Howlong, New South Wales Superthread

[Axver]

I'd say why would i be going to those places?







But seriously, :fuckyeah:

I knew you'd say that. I was tempted to include "Huntly in 40 minutes" just to see your response.

The Hamilton one in particular is not only very doable, but should have been done in the 1990s rather than having Tranz Rail rape the network. Whangarei would require shitloads of investment in a whole new line via the North Shore, rejoining the existing route around Warkworth, but it would be worth it. It's nothing short of absurd that there are nine flights a day between Whangarei and Auckland! Probably by the time you've got from Auckland Airport to the centre of the city, the train from Whangarei has not only arrived in Auckland, but made it back to Whangarei!

 

[coolian2]

Ax, i'm presuming there is a follow up to that question?

Edit: Shit, i knew that would happen

 

[Axver]

Ax, i'm presuming there is a follow up to that question?

Edit: Shit, i knew that would happen

It's like asking "dead thread?". In the time it takes you to refresh, see nobody's posted for an hour, and type two words, some bastard posts.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Oh yes Ax, the Tiges won - against Port no less! And at West Lakes!

 

[coolian2]

I knew you'd say that. I was tempted to include "Huntly in 40 minutes" just to see your response.

The Hamilton one in particular is not only very doable, but should have been done in the 1990s rather than having Tranz Rail rape the network. Whangarei would require shitloads of investment in a whole new line via the North Shore, rejoining the existing route around Warkworth, but it would be worth it. It's nothing short of absurd that there are nine flights a day between Whangarei and Auckland! Probably by the time you've got from Auckland Airport to the centre of the city, the train from Whangarei has not only arrived in Auckland, but made it back to Whangarei!

I'm a predictable bastard.

I had a field trip to Britomart not long after it opened, they've engineered it so that it's relatively easy to start new tunnels at the other end.

Otherwise, i like the idea. My perfect world would have trains running with airline codeshares, so you could sell, for example

Air France 123 London - LAX
Air NZ Flight 456 LAX - Auckland
Air NZ 6696/Ax Railines 0998 Auckland - Whangarei on a train.

They already have airline flight numbers on rail routes in Europe.

 

[coolian2]

It's like asking "dead thread?". In the time it takes you to refresh, see nobody's posted for an hour, and type two words, some bastard posts.

Always happens to me. Sometimes you can edit it out so you don't look like a total twat though.

 

[Axver]

Oh yes Ax, the Tiges won - against Port no less! And at West Lakes!

Haha, awesome. Nice to know the team I'm nominally supporting aren't complete failures!

Was it a big win?

 

[Axver]

I'm a predictable bastard.

I had a field trip to Britomart not long after it opened, they've engineered it so that it's relatively easy to start new tunnels at the other end.

Otherwise, i like the idea. My perfect world would have trains running with airline codeshares, so you could sell, for example

Air France 123 London - LAX
Air NZ Flight 456 LAX - Auckland
Air NZ 6696/Ax Railines 0998 Auckland - Whangarei on a train.

They already have airline flight numbers on rail routes in Europe.

I look forward to the construction of tunnels out the other end of Britomart, I believe it'll join the Western line around about Avonside. But that would mainly only be of use to Helensville/Waitakere/Swanson passengers. It's no good for Whangarei, since the convoluted route via Helensville just kills it in comparison to the direct road route across the Harbour. The North Shore urgently needs a commuter rail link anyway, so a new line would be good for everyone: commuters from the North Shore get heavy rail; once the Marsden Point port comes online, freight will efficiently get to Auckland; and it makes passenger rail to Whangarei viable.

And yes, I very much like the idea of codeshares. My proposal for Tauranga and Rotorua trains is to route them via Auckland Airport. Even have baggage transfers and everything. If you live in Tauranga and are flying to London, you check in at Tauranga railway station 10 minutes before the train departs. When you hop off the train at Auckland Airport two hours later, you don't even have to worry about your luggage; you just cruise through to your gate.

 

[coolian2]

We can fix the country, but we're wasting our time on the interwebs.

 

[coolian2]

Does anyone have an insane amount of money so i can start my airline?

It'll be good. You know it will.

 

[Axver]

We can fix the country, but we're wasting our time on the interwebs.

I'm using these intartubes to put forth my idea in the first place and see what response it receives. Once it's up on LJ, I might throw the link over to some NZ railway discussion groups just to see what the thoughts are.

My suggestions are fairly bold, but I am keeping them workable. Nothing ridiculous like "let's build a brand new line from Whakatane to Gisborne even though no freight or passenger traffic exists there just to keep a bunch of train foamers happy!" All that's needed to implement them is a government willing to sustain some debt, and a politician with the vision of Julius Vogel to force it through parliament.

 

[coolian2]

I'm using these intartubes to put forth my idea in the first place and see what response it receives. Once it's up on LJ, I might throw the link over to some NZ railway discussion groups just to see what the thoughts are.

My suggestions are fairly bold, but I am keeping them workable. Nothing ridiculous like "let's build a brand new line from Whakatane to Gisborne even though no freight or passenger traffic exists there just to keep a bunch of train foamers happy!" All that's needed to implement them is a government willing to sustain some debt, and a politician with the vision of Julius Vogel to force it through parliament.

I look forward to seeing it in full.

Since i'm a sad bastard i'll probably end up writing out a set of goal and intended routes for Ian Airlines. Might as well use my LJ for something.

 

[coolian2]

Oh fuck.

You might recall me talking about a creepy guy who used to hang around us at school. He just added me as a friend on Facebook.

I knew social networking would be my downfall!

Still don't know what to do about this. I'll probably end up adding him because of my activeness on Facebook.

 

[Axver]

I look forward to seeing it in full.

Since i'm a sad bastard i'll probably end up writing out a set of goal and intended routes for Ian Airlines. Might as well use my LJ for something.

This stuff has become so surprisingly long that I'm looking at having to do it in three parts: upper North Island, lower North Island, and South Island. I'm quite surprised, really. I don't even feel like I'm being overly wordy!

 

[Axver]

Still don't know what to do about this. I'll probably end up adding him because of my activeness on Facebook.

I'd ignore him. But I'm a bastard.

 

[coolian2]

I'd ignore him. But I'm a bastard.

The thing was, he was a good friend but creepy and disgusting. One time when he had a cold he wiped his nose all over his hand and blew his nose on his hands, wiped it under the desk and then PICKED UP MY BOOK AND STARTED FLIPPING THOUGH IT. The disgust.


If he isn't so creepy and disgusting, knowing him would be just fine. It's hard to tell.

 

[coolian2]

Oh god. The Great Circle Mapper can tell you how long a route will take if you input a speed.

If i'm sad enough i can calculate how many aircraft i'll need for each route by determining enroute time + time on the ground.

Could be fun, might re-invigorate my interest in writing

 

[Axver]

The thing was, he was a good friend but creepy and disgusting. One time when he had a cold he wiped his nose all over his hand and blew his nose on his hands, wiped it under the desk and then PICKED UP MY BOOK AND STARTED FLIPPING THOUGH IT. The disgust.


If he isn't so creepy and disgusting, knowing him would be just fine. It's hard to tell.

... bloody hell. I'd just stop talking to somebody if they did that to my stuff. That's nasty.

See, the one hanger-on my group had at high school who was creepy and disgusting was also a bad friend and indescribably stupid (did you know LOTR is sci-fi? No, nor did I!). I have no qualms about being an arsehole to him now.

 

[Axver]

Oh god. The Great Circle Mapper can tell you how long a route will take if you input a speed.

If i'm sad enough i can calculate how many aircraft i'll need for each route by determining enroute time + time on the ground.

Could be fun, might re-invigorate my interest in writing

I laugh, yet I'm thinking of the kind of rolling stock I'd need for these train services I'm proposing. I'm looking at something like this, just adapted for New Zealand conditions and capable of up to 200km/h rather than just 160km/h:

 

[coolian2]

... bloody hell. I'd just stop talking to somebody if they did that to my stuff. That's nasty.

See, the one hanger-on my group had at high school who was creepy and disgusting was also a bad friend and indescribably stupid (did you know LOTR is sci-fi? No, nor did I!). I have no qualms about being an arsehole to him now.

That incident was pretty much the end of things.

I don't there there is anyone from school that i'd be an arsehole to, because i can't think of anyone i have a personal grudge with. Even him, i think, because i don't think he's completely 100% there, mentally.

 

[coolian2]

I laugh, yet I'm thinking of the kind of rolling stock I'd need for these train services I'm proposing. I'm looking at something like this, just adapted for New Zealand conditions and capable of up to 200km/h rather than just 160km/h:

Oooh, nice.

I'm having some inner turmoil over some of my fleet ideas.

I want to use the 777 for long haul routes, but i need a sub-fleet of A330s to run my Wellington-Auckland tech stop-long haul routes because there isn't a hope in hell of getting a 777 in or out of Wellington. Let alone parking the fucking thing there.

The problem with a sub-fleet is needing to double up on spares, training etc but i think Wellington long haul is vital.

Might not be so bad if i decide to go Airbus for my smaller, medium-range aircraft though.

 

[Axver]

That incident was pretty much the end of things.

I don't there there is anyone from school that i'd be an arsehole to, because i can't think of anyone i have a personal grudge with. Even him, i think, because i don't think he's completely 100% there, mentally.

I disliked a number of people rather strongly and would have no problem with being a complete prick to them. Especially the guy who said the Holocaust was a good thing as far as the persecution of homosexuals, the handicapped, gypsies, and communists was concerned, and then told me that I had an attitude problem when I called him out for being a hate-filled fuckwit.

 

[coolian2]

I also wouldn't have midnight departures that fly right over my house :shakingfistatpassingplane:

 

[Axver]

Oooh, nice.

I'm having some inner turmoil over some of my fleet ideas.

I want to use the 777 for long haul routes, but i need a sub-fleet of A330s to run my Wellington-Auckland tech stop-long haul routes because there isn't a hope in hell of getting a 777 in or out of Wellington. Let alone parking the fucking thing there.

The problem with a sub-fleet is needing to double up on spares, training etc but i think Wellington long haul is vital.

Might not be so bad if i decide to go Airbus for my smaller, medium-range aircraft though.

It's a shame you can't just build the fleet yourself! Shame I can't have trains built in New Zealand either, but the days of New Zealand constructing its own locomotives pretty much ended with the end of steam. Hutt and Hillside (Dunedin) workshops exist mainly for maintenance now.

 

[coolian2]

I disliked a number of people rather strongly and would have no problem with being a complete prick to them. Especially the guy who said the Holocaust was a good thing as far as the persecution of homosexuals, the handicapped, gypsies, and communists was concerned, and then told me that I had an attitude problem when I called him out for being a hate-filled fuckwit.

Good god. That's appalling.

I'm glad most of the people (fuck, it may have been all) i knew at school were pretty Liberal in their views, so all class debates usually ended up as a big circle jerk with us all agreeing.

 

[Axver]

I also wouldn't have midnight departures that fly right over my house :shakingfistatpassingplane:

God, if anything remotely akin to my ideas actually went ahead, I'd love to see the NIMBY brigade come out in force. "OH NO YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY DUPLICATE THE LINE OUTSIDE MY HOUSE, ALL THE TRAIN NOISE! AND 200KM/H? MY KIDS COULD DIE!!!!" Hey, Mr NIMBY, if your kids get killed by a 200km/h train, they were probably going to get killed by an 80km/h train anyway. At the end of the day, it's called natural selection.

 

[coolian2]

It's a shame you can't just build the fleet yourself! Shame I can't have trains built in New Zealand either, but the days of New Zealand constructing its own locomotives pretty much ended with the end of steam. Hutt and Hillside (Dunedin) workshops exist mainly for maintenance now.

If i could the planes would be capable of seating 500 in First/Business/Premium Economy/Economy layout, able to carry plenty of freight. Short airfield capability with about a 10,000 nautical mile range and instead of oil it would be powered by love.

 

[Axver]

Good god. That's appalling.

I'm glad most of the people (fuck, it may have been all) i knew at school were pretty Liberal in their views, so all class debates usually ended up as a big circle jerk with us all agreeing.

Since my school was ostensibly Protestant, we had our conservative faction. I don't think this particular fellow really had any political views, though. He was just astonishingly stupid and thought homosexuals were gross and communists must be evil and handicapped people are creepy. He didn't even realise the Holocaust had happened or that it was worse than 11 September 2001 until I told him. In grade 12.

And I love how all of my university tutes tend to just turn into a leftie agreement session.

 

[coolian2]

God, if anything remotely akin to my ideas actually went ahead, I'd love to see the NIMBY brigade come out in force. "OH NO YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY DUPLICATE THE LINE OUTSIDE MY HOUSE, ALL THE TRAIN NOISE! AND 200KM/H? MY KIDS COULD DIE!!!!" Hey, Mr NIMBY, if your kids get killed by a 200km/h train, they were probably going to get killed by an 80km/h train anyway. At the end of the day, it's called natural selection.

I'm not complaining as such, because when we were looking at the house a plane flew over. 99% of the time it's really cool, but it's crazy that with the noise abatement procedures in Auckland we still get them going over at midnight after having quiet landing planes coming over all day.

And yeah. That extra 120km/h isn't going to make a difference.

 

[Axver]

If i could the planes would be capable of seating 500 in First/Business/Premium Economy/Economy layout, able to carry plenty of freight. Short airfield capability with about a 10,000 nautical mile range and instead of oil it would be powered by love.

And here I was, thinking that being able to build trains in my own workshops would just be handy because it would avoid the whole "damn, we need to ship it across a huge fucking ocean" factor.

But I suppose if I can join in on the dreaming, my trains would be able to carry 300 seated passengers in four carriages; one first class, two regular, and one regular/buffet, with the buffet providing a nice selection of hot meals and drinks and stuff. They could run at over 200km/h, come to a smooth stop within 50 metres, never be late, and be powered by my vitrolic rants and hyperbole so that Interference need not suffer it.