Tagged With "train drivers"
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Re: France Train Service, SNCF, Expands Low Cost Trains and Buses
It's great news for budget travelers. I took the Ouigo train from to Marseille in 2013 and loved it.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 16, 2015: Franklin Automobiles in Tucson, Arizona
I’ve heard that, but I’ve also always wondered if it were true, since a driver holding the reins on a horse or horses would want to be able to exert equal force on either side…and all the pictures I can find of buggy drivers seem to show the driver in the middle! One site I just looked at suggests that Ford made the switch to make it easier for passengers to get in and out, by moving the driver away from the curb; the same site suggests that in the early days on the Continent, right-hand was...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 16, 2015: Franklin Automobiles in Tucson, Arizona
It is amazing the different stories there are! And because of all the different car manufactures there might be truth to a lot the stories. About the horse carriages,the pictures I've have seen of the old carriages is the driver sitting on the right , especially if theres two seats up front, because a right handed person would want to use the whip with his right hand and not whip the passengers.
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Re: Diamond Head State Monument, Oahu (Where Gumbo Was #230)
On my last visit to Diamond Head we left near to the closing time. A large Limousine was waiting to take us back to Waikiki. I hadn't ordered one but the driver insisted we used him to take us back. "I will charge you the same as the Taxi fare you paid to get here" Sounded like an offer too good to refuse ! Before we arrived back in Waikiki another 4 couples had joined our Taxi ride. Had to admire the driver for ingenuity. Very good earner !
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
What an amazing trip! A real reminder of when few traveled and it was not a packaged experience. I wish I had the guts to do a trip like this. Thank you for sharing it! Do you think with Burma more open these days things will change much, or will people like me show up in the cities and still not go where you went?
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
A fascinating journey and, I think, very well suited to the younger crowd. Thanks for sharing this story with us. I felt like I was on that ride with you!
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
Thanks FlashFlyer. The thing about adventures like this is you have no idea what an adventure it'll be until it happens and you can't get out of it even if you want to. So, no guts required. Yes, Burma will certainly change, has already. Currently not enough infrastructure for those wanting to visit but if you've traveled in Asia you know the entrepreneurial spirit is alive & well and it won't be long, I suspect, before it will come to resemble other parts of the region. So, good news as...
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
I hope that wasn't your last venture into third world high speed travel. Reminds me of Austria on the Zillertal Bahn Valley Railway. The Train went so slow that passengers would lean out and pick wild flowers from the trackside. Each carriage had warning notices - in English - not to do this. But ....
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
If I live it won't be my last. Just prior to that one, same trip, I'd gone from Guilin to Nanning, then after lunch got on another, overnight to Hanoi. Later overnight again, Hanoi to Hoi An. Now that I think about it I realize they got progressively worse as I went along, culminating in The Worst. I hadn't thought about it until just this minute, hindsight is a wonderful thing that way. A great disappointment to me several years ago was the apparently permanent cancellation of the Hanoi to...
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
That's a real cool story, PortMoresby! I like my wheels to rubber, not steel, but what a great trip!
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
My brother says that he would love to travel to countries like this. He says it would be really cool to travel on a train like this. I think I'm more of a Europe guy, but it would be a really cool experience to go on a train like that.
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
It isn't cool to travel on a train where you get thrown around in the carriage because the tracks are warped with age John ! Many journeys take 24 hours of hanging on like a Roller Coaster ! That's just in Asia. You'll be fine in Europe.
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
Fascinating read! If I do take this train trip, and it's currently included in the plan, for our hoped for trip to Mynamar later this year, I can't say I wasn't warned. Coming from a country that shakes, rattles, and rolls pretty much every day there were two things about the earthquake that worried me. First, it was big enough to produce screams!! Second, it seems that no-one bothered to check the tracks before the train left the station. And so as I was reading I expected a derailment -...
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
Jill, one thing I didn't think to say when I wrote this report is, consider buying 2nd class seats. I could see into the next car, as it swayed in the opposite direction from ours, and it was fitted with wooden benches, presumably bolted down and consequently a less harrowing ride. It may be more crowded but also more interesting.
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Re: "Doggie-Door" makes lockers easier to use
It is a good and useful idea. Kudos to the Doggy Travel locker door.
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Re: Uber To Earmark 1 Billion Dollars for India Over Next 9 Months
I think some of the reasons Uber has been so successful is users know what they are going to pay in advance and don't have to worry about getting an over charged from a taxi driver, which happens. Also, the passenger can see what time they will be picked up . Whether Uber can continue as successful as regulations catch up with the their industry, I don't know.
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Re: Underwater restaurant planned for Norway
I can't help but think it looks a great deal like a big rig gone into the drink and what's happened to the poor driver, not the "drink" he was thinking about at the end of his shift.
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Re: Sept. 27, 2017: Balloon Man Running, Denver
That's a fun piece, Sam! I do love finding an interesting piece of street art.
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Re: All Aboard the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Great trip through some remarkable scenery! Likely as much fun as it seems to be!
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Re: All Aboard the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
One of my biggest regrets of my Colorado road trip of a few years ago was deciding we didn't have time for the Durango and Silverton...and you just reminded me why I regret it! Great story!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 17, 2014: Cobble Stone Square in Aix-en-Provence
Aix is a favorite with us, even though we've spent only limited time there...but long enough to have posted a Picture of the Day featuring the local market , not far from the scene of your picture...it's really a great walking town.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 17, 2014: Cobble Stone Square in Aix-en-Provence
An evocative image, Islandman, and no -- I can't think of any place this could be but France. Thanks for sharing the photo and the story behind it!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 17, 2014: Cobble Stone Square in Aix-en-Provence
You sure captured France!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 17, 2014: Cobble Stone Square in Aix-en-Provence
Draws me in...and back to my days in Provence, too many years ago. Thanks for the reminder of France's southern beauty.
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Re: Gallery: The Worst Train in the World Redux
This is the true Orient Express.. Thanks for the great pictures, and the chance to "be" somewhere truly special.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo? (#39)
Ah ha! Either an interesting camera technique or it is indeed a wonderfully detailed model train set, I suspect the latter. Oh, but where?? There are many big boys out there in the world who would love to have a Union Pacific loco running around in the loft. I have seen reports of some fantastic layouts in Germany but it could be anywhere methinks.... I tried to take a photo of just such a loco coming towards me in Canada and stood by the track in readiness. Thinking to be friendly, I was...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 23, 2015: First Class, Nanning Train Station
I suspect "stabling" refers to the train being at the station -- like horse returning home. But I love the sense of mystery and imaging you did to, PM! Nothing quite as much fun as a terrible translation!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 23, 2015: First Class, Nanning Train Station
With a waiting room like that, I've not sure I'd care to leave and get on the train...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 23, 2015: First Class, Nanning Train Station
I'd definitely get on that train. My curiosity about what badly translated signs are out there would get the best of me.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 23, 2015: First Class, Nanning Train Station
I wouldn't dream of occupying while stabling in the train rest room, but in the waiting room? I thought that's what they were for. A wise man, or FaMale, should know better than to leave a nice comfortable clean place and get on a train in some parts of the world. It was a lesson it took me several trains to learn on that trip.
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Re: Visiting Cuba.
Hi HistoryDigger. We always get the leader of the Animation Team - he organises the shows and dancing inside the hotel. He knows all the local places of interest. Obviously It depends on which region you'll be visiting. He'll organise a 12 seat Hyundai van for the day 8 - 4pm. Including gas and driver it costs us around $200 equivalent. (Divide that by 10 in the group) Lunch in a restaurant another $15 each. Nice tip for the driver when you start off and he'll be your friend for ever ! The...
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Re: SNCF: Oooops, we made the trains too big!
I'm astounded at the level of incompetence! Does SNCF order trains without providing manufacturing specifics, like how tall and wide a train should be? Really?
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Re: SNCF: Oooops, we made the trains too big!
I suspect, although without evidence, that since the trains are very close to the previous size, that someone looked, saw a fairly familiar measurement and said, say “2.6 meters…that’s not so different from 2.5…OK!” Puts me in mind of the rocket that missed Mars because one team was measuring in metric units and the other in English… http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9909/30/mars.metric.02/
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Re: Nov. 8, 2018: Milano Centrale railway station
Actually, in passenger traffic, it's listed here as #8 in passenger traffic. Perhaps it's #1 in mainline traffic? Certainly #1 Gare du Nord and Gare de Chatelet, both in Paris, have heavy concentrations of commuter and regional passengers.
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Re: Package deliveries snarl Belgian traffic
I've always found this a two edged sword. While there may be more vans delivering packages, there are also thousands less traveling around in their cars going shopping. I'm not sure if you've ever watched delivery vans, but they're very efficient. A UPS driver can drop of hundreds of packages in a city environment in a day. My gut reaction is that online shopping leads to a net reduction in traffic.
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Re: Left Hand Drive Vs Right Hand Drive Countries
When two moving Stagecoaches were facing each other on a narrow track the driver would crack the whip - using his right hand - and cause the Horses to shy to the left and away from the noise it made. So they passed each other without hindrance.
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Re: Left Hand Drive Vs Right Hand Drive Countries
The Swedish experience is fascinating. Here's a link to more details. What makes it especially fascinating is that Sweden had always had cars with the driver and steering on the left, initially American imports, but had driven on the left. I would have expected a surge in minor accidents at the time of the change, but instead, the article says, the accident rate dropped sharply because drivers were now better placed to deal with oncoming traffic!
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Re: Museum find: GE's 'missing' electric car
I have some friends with a Prius, and their greatest fuel efficiency comes when driving in the city, not on the highway. Paradoxical, but it shows how good the braking is at building up a charge. Good to know there is a backup generator. While the hybrids save on fuel, they also cost thousands of dollars more than their non hybrid counterparts. For an average consumer, it takes many years to recapture that extra cost for the hybrid on fuel savings, if they ever will. And there's the issue of...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 19, 2015: Aswan Station, Egypt
It looks like you're with a group of backpackers? Sounds like you had a good time, IslandMan.
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Re: Jan. 31, 2016: Spuyten Duyvil Train Station
Not only a classic railroad picture, but one of those moments when you realize that although there are many 'commonplaces,' there's really no such thing as 'ordinary!'
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Re: Jan. 31, 2016: Spuyten Duyvil Train Station
As you can see, I also spent the day experimenting with "monotone." I think that added a little extra to the photos.
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Re: An English Garden Gallery: Hidcote
They are delicious. The most memorable single dish I've ever had was forest ferns, far out into the Chinese countryside near the Burma border, cooked for 3 of us, the only other people for miles I think, the lovely taxi driver who knew the place, my friend and me. Other things, too, but it's the ferns I remember.
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Re: A Field of (Rusted) Dreams
I'm a truck driver and every time I pass this field I pull over and take pictures. I was there again on Dec. 20, 2013. Sadly most are now gone. Noticed some where no longer there from when I stopped in February 2013 and July 2012. There's probably only about a dozen that remain now. In fact if you view it from google earth you can see the empty spaces where they once stood. Glad I found your post. I've always wondered what the story of this field was. I just posted new shots on...
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Re: Name Your Favorite Restaurants for Atmosphere, Past or Present
For the sake of the memory I'm going to add another place here where I had possibly the best meal of my life. I cannot tell you the name of it or if it had a name or even where it is exactly, somewhere along the country road between Jinghong (Yunnan, China) and the Burma border. I'd hired a guide/driver to take me to the tribal market, famous in those parts, and on the way back suggested we stop for lunch. I'm one of those who believe regional Chinese is the best food in the world and this...
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Re: The Ghan - an Australian rail journey of style and comfort
IslandMan - A superb experience ! Thank you for sharing !