# Seems Iraq is soon to be ahead of us...



## eagle628 (Jun 27, 2011)

http://www.rail.co/2011/06/27/alstom-in-talks-to-build-high-speed-rail-line-in-iraq/ <-- 650 km long line, speeds up to 250 kph (155 mph). Government signed memorandum of understanding with Alstom for construction, with final agreement expected in a year or so. Pathetic, the third world is getting this done faster than we are.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 27, 2011)

eagle628 said:


> http://www.rail.co/2011/06/27/alstom-in-talks-to-build-high-speed-rail-line-in-iraq/ <-- 650 km long line, speeds up to 250 kph (155 mph). Government signed memorandum of understanding with Alstom for construction, with final agreement expected in a year or so. Pathetic, the third world is getting this done faster than we are.


Saying that the third world is building out and speeding up their passenger trains faster than us implies we're still speeding up our trains and building new routes. But we're not. Looking at our looming budget cuts it becomes quite clear that our passenger network is likely to shrink over time and our average speeds are likely to drop even further. It's not that other countries are beating us, it's that we're moving in completely opposite directions. They're running toward the finish line while America runs for the exit. Personally I think America is just as likely to catch up with Mexico's scuttled passenger rail network as any network in Europe or Asia.


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## Jim G. (Jun 27, 2011)

US taxpayer dollars at work....


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## jis (Jun 27, 2011)

To be charitable one could say that we are paying back to the world what we gained from German taxpayers in the way of aviation and rocket technology after WWII. :giggle:


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## stntylr (Jun 27, 2011)

As someone who has been to Iraq, I have to say there is no way on earth I would ride that train.


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## Anderson (Jun 29, 2011)

My first thought: Looks cool.

My second thought: Damn good target for an IED.


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## leemell (Jun 29, 2011)

jis said:


> To be charitable one could say that we are paying back to the world what we gained from German taxpayers in the way of aviation and rocket technology after WWII. :giggle:


Rocket technology some, aviation technology, no.


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## jis (Jun 29, 2011)

leemell said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > To be charitable one could say that we are paying back to the world what we gained from German taxpayers in the way of aviation and rocket technology after WWII. :giggle:
> ...


According to the Boeing 707 development books I have read, elements of turbojet engine technology and swept back wing technology came from the Germans. But then again who knows if the writer of the book knows what he is talking about. He just worked for Boeing.


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## leemell (Jun 29, 2011)

jis said:


> leemell said:
> 
> 
> > jis said:
> ...


Lockheed had the P-80 flying in 1943 with a British Goblin jet engine. By mid-1944 it was flying with a GE turbojet and in full production by August 1945. No help from the Germans here.

On the swept wings in February 1945 NACA engineer Robert T. Jones started looking at highly swept delta wings and V shapes ... he finished a detailed report on the concept in April ... Jones had secured some time for free-flight models, whose reports were presented at the end of May and showed a fourfold decrease in drag at high speeds. All of this was compiled into a report published on 21 June 1945, which was sent out to the industry three weeks later. Ironically, by this point Busemann's (German) work had already been passed around. So it looks like a virtual tied on this one and can't really be attributed to either exclusively.


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