling costs low

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/etchedpixels/statuses/116392695170438110https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/etchedpixels/statuses/116392695170438110Sun, 12 Apr 2026 16:33:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:34:45 GMT]]>@etchedpixels @david_chisnall Trains are more efficient because the steel on steel design has a lower contact surface between the rail and the wheel. I was wrong in stating that there is more friction, especially when compared to rubber against concrete, which has a much larger contact surface, and the softer rubber material is more prone to heating from friction.

But, friction is still an issue for long haul freight trains. I can clearly state this from first-hand knowledge that the company I worked for did experiments with lowering the temperature and friction of the wheels / rails. Unfortunately, the experiment they did while I was with the company did not achieve the desired results. I don't know if they were going to work any more on it.

Intermodal does address quite a few issues.  Now, if an intermodal tram system could be developed, that might go some distance in addressing the last mile//kilometer problem. (See what I did there? )

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://gotosocial.social/users/unattributed/statuses/01KP159FTM5CRHX1T0WPRWJ89Ehttps://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://gotosocial.social/users/unattributed/statuses/01KP159FTM5CRHX1T0WPRWJ89ESun, 12 Apr 2026 15:34:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:21:40 GMT]]>@etchedpixels  Okay - so I likely mistook @david_chisnall to be posting from an American perspective.

Trams are a local, short distance solution. That won't scale well to long distance freight hauling, especially not for a country the size of America. Japan's cargo shinkansen is very new: it's only been in operation for about the last 3 weeks, and is currently a single train running once a day, over a limited route... Basically it's a test case being done in response to a shortage in trucks.

Now, if we wanted to look at the idea of using trams as a solution to the last mile problem, that would be interesting... But given the politics of this country it would likely not happen. (sigh)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://gotosocial.social/users/unattributed/statuses/01KP14HHC76HVSEWFEQJT4VSM6https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://gotosocial.social/users/unattributed/statuses/01KP14HHC76HVSEWFEQJT4VSM6Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:21:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:07:12 GMT]]>@bzdev @david_chisnall There is a huge difference between short distance commuter trains and long haul freight trains. Here's a History of Diesel Engines from Union Pacific.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://gotosocial.social/users/unattributed/statuses/01KP13PZ4C6P6CBGHZZFYJSXHHhttps://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://gotosocial.social/users/unattributed/statuses/01KP13PZ4C6P6CBGHZZFYJSXHHSun, 12 Apr 2026 15:07:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 10:55:59 GMT]]>@david_chisnall Infrastructure never gets enough love. It's not sexy. But it is critical to our civilization's continued survival.

Like most important but overlooked parts of our manufactured world, it has a public image problem. Like government, waste management, libraries, and social services. So most people don't want to invest in these things. And they are a prime target for corruption.

A healthy society would celebrate these things, and the people and organizations who make them possible. We should be invested in making them work efficiently and effectively. We should understand them. But they are banal and complicated. While our attention is drawn to what is novel and exciting (regardless of how trivial or silly or wasteful).

At least, we should be reminding ourselves of all the important things we rely on, and why they need to be cared for, and what bad things will happen if we don't.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/8r3n7/statuses/116391369709876931https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/8r3n7/statuses/116391369709876931Sun, 12 Apr 2026 10:55:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 10:32:17 GMT]]>@david_chisnall Oh! Like a road train... on rails? A rail train. Intriguing idea.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://piaille.fr/users/shtrom/statuses/116391276558546863https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://piaille.fr/users/shtrom/statuses/116391276558546863Sun, 12 Apr 2026 10:32:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 10:32:03 GMT]]>@cm @jpetazzo @david_chisnall

Building roads is a lot cheaper than building railroad tracks.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fediscience.org/users/hweimer/statuses/116391275625894918https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fediscience.org/users/hweimer/statuses/116391275625894918Sun, 12 Apr 2026 10:32:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 02:08:13 GMT]]>@david_chisnall Monocab is an attempt to disrupt transportation with this idea. Anything to get some VC money. Also, we could hydrate people if we burned hydrogen and oxygen in a specially lined vessel and collected the condensate. I call it Hydr@to. Please invest in my disruption of the beverage market.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/brinnBelyea/statuses/116389294440516927https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/brinnBelyea/statuses/116389294440516927Sun, 12 Apr 2026 02:08:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sun, 12 Apr 2026 01:25:08 GMT]]>@unattributed @david_chisnall It was rather odd to read that "Trains actually use diesel fuel" when our local commuter railroad just switched to electric trains with overhead wires, reducing trip time noticeably due to better acceleration after each stop.

Of course, they should have done this decades ago.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bzdev/statuses/116389125043720654https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bzdev/statuses/116389125043720654Sun, 12 Apr 2026 01:25:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:43:54 GMT]]>Think about that. No more expensive batteries that regularly need to be replaced. No more time wasted recharging these things. In fact, because they have a fixed track and route and don't need to stop for recharging, they can run day and night, you can make a roster and have drivers hop on and off along the route, which would make the whole thing even more economical.

It is a really great idea! Why did nobody think of it before?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fediverse.thefloatinglab.world/objects/2e395e1a-f070-4377-a003-9a29078e95e8https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fediverse.thefloatinglab.world/objects/2e395e1a-f070-4377-a003-9a29078e95e8Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:43:54 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:41:15 GMT]]>@david_chisnall uh your fatal mistake with that ides is not coming up with a s3xy name like Trillionaire Lead Man transforming transportation.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/htpcnz/statuses/116388716578398914https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/htpcnz/statuses/116388716578398914Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:41:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:00:06 GMT]]>@david_chisnall Uday Schultz has written extensively and persuasively about this, and why the perverse financial incentives of the operators ensure that we have worse intermodal freight service now than we did forty years ago.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/wollman/statuses/116388554759980779https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/wollman/statuses/116388554759980779Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:00:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:53:58 GMT]]>@david_chisnall a remarkable evolution of the thinking may be had by the following insight: you can save on battery mass by delivering electricity along the predictable paths the vehicles take, thus even further lowering running costs, and even increasing the power available! in this essay i will

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/estelle/statuses/116388530632134981https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/estelle/statuses/116388530632134981Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:53:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:32:58 GMT]]>@david_chisnall

What a concept! /s

They usually require multiple motors, depending upon load, however.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/SpaceLifeForm/statuses/116388448080969804https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/SpaceLifeForm/statuses/116388448080969804Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:32:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 21:32:11 GMT]]>@david_chisnall Very Disruption! Much Innovate! wow

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://col.social/users/jerojasro/statuses/116388209072534449https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://col.social/users/jerojasro/statuses/116388209072534449Sat, 11 Apr 2026 21:32:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:50:33 GMT]]>@ryanjyoder @david_chisnall
Southern California had something similar until cars became more popular.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/Dougfir/statuses/116388045381029203https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/Dougfir/statuses/116388045381029203Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:50:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:40:21 GMT]]>@ryanjyoder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Electric_Railway_Passenger_Station

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/saja0486/statuses/116388005242730229https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/saja0486/statuses/116388005242730229Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:40:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:37:30 GMT]]>@saja0486
Oh that'd be really interesting to know. Do you have a link? I'd be curious which line the cars were from.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://techhub.social/users/ryanjyoder/statuses/116387994071341673https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://techhub.social/users/ryanjyoder/statuses/116387994071341673Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:37:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:35:30 GMT]]>@ryanjyoder looks a lot like the train cars in the former Eugene electric station restaurant. I believe the restaurant used to be the Eugene train station back in the day.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/saja0486/statuses/116387986168059631https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/saja0486/statuses/116387986168059631Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:35:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to It sounds as if electric trucks are great for long-range land transport. on Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:33:23 GMT]]>@ryanjyoder thanks for the link.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/saja0486/statuses/116387977869435199https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/saja0486/statuses/116387977869435199Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:33:23 GMT