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Do the Locomotion

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Yesterday they pulled a light rail car along the length of the Central Corridor line connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul. The idea was to test the route, to make sure the track is intact and all the clearances are right. The electric wires that provide power to light rail from overhead are not operating yet, so the train was towed by a big truck. As a result, rail fans got a chance to the Green Line in slow-motion action. And rail non-fans got a chance to say “is THAT how they plan to make it go?”

But there are all sorts of ways to get a person from point A to point B.

As it turns out, today is the is the anniversary of the initial running of another form of locomotion – the first electric-powered trolley NOT on rails lurched down a path with power from overhead wires on this day in 1882.

Elektromote

The Siemens Company set up the Elektromote in a suburb of Berlin and ran it from the end of April to Mid June, just to find out if they could do it, I guess. It was a time when seeing anything big move without help from a horse was amazing and unprecedented. I’m sure some of the folks who saw the Elektromote in 1882 assumed that would be the way people of the future would travel everywhere.

This was long before anyone dreamt of the REAL future of travel – the personal jetpack.

The idea of using electricity to power transit was attempted earlier with the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway, which provided power to the car, not from overhead wires, but through the rails. This proved to be shocking for anyone who stepped on the track.

Wellington Trolleybus

Today’s ancestor of the Elektromote is the trolleybus, a contraption you’ll see all over Europe and in some North American cities like San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. They roll like a normal bus, but get their power like an electric rail car. Rubber-tired busses that run on power from overhead wires have some distinct advantages when it comes to climbing hills. They’re also clean and quiet.

Too quiet, perhaps.

There is a sense of permanence about trolley-busses since they rely on expensive infrastructure. But apparently that also makes it very difficult to change a needless trolley bus route, and equally hard to expand one into new areas because neighbors don’t want a new nest of wires overhead. Not only are they unsightly, but having all that voltage overhead gives some people the creeps. Especially those who carry around ladders.

Sigh.

Guess I’ll have to make certain I’ve ridden to the end of the trolleybus line before I try out my new jetpack.

What is the future of travel?

48 thoughts on “Do the Locomotion”

  1. Good morning. I am in agreement with many people who have called for more public transportation and less use of cars. A jetpack would be nice. It would probably have some of the same problems as the segway which doesn’t seem to have become very widely used. On a TV show, I saw recently, one person said the segway needs a cab you can sit in and 4 wheels. Probably some would see the jetpack as needing a cab and a more stable way of traveling making it more or less the same as a helicopter.

    How about zip lines? I read about a proposal to use zip lines to get people from one place to another. I guess you would just hook yourself up to the zip line at one end of the line and ride the line to the other end with gravity pulling you down the line. I have heard about zip lines used for recreation, but have never tried one. I would be a little uncomfortable traveling through the air hook to a line, although I think I could become comfortable with this eventually.

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  2. hey dale thanks for the update on the martin jet pack developments. i didnt see they landed peter coker as the new ceo to take them onward and upward in the industry. first manned flight in new zealand late this year.
    new york city has the idea. pack everything in so close and make parking so impossible that train bus subway taxi and shoeleather are the logical choices if a bike doesnt work. i think the car share idea like the green bikes will come around soon. if all the stuff is gone from a old beater but the seats and trunk and clean and available. thats better than the choice i offer myself most of the time. my kids get so mad at having to move all the stuff out of the way to get into the car,. i
    i hope eden prairie gets the light rail next. its on the docket but my guess is that when the finish building it i will be moving into downtown where my kids can come and visit.
    i see bucky fullers heliport on the roof as the correct way but then again i am not so sure i want to del with all the maniacs i see on the street while they are beside me in my moving helicopter. the jetsons car is the thing i want. park at the spacely parking ramp and woosh off to the moondance drive in for a root beer float. what a view.
    i have ideas about virtual meeting instead of travel where the holigrams get sent from the electrodes attatched to your head and the 3d skype session happens at both ends or all 400 ends of the phone.combine the feelies form aldous huxleys brave new world and that is my kind of travel. i like travel but not for conferences. a virtual trip to the top of mt everest or maccu pichu would be as cool as a disney ride and i would enjoy it but not at the cost of putting it on my bucket list to get to eventually. mt everest is now crossed off but machu pichu is still on.
    beam me up

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    1. We are moving to the Cities to be closer to places we like to go and to our family. This will reduce the miles we travel by car and give us more access to public transportation. I think rural areas are good places to live. However, living in rural areas creates the need for a large amount of car travel which, of course, is not a good thing.

      There are things that could be done even in rural areas to reduce dependence on cars. Unfortunately, it seems that many people in rural areas are fans of gas guzzling vehicles and drive around in big pickup trucks and large SUVs. I do know some rural people who are trying to reduce pollution by making use of hybrid cars.

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  5. It’s hard to imagine what alternative form of transportation wouild work out here. No one walks in town if they can help it, since everyting is so far apart. Personal jet packs might work out on the ranches, but what about the horses? Try to get a horse on one of those Jetson-type hovering craft!

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  6. Rise and Shine Baboons!!

    I so don’t know. I rarely think about this beyond, “I like to walk, “trains are so cool,” “cars waste so many resources.”

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  8. There have always been lots of pickups out here, and with the oil boom it seems that the number has quadrupled. Many are real big ones with v-8 engines. I can’t imagine an alternative to the truck out here.

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    1. This is your opportunity for psych research, so put on your psychologist hat, Girl. I mean Dr. Renee. What are the MMPI correlates for v-8 engines and big trucks?

      Hypothesis anyone?

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        1. I suppose they could be reall anxious guys who are afraid of geting stuck in the mud or in the middle of nowhere. Obsessive-compulsive types who can’t bear the thought of mud on their shoes, or else really agoraphobic and need a big truck to take the place of their home.

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        4. I always felt it had to do with “over-compensating” for some other perceived lack. 8)

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    2. We are probably not as over run with big pickups here in Southern Minnesota as you are in your area, Renne However, almost the only kind of vehicle you see in the lot at the local bar is a big pickup or some other kind of large vehicle.

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    3. I would have liked a pickup on Saturday… had to borrow my neighbor’s van to pick up my straw bales. Got five this year… last year we just barely crammed four into my Saturn, so knew that wouldn’t work this year. I did spend time thinking about how easy it would have been if I’d had a pickup!

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      1. You can rent pickup trucks from Menards for a reasonable fee. Bound to be a lot cheaper than buying, maintaining, and driving a pickup all year.

        Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. Had a real nice birthday weekend.

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        1. On one of my trips as an agricultural volunteer I saw hay piled on top of cars and inside cars and even stacked on bicycles. I think they were carrying hay home to feed the family cow or some other family livestock they kept in their back yards. I think some of these people were working on farms where they cut hay for the farmers by hand with scythes.

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  9. I’ve always thought that teletransportation would be really cool. Unfortunately I read a book a few years back about the science of Star Trek and realize that “tt” ever happening is unlikely in the extreme. Rats. I’d be happy with hovercraft… anything that can get me out of standstill traffic!

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  10. It is exciting to see the light rail system build up, but I fear it comes too late to do me much good. We have built a society upon the expectation that everyone has a car. It will take decades to undo that legacy. I sure would like to live without a car and all the stuff that comes with owning a car: gas, taxes, insurance and so forth.

    Before arthritis, walking was one of the central joys of life. Katie and I would amble around the off-leash dog park two hours each day in all kinds of weather. All of that is just a fond memory now.

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        1. Can I get one with the rugged tires on them so I can take it out in the field? And can it have sort of a windscreen and maybe an umbrella or roof? And maybe sides to keep the wind and dust from blowing on me? And maybe an extra wheel or two for stability in the fields?

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    1. talking airports?
      i was surprised that they allowed pocket knives back in the travelers pockets. i saw over the weekend they put a hold on that . it must have surprised them it got through too.

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  13. Based on my observations this weekend: harness the energy generated on the first warm days of spring. Create a device that collects the excess energy generated in classrooms by students sitting inside when they want to be outside, by adults doing yard work and yearning to be kids on roller skates, and by anyone on a bicycle, scooter, in running shoes, or on roller skates or blades. Would also need a version for dogs out romping in the sunshine. If we could collect that pent-up energy, we could power a fleet of vehicles for most large cities.

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    1. Anna – you’re completely right about energy levels. If we could only bottle it or something. Teenager, of her own accord, helped me clean out the garage and then she cleaned out the car as well!

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  14. I’m thinkin’ that if we don’t wise up soon, we’re all gonna be walking or riding our bikes or our horses. Sorry, but I can’t always be optimistic about the future. A jet pack would be really cool. what does it run on?

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      1. I feel pretty pureed tonight. Very difficult case today that made my flesh crawl. I don’t usuually react this way, but today was tough.

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        3. I know those tough days. All you can do is soothe the ache and go home and appreciate the life you have built for you on those days. I would recommend gardening, but I don’t know if you snow is gone yet.

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  15. I wish we could have the flying (sort of) vehicles from Stranger in a Strange Land. I remember wondering, though, how they would avoid crashes, as there didn’t seem to be any rules. It’s been decades since I read that, though, and the memory isn’t really clear…

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