In reply to TarponChaser

TarponChaser said:

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aggiedent said:

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And do guys in heavy duty Fords know that their trucks have Bluetooth capabilities? I can't count the number of times I see guys with a phone up to their ear.

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You think this is limited to dudes in Ford trucks?


I cannot count how often I see folks in late-model vehicles with the higher-end option packages that you know, without a doubt, have Bluetooth driving around and holding the phone to their ear or clearly using the speaker. It blows my mind.

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No idea…….I rarely look at other drivers. Just the ones squatting in the left lane. Which is when I took note of how man guys in HD Ford's hold their phone.

In reply to TarponChaser

TarponChaser said:

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aggiedent said:

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And do guys in heavy duty Fords know that their trucks have Bluetooth capabilities? I can't count the number of times I see guys with a phone up to their ear.

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You think this is limited to dudes in Ford trucks?

I cannot count how often I see folks in late-model vehicles with the higher-end option packages that you know, without a doubt, have Bluetooth driving around and holding the phone to their ear or clearly using the speaker. It blows my mind.

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You can be fairly certain that when you see these types, they generally fit well within predictable demographics based on the type of vehicle driven.

They might not work well. My car's Bluetooth is awful. I put in wired headphones if I have to make a call

In reply to Bradley.Kohr.II

Bradley.Kohr.II said:

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They might not work well. My car's Bluetooth is awful. I put in wired headphones if I have to make a call

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I have an old 2014 Dodge work truck with brilliant sounding Bluetooth. Find it hard to believe late model Ford trucks with top of the line packages don't have good Bluetooth.

In reply to O.G.

O.G. said:

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Couple things.

If you or anyone you know thinks they could be in the path of the HSR, the time to talk to an attorney, with experience in eminent domain, is now. Do it BEFORE the attorneys from other areas parachute in to save the day and get big groups of landowners to go in together.

The grimes/madison/leon county FB groups full of angry people yelling at clouds, are not your friends. Make sure your loves ones are not getting their advice there.

As to trucking. A good friend of mine has left the trucking industry to chase other dreams. He primarily hauled farming equipment on a flatbed all over the country. GWOT veteran and all around good guy. He told me that more and more "truck drivers" are glorified "steering wheel holders" as he called them. Most are foreign born, and I don't mean Mexico here. Your college age kid has more time behind a wheel......any wheel....than some of these guys. Its scary.

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If true, the Texas Hammer and other such lawyers will see lots more work in the years ahead.

In reply to techno-ag

techno-ag said:

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O.G. said:

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Couple things.

If you or anyone you know thinks they could be in the path of the HSR, the time to talk to an attorney, with experience in eminent domain, is now. Do it BEFORE the attorneys from other areas parachute in to save the day and get big groups of landowners to go in together.

The grimes/madison/leon county FB groups full of angry people yelling at clouds, are not your friends. Make sure your loves ones are not getting their advice there.

As to trucking. A good friend of mine has left the trucking industry to chase other dreams. He primarily hauled farming equipment on a flatbed all over the country. GWOT veteran and all around good guy. He told me that more and more "truck drivers" are glorified "steering wheel holders" as he called them. Most are foreign born, and I don't mean Mexico here. Your college age kid has more time behind a wheel......any wheel....than some of these guys. Its scary.

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If true, the Texas Hammer and other such lawyers will see lots more work in the years ahead.

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In reply to FIDO*98*

FIDO*98* said:

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Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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What about it would be awesome?

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Riding on it. People trains are fun. Not saying it's worth it or should be done, but HSR is a cool way to see the world

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Don't believe it, just as the good folks of Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook.


By the way, train don't run out of Dallas or Houston, less'n you're hog or cattle. People train run out of...Stubbville.

New truck, bus drivers having more wrecks

In reply to killbutchereat

killbutchereat said:

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High speed rail would be awesome. Also seems like something is working under this administration economically . https://gov.texas.gov/business/page/texas-economic-snapshot

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You gonna walk everywhere or just call an uber when you arriveat your destination depot?

In reply to CanyonAg77

CanyonAg77 said:

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Quote:

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I've learned that those 18 wheelers are at least professional drivers and frequently better than many others on the road

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Bullcrap.

Drive I-40 between Amarillo and Albuquerque a few times. You'll wonder how most of them managed to move from riding the short bus to driving the 18 wheeler. The rest of them learned to drive in third world countries, and still drive like that.

Add to that, the speed limits their companies put on them, forcing them to drive 55 when everyone else is going 85.

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Westbound 9am on a weekend you better budget an extra hr because so many limited rigs passing 55mph winnebagos at 58.

This thing would most likely be a novelty, like to take kids on a fast train ride.

Maybe I could see it as a bachelor party deal if they allowed heavy boozing on it like on party busses. Hop on the train, get liquored up, Uber to one of Dallas' establishments, Uber back to train, pass out on way home.

In reply to Bronco6Gen

Bronco6Gen said:

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GrimesCoAg95 said:

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Roans Prairie was supposed to be for maintenance, and how dare you call it the middle of nowhere!

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Well, I only live maybe 15 miles from there...I enjoy the country living and didn't mean it as a bad thing, but for purposes of a train station it is definitely in the middle of nowhere

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To me the only way the train makes sense is by developers buying cheap Grimes County real estate. Developers could theoretically buy cheap acreage from disgruntled property owners within ten miles of the station and build million dollar houses on 1/2-2 acre estates. They can say that one could live in the country and still be less than an hour from both Houston and Dallas. Grimes county basically would become a suburb of both Houston and Dallas. There is a lot of open land within an area roughly outlined by Anderson, Richards, Iola, and Carlos to build these neighborhoods.

Property values might fall initially as original residents sell out to get away from the train, but eventually property values likely would rise significantly as these wealthy neighborhoods are sold. Many property owners in Grimes County might be forced to sell as property taxes skyrocket as property values increase.

The train itself can only lose money. Perhaps the land around the station is where investors see the profits.

In reply to BuddysBud The Grimes county "station" isn't much more than a maintenance facility. I don't think it's planned to be a regular service stop.

In reply to Kenneth_2003

Kenneth_2003 said:

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The Grimes county "station" isn't much more than a maintenance facility. I don't think it's planned to be a regular service stop.

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In the original plan the every other train would stop at the Grimes County station. If that has changed then there is absolutely no reason for the project other than theft from the taxpayers.

In reply to Kenneth_2003

Kenneth_2003 said:

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The Grimes county "station" isn't much more than a maintenance facility. I don't think it's planned to be a regular service stop.

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It was absolutely originally planned to be a regular stop.

The idea was that as more and more people move further out from Houston, and BCS is sometimes accused of being a Houston Bedroom community, that people would take the train in. How close to reality that is, I don't know, but it was for sure going to be one of the selling points.

In reply to O.G.

O.G. said:

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Kenneth_2003 said:

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The Grimes county "station" isn't much more than a maintenance facility. I don't think it's planned to be a regular service stop.

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It was absolutely originally planned to be a regular stop.

The idea was that as more and more people move further out from Houston, and BCS is sometimes accused of being a Houston Bedroom community, that people would take the train in. How close to reality that is, I don't know, but it was for sure going to be one of the selling points.

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I think a middle stop was required to meet some of the requirements a railroad would need to have ED at their disposal

In reply to Aggie_Boomin 21

Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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FIDO*98* said:

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Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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What about it would be awesome?

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Riding on it. People trains are fun. Not saying it's worth it or should be done, but HSR is a cool way to see the world

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I agree about trains being fun in general. I have looked at Amtrak trips plenty of times in the past, but ultimately have never taken one due to how impractically expensive they are vs flying.

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I took my family on CA zephyr from denver to bay area. Sleeper cabin, 36ish hours, it was $1400, which included food and alcohol.

Flying to SF for 4 is probably $1000. No food or booze.

So for a $400 premium (less if you account for food/booze), we got to be in a train along the colorado river across the rockies, go across salt flats, through truckee and Donner pass and through the sierra nevadas..

I don't how you define impractically expensive, but my experience is not how I define it.

In reply to 62strat Okay… thanks for that anecdote. Not sure if that single example and subjective conclusion is proof that train travel is reasonably priced compared to flying outside of the NE, but I'm glad you and your family enjoyed your trip and you think the cost was worth it. Another consideration is that you also paid a premium to travel 10x slower than flying. Part of my calculus on trip cost would include that 36 hours of travel (one way) and how much more PTO that causes me to take. I'd argue Amtrak's financial struggles (putting it lightly) are evidence most don't think the total cost of train travel is worth it.

Also, did you hunt down a post of mine to argue with after I responded back to yours in another thread?

In reply to Aggie_Boomin 21

Aggie_Boomin 21 said:

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Okay… thanks for that anecdote. Not sure if that single example and subjective conclusion is proof that train travel is reasonably priced compared to flying outside of the NE, but I'm glad you and your family enjoyed your trip and you think the cost was worth it. Another consideration is that you also paid a premium to travel 10x slower than flying. Part of my calculus on trip cost would include that 36 hours of travel (one way) and how much more PTO that causes me to take. I'd argue Amtrak's financial struggles (putting it lightly) are evidence most don't think the total cost of train travel is worth it.

Also, did you hunt down a post of mine to argue with after I responded back to yours in another thread?

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If time is a factor, then of course you aren't going to train. You can't see 1500 miles of the country side in a 3 hour plane ride, these are two completely different ideals on traveling. Wife and kids had summer off, I can WFH, so time wasn't a factor for us. I wish it was longer! I also kinda wish we took the train back instead of flying; you see different things because of day/night timing.

Can't say I ever really look at names when I reply, so no on your last thought.

In reply to Drillbit4

Drillbit4 said:

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I thought this project was dead but the current administration is hell bent on wasting billions of dollars for a project that will be over budget, delayed and under utilized.


Choo Choo

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They could just get rid of the medians in BCS.