The Hyperloop Scam

  As Barnum observed, there is a sucker born every minute. The Hyperloop is just another “better mousetrap scam” from the “anything is better than rail” crowd. Hyperloop is just a 21t century version of the atmospheric railway con-game and a game well played to relieve ‘true believers’ of cash, like any other scam. Very […]

The atmospheric railway, the original gadgetbahnen – With appologies to I. K. Brunel

The atmospheric railway can be said to be the first ‘gadgetbahnen’ as it was the first attempt to replace regular railway locomotives with atmospheric trains. On paper, the atmospheric railway was a sure winner but in revenue service a failure. What surprises myself is that this complicated transit mode ever worked at all, as the […]