On 30/11/2020 12:28, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Mon, 30 Nov 2020 12:19:32 +0000, Tim Streater wrote:

On 30 Nov 2020 at 12:07:27 GMT, Jethro_uk
wrote:

On Mon, 30 Nov 2020 11:55:53 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Train tracks did not, but the huge speed and power advantage of a
steam engine over dobbin - either pulling a cart or pulling a barge -
meant there was a massive commercial pressure to build them. And,
once built,
people wanted to travel in them. It was easier and quicker than a
stage coach.

You missed the intermediate step of canals - which meant the skillbase
for laying railway lines was already easily available.

Funny, I was going to make that point too. But railways (as it happened)
followed hot on the heels of canals, so canals tend to be the forgotten
solution. A railway line (certainly of the time) was a lot easier to put
in than a canal.

??????

I thought it was the reverse. To lay a railway line you need embankments
much wider than a canal ????

The width of an embankment is determined by the slip angle of the soil
and its height. I would think a canal with water has a worse slip angle.
I can't recall canals on embankments anyway. Cuttings or aqueducts...
Only place I have seen embankments with water at the top are on the Fens
where they are drainage and the slopes are about 30%

A bit of googling reveals that there are canals at the top of
embankments, but they are pretty wide embankments if for no other reason
than if a train embankment fails at worst one train gets derailed. If a
canal embankment fails or a river levee, you get thousands of tons of
water smashing through whatever is below.

All other things being equal, the decision as to whether to
viaduct/aqueduct, embank, cutting or tunnel railways and canals or run
them along contour lines is pure cost analysis.

Both railways and trains represent because of their level natures, low
energy costs per tonne mile. Both were originally human or animal
powered, but te demise of the canals is I suspect simply a reflection
on the limited availability of enough water, and the limits on boat
speeds. Hard to see a 100mph canal boat..

As long as governments do not interfere, the optimal solution at te
lowest cost tends to emerge.

The private fuel car was one such.



--
"Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They
always run out of other people's money. It's quite a characteristic of them"

Margaret Thatcher