Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with rail

What are these plastic rails on my hard drive called?

billybunny — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:43:26 -0800

What are these rails which snap into the side of a hard drive and allow it to slide into a bay called? And also, where can I get some more? My computer's case has absolutely no identifying information, and hell if I can remember who the manufacturer was 5 years after I bought the thing. I tried going into a computer store to get some more, but I couldn't even figure out what I was trying to buy, let alone if they'd have any of them!

Travel/Proposal trifecta in play

2legit2quit — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:22:13 -0800

Triple whammy travel/proposal question. For those of you following my previous questions, I am almost home. I now have the diamond and the ring. I also have the flight to Europe. My questions now are: 1) How do I get from Frankfurt to Paris cheaply during the second week of January? 2) Where in Paris should I propose considering the cold January weather? 3) She knows nothing about the trip. How/when do I tell her about it? 1) As to the travel, we are flying into Frankfurt on January 5th and flying out on the 6th. I have a hotel in Frankfurt for the night of the fifth, but don't have to use it. We have a hotel in Paris for the rest of the trip. Searching skyscanner and related sites yields flights of around $350. Using raileurope, train trips are $300. There has to be a cheaper way to get there and back. And, ryanair does not allow me to select Frankfurt and Paris as connectors.

2) Past threads have been very helpful, but I want to ask specifically with a consideration of cold weather. Weather underground says to expect cold in the 40s.

3) I feel that anticipation of a trip is almost as much fun as actually going, so I don't want to just spring it on her last minute. We are not very well off and I have been saving for several months for this trip and it will be a very big deal to her. I am toying with the idea of giving her the tickets to Frankfurt for Christmas and then telling her that we aren't really staying in Frankfurt a little bit later and then nonchalantly mentioning that we are actually ending up in Paris over New Years. I would like to hear your general thoughts on this and how I can romantically play this out for maximum fun for me the information giver, and her the information receiver.

Planes, trains, and lots of bags; Germany, France, and the UK.

Devika — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:35:17 -0800

InsaneLast-MinuteEuropeanTravelFilter: How to get one procrastinator and three bags from Berlin to France and England. Read on, it's probably crazier than you think! I'm coming from Canada to do a semester abroad in Glasgow, and I'd like to do some traveling before the start of term. Currently I'm finishing up a summer program in Berlin. The plan is to meet a family friend in Reims, travel around France with them, visit my aunt in London (with a few days in Hampshire to see the partner), then head up to Glasgow.

A couple of problems with this pretty good plan. The first hurdle is that none of the tickets are booked yet. Strictly speaking I should be out of Berlin by the 17th, but am considering spending a night in a hostel or begging the institution to let me stay another day if the saving is significant enough.

The second complication is the three bags I brought over. I'd started out one hard suitcase and one soft bag, but added another suitcase to keep under the weight limit. The two hard suitcases weigh 30 and 50 pounds (about 14 and 23 kilos) respectively, and the soft bag weighs 50 pounds (23 kilos). Lugging three bags around Europe seems like it would be a nightmare, and very costly if I fly an airline like EasyJet or Ryanair. It seems around 108 GBP to ship two suitcases from Germany to the UK according to this site, assuming the same rate applies backwards. Is shipping one or two heavy bags to London a good idea, or not cost-effective?

If I'm traveling by train, I'd think that the bags would be less of an issue. However, booking by train at the last minute seems rather costly. I've been poking around the Deutsche Bahn website for ages and can't get it to tell me how much money a ticket would be before asking me to put in a credit card number. I remember seeing a fare of around 230 euros (Berlin-Reims) on another rail site, as opposed to 88 euros (Berlin-Paris, assuming Paris-Reims will be a cheap train journey) from EasyJet on the 18th. A random thought also occurred - would it be more cost-effective to fly on a better airline, even perhaps first class, if I can take my bags with me?

My question in all its barely suppressed hysteria basically boils down to this - when making travel plans within Europe at the last minute and with considerable baggage, is it better to take the train or fly, and should I keep my bags with me the entire way or ship two of them up? I'm having trouble conceptualizing all of this, and the partner and I have been at our wits' end trying to figure it all out at the last minute. I hope the all-knowing hive mind can give me some much-needed guidance!

How do I get from Paris to Innsbruck?

iguanapolitico — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:54:58 -0800

How do I get from Paris to Innsbruck? Traveling to France and Austria later this month. We need to get from Paris to Innsbruck on a Thursday. My traveling companion and I are having trouble finding airfare that even approaches "reasonably priced" ($1100 one-way, $450 round-trip). She has made this trip before and didn't pay those kinds of fares, but the dollar *is* in the toilet.

So we're looking at rail. We're kind of having trouble finding a definitive answer on whether we need to book this now or if we can get a ticket on our day of travel. Some MeFites must be familiar with European rail travel, hopefully specifically from Paris to Innsbruck. Any specific advice you can offer? Thanks.

Booking trains through central europe

melissam — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:24:08 -0800

Rail through central europe: should we book in advance and how? Early December some friends and I are going to go through central Europe by rail. We are starting in Krakow, then going to Prague, then Bratislava, Budapest, and finally Vienna. I have looked at the most common rail passes and none seem to cover my journey. I'm also stuck on how to book the sleeper from some of these places, particularly from Krakow to Prague. I can find the train, 200, but no instructions on booking. Should I cave and deal with a travel agent? Is it too risky to wait until we get to Krakow and book a sleeper only 3 days in advance?

Train travel around France and Italy for cosy travellers

vizsla — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:00:52 -0800

Rail trips across France and Italy. Any recommendations, experiences, sights, travel wisdom for an over 30 couple who like to see the world from their window without too much hassle and in as much comfort as possible? (Also kind of keen on seeing Pompeii and the south of France)

Cheap travel from Delaware to NYC?

viewofdelft — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:23:54 -0800

What are the cheapest ways to get from Newark, Delaware, to New York City? I'm a research assistant at the University of Delaware and as part of a long and wonkish I-95 corridor project, we've decided to produce a map or informational pamphlet letting students know the cheapest ways to get from here (Newark, Delaware) to New York City.

A few things to keep in mind:
1. Any mode of transportation is fair game (air, rail, highway, seaports, etc.), as is any type of vehicle (plane, train, automobile, bus, shoes, etc.).
2. Be creative, but within reasonable limits of safety (i.e., no airmailing oneself).
3. It's alright if many of the suggested travel methods begin in Philadelphia (and maybe even Baltimore) if these departure points are more familiar to you.
4. Cost is the most important factor, although I don't want to discourage that outlandish teleportation idea you've been waiting to uncork.

After we've completed the map or pamphlet, I'll contact each of the contributors about mailing them a finished product. Thank you.

What's the best way for a non-driver to get from central/downtown Los Angeles to Ontario Airport on a Tuesday?

mirepoix — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:01:06 -0800

What's the best way for a non-driver to get from central/downtown Los Angeles to Ontario Airport on a Tuesday? That's Ontario, California, in case there's any confusion.

Cost is a factor, time less so, although the Trip Planner at metro.net told me it would take 2 1/2 hours to get from my address to the airport using buses, and that's a BIT too long -- guess I'll reserve that for my worst-case scenario. Amtrak doesn't stop at its Ontario station on Tuesdays.

Can public transit be reinvented to meet America's needs?

gregb1007 — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:17:24 -0800

Can public transit be reinvented to meet America's needs? In many of America's regions, jobs are no longer concentrated in central areas but widely spread out. Hence, the old mode of public transit with trains traveling from the suburbs to city centers wouldn't cover the needs of most commuters. But can something better replace it? Has anyone actually theorized about a transit system that could move people to jobs in scattered and far-flung locations that couldn't all be covered by rail-line routes?

What is it like working on the railroad in the new millenium?

doomtop — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:50:17 -0800

What is it like working on the railroad in the new millenium? I am interested in railroad work, but understand that it is quite different than it was 50 years ago. I am looking for insight into what the current day experience of a conductor or switchman or etc. is.

I am having a hard time finding information from real people about real experience in this industry. Anyone know any good resources?

Old Server Rail Kits?

yellowbkpk — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:28:29 -0800

Where do I find sliding rail kits for older Dell PowerEdge 1750, Sun, and HP/Compaq G3/G4 machines? We've been moving a bunch of 1U servers from one server room to another at work, and quite a few of the machines don't have rails. One of the rules that the IT folks have in this new server room is that machines can't be stacked higher than one on top of the other, so we need to find quite a few rail kits.

My Google-fu seems to be lacking as I can't seem to find any sites that sell such a thing.

What is the best way to travel throughout Italy?

petah — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:20:43 -0800

What is the best way to travel throughout Italy? So far we're looking at Venice, Florence, Pisa, Milan, etc. People have been recommending the Italy Rail Passes from here. Is it better to get one of these? Or would it be better to get a ticket at the train station for city to city? Or are there other options that I should know of? The biggest issue we have with these Rail Passes is that we have to get them while we're in the States, because each "day" comes out to 62 dollars in cost, but on some days, like the days where we might be traveling between Venice and Milan, or a trip that is shorter than Rome to Milan, it might not be worth it. Also, I'm not even sure how the Rail system works in Italy, it seems like Trenitalia is the big line, but then there are a lot of online vendors that sell the same "EuroRail" pass at similar costs.

Also, if you guys have any random general tips regarding Rome/Italy, feel free to post them. They'd be much appreciated. Thanks!

Where do I look to find information on rail cargo rates and services?

Nothing — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:09:25 -0800

Where to start looking for rail cargo rates? I need to move about a shipping container worth of stuff from one side of the USA to the other. (DC to Fan Francisco). I have been told several times that rail is the cheapest, but I can't find much information about how to do it.

Gotta Hava Waway out...

geckoinpdx — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:54:28 -0800

I'm in somewhat-central New Jersey on business. I just found out that I will be stranded in a hotel all weekend and would much rather get to Manhattan, Atlantic City, anywhere but here (there is literally nothing here, the nearest Wawa is like a five-minute drive). I know the region in general has great train service, but have a couple of questions about it. First off, I'm the Cranbury-Jamesburg area (Monroe Twp to be exact) if that helps.

I didn't realise until last night that when my travel partner said that she wasn't a tourist, she meant it: she plans to spend literally all weekend at the hotel, eat each meal at the attached restaurant and everything.

I don't know how to drive.

She is willing to take me to/pick me up from the train station, and I know that Princeton Jct is like 12 miles or so away. So far so good.

My only experience with trains is Amtrak and CalTrain (between San Franciso and San Jose). How difficult is the system to use for a total outsider? Ideally I'd like to get to Manhattan at least. Atlantic City or Philadelphia would be nice but aren't critical. I could do one tomorrow and another the next day, after work, whenever. I'm here until next Thursday.

The important thing is that I am able to get back to my area the same day. I know NYC is about an hour by train; how far is everwhere else of interest?

Additional bonus points: I'm really not a "tourist" either...the statue of Liberty and 42nd street are great and all, but the main reason I want to go to Manhattan, believe it or not, is the Virgin Megastore(s), if still there. Last time I was here there was one in Union Square and one in Times Square. Any other worthwhile CD shops in the area? Used options are great, too. If Amoeba, Streetlight or Dimple mean anything to you, that's basically where I spend almost all of my free cash.

Round rail fence repair

Area Control — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:55:57 -0800

Wooden fence repair question: I have a wooden round rail fence kind of like this, but with only two horizontal rows. One of the horizontal rails in the middle of the fence needs replacement. Is there some kind of magic trick for this, or do I just cut and hammer and crowbar until it pops in?

My great train ride across Canada.

lychee — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 06:32:38 -0800

I'm thinking of traveling across Canada by rail. I have never been to Canada, ridden on a train, or traveled alone before, so advice requested. Also, Amtrak? Perhaps it's a leftover from a girlhood reading Anne of Green Gables books, but I've always liked the idea of traveling across Canada by train. And since I've decided to take a break from the daily 9 to 5 scene, I will now have all of September to spend indulging my whims. So, a few questions: How boring are the long-distance rides? What can you do on the train besides look out the window? Are the train stations in safe, accessible locations, or creepy and sketchy like the Houston Amtrak station?

Also, Amtrak and VIA offer a North American pass good for 30 days for what I think is a reasonable price. Should I take advantage of it to get to and from Canada on Amtrak from Texas? Amtrak's reputation is less than sterling, and I'm guessing I'd be pretty train-fatigued before I actually get to Canada, so I could always take a plane to and from Canada and use their limited, 12-day rail pass instead.

Any additional advice is more than welcome. Thanks in advance!

Block off wooden porch steps for dog purposes, cheaply?

staggernation — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:42:08 -0800

Stairs (wood) lead from backyard up to outdoor deck (wood). Dog can run up. Want to install something to keep dog in yard, with stairs remaining usable, without hiring expensive contractor. Thoughts? Picture a house with an outdoor porch with a wooden deck, about 4' off the ground. Centered at one end of the deck, which is 10' wide, there's a set of stairs, 7' wide, leading to a backyard that's otherwise fenced in. Neither the porch nor the stairs has a railing.

Now picture a happy Labradoodle. The goal is to let this dog romp in said yard unsupervised, without being able to run up the stairs. But people still have to be able to use the stairs. In other words, this will involve either a length of railing + gate mounted to the deck (no side supports available), or a fence + gate around the three sides of the stairway. Or something clever I haven't envisioned.

And ideally, we'll accomplish this in an inexpensive and somewhat DIY fashion: with prefabricated components we can purchase, even if we need a pro to help mount them, and no concrete-pouring.

Any ideas?

I found some porch railings that might be suitable, but I'm not 100% sure which components would be needed, and it appears to get a little pricey when you add up the gate, railing, post mounts, and post cladding. This doesn't have to be aesthetically wonderful or especially sturdy—just gotta keep that dog in the yard.

Identify this railway contraption.

MiG — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 02:11:10 -0800

What is this weird railway fence contraption? There are a series of poles with wire strung between them. It looks sort of like a fence, but the wire is horizontal only. (photos inside) See these photos:

It looks like some sort of sensor, but I haven't quite figured out what it is used for. It's located on the CN rail line near Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

The railway has a river on one side, and a steep cliff on another, so it isn't any wildlife fence. Is it used to detect mudslides / avalanches / rockfalls? Or is it something used to track railcars as they zoom by?

What is the mysterious fourth rail for?

pithy comment — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:33:39 -0800

I'm relatively new to New York and ride the subway every day. When I'm on the above-ground lines I notice another "fourth" rail in between the two running rails that doesn't look like it is used, but is securely tied down. Sometimes there's even a fifth rail, also in the middle. Usually this rail doesn't run continuously and it occasionally curves or has other oddities. What is this fourth rail for? Here's a picture. I know it isn't the third rail.

How to buy train tickets in England?

jeff-o-matic — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 09:18:19 -0800

I need to make one trip by rail from London to York and back in early April. We'll be spending two nights in York. I've read and heard conflicting information about this. Anyone know the best way to buy a ticket? Most of the info I could find here and online in general is about various rail passes and multiple trip tickets. I only need to buy one roundtrip ticket for my wife and one for myself.

I've traveled by rail in Italy and Spain, but have read that rail travel in England is more costly, and similar to the US airline industry, where fares vary, and are best purchased in advance. A frind of mine was in England a few years back, and tells me I should just show up to the station the mornig I need to and buy the tickets there. Online info I've read seems to contradict this, though again, we only need to make one round trip, and have no need for any kind of multiple day/week/month pass. We're both around 40, so I don't need student or seniors info, nor is penny pinching my ultimate goal. I just want us to have guaranteed seats on a train that will get us where we need to be at the correct time.

So, how should I do this? Buy at the train station the morning of my trip? Or should I purchase in advance online? If I should buy online, could you point me to the exact site where I can do so? Thank you.

Man, the beltway sure is a pretty octagon!

phrontist — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 13:00:08 -0800

Is there a geographically accurate map of the DC metro system? Like this London tube map?

Help me buy Japanese train tickets

rachelv — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 12:29:44 -0800

My brother is spending a year in Japan, and I'd like to buy him some train tickets so that he can go somewhere he wouldn't otherwise go while he's over there. The ticket options seem pretty complicated, though, and I can't figure out what to buy and how to buy it. He's there on a work visa, so I don't think I can just get him a Japan Rail Pass (link). Ideally I'd like to get a ticket with no date attached, so he can use it anytime between Tokyo (where he is) and whatever destination I end up choosing. Something like an excursion ticket sounds about right, but they all seem to have conditions that make them less than ideal (you have to use them over a Saturday-Sunday weekend, for example, and his days off are Tuesday and Wednesday).

So, what's the best way to buy a round-trip ticket on Japan Rail that doesn't have dates attached? Is this even possible? I'd be purchasing the tickets from the US.

VengeanceFilter: What's the legal status of RPAs on UK trains?

so_necessary — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 09:18:35 -0800

What is the legal status of Revenue Protection staff on British railways? So, I had an annoyingly painful encounter with a Revenue Protection dude at a train station the other day. I am now indulging in the great British pastime of writing grumpy letters about it.

One of the things that struck me as unusual is (after much interrogation, and general ass-hattery) that he "cautioned" me and "read me my rights" (You have the right to remain blah blah etc...) which I'm pretty sure he doesn't have the power to do. To clarify, he was working for South West Trains and in their uniform (he wasn't a policeman) and as far as I have been able to work out, he could ask me to leave, or ask for my name and address, but that's about it.

So my questions to you are:

1) Do revenue enforcement people on British railways (South West Trains in particular) have the authority to caution and/or detain people - particularly people who've repeatedly offered to pay their fare?

2) Isn't pretending you can do this when you can't a bit wrong? Does it have an associated offence or scary legal term that I can namecheck?

Help me deliver a well-informed and authorative smackdown! Thanks!

From DC to NYC by public transit

armage — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 05:51:31 -0800

How far from New York City can one get solely by using public transport? Actually, I live in Washington, DC, so I've tried this going from here north -- but any direction is fine, really. As far as I can tell, one can do it, except for the there is a gap between Newark, DE and Perryville, MD.

Until Perryville I can use MARC, and from Newark/Wilmington I can use SEPTA, and from there on out it seems like relatively smooth sailing through New Jersey on NJ Transit.

I guess my main question is, "How can I bridge that gap?" Also, if I can get further than New York City (by LIRR, Metro-North, etc.), details of those route would be great. I'd like to avoid using Amtrak, Greyhound, Chinatown buses, taxis, etc. if at all possible.

If this trip is possible, I'd love to try and do it. Yeah, I know I'm pretty crazy.

what do roads really cost?

R343L — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 22:12:43 -0800

What do our (United States) roads really cost? I want to do some kind of comparison of the "true" costs of various ways of organizing human transportation, with an emphasis on california (and specifically the san francisco area). Specifically, you see citations that say only X% of a transportation system's budget is paid for by directed charges (rider fares, gasoline taxes, etc. depending on what kind of system it is). What I'm looking for are studies/reports that say how much money is spent building and maintaining, e.g., all the roads in a geographical area (highways, interstates, local roads, etc.) Afterall, I hear about new projects, new funding, etc. all the time often in the millions and billions of dollars. For instance, the California DOT budget in 2001/02 was 8 *billion* dollars. How do I figure out how much was spent over time in general on road building/maintanence?

The aim to all of this is trying to figure out if various public/mass transit systems are really as inefficient as people say. Whenever people (or organizations) argue about it, they say "but fares don't cover the entire cost of running the " or they say "no one rides it" or "I don't want to subsidize something I don't use". But there are a lot of "hidden" costs to any form of human transportation. The US Dept of Transportation has studies that show that at least for the highway system, user fees such as gasoline taxes, etc. do not pay the full cost.

Is is perhaps just the case that in the US, we choose to subsidize one system over another? Thus, that publically we pretend that car transportation costs are primarily or entirely born by the drivers/truckers, but that because mass transit is inefficient, stupid, etc., the users have to be subsidized.

I am having an inordinately difficult time finding good stuff online for this. Lots of policy recommendations (including privitization of all roads!) and some statistics, but not a lot of "we spent X dollars in this area on these transportation systems". I might have to break down and go to a uni library! But perhaps someone here as tried this before and can point me in the right direction. :)