Comments on: Keep an Eye on Your Dipstick http://www.masstransitmag.com/interactive/2008/06/27/keep-an-eye-on-your-dipstick/ Mass Transit's editor, Fred Jandt, speaks weekly on critical issues facing the public transportation industry. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:38:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Gunnar Henrioulle http://www.masstransitmag.com/interactive/2008/06/27/keep-an-eye-on-your-dipstick/#comment-4569 Gunnar Henrioulle Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:52:01 +0000 http://www.masstransitmag.com/interactive/2008/06/27/keep-an-eye-on-your-dipstick/#comment-4569 On Nov. 30- Dec. 1, 1973, I was newbie on a crew of three dispatched by the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, to pick up a new school bus. At Hayward, home of Gillig bus and coach, we picked up brand new bus 79 passenger #22, resplendent in school bus yellow... with a fuel gauge reading "E". Not to worry, they said. They had calculated miles to South Lake tahoe, and had put in enough to make it. We did make it, but the bus was sputtering when we finally got home after show delays overnight on Echo Summit. This was an early and indelible lesson, of a supposedly priority transport mode being caught short on diesel fuel. Interestingly, on the way to Hayward, we observed new construction for the BART rail system, and my older bus garage buddies made disparaging remarks about "pork barrel" projects. I kept my mouth shut, satisfied with knowledge of railway history and the efficacy of rail in times of fuel scarcity. Mr. Joe Caruso is sounding a loud & clear call for transit officials to be the calm ones in the room, the ones intimately knowledgeable about the Peaking Oil challenge. All men & women of transit are charged with ability to produce, at short notice, "The General Depletion Picture" found at (peakoil.net), website of The Association For The Study Of Peak Oil & Gas (ASPO). The coming months will require much outreach to civic groups, chambers of commerce, employees & the public at large. As in WWII, the people responsible for "Keeping 'em Rolling" know they have one of the most important jobs in the country, at a crucial period in our national history. With that knowledge, it is not out of line for APTA, stepping in for a lame Federal Government & timid elected officials, to look at how manufacturing was mobilized for emergency needs during the Second War. This time, we will not be building Wright Cyclone airplane engines in the Buick plant, or B-24's at Willow Run. We will talk to GM about getting back into the locomotive business, and assess closing auto plants for setting up lines to build buses and electric streetcars. We will talk to the US Chamber of Commerce about putting a freeze on sale of steel scrap, diverting this raw material to several stateside mills that can get us sheet steel and dimensional products for transit vehicles. And, we will get the Bethlehem rail rolling mill back into action, for track, rail fittings & fasteners. These things will not come about from the Federal Government, they are too enamored of their laissez faire philosophy to understand the present threat is not business as usual. This is extraordinary, so much so, that many responsibles will need to be replaced in order to fully position the USA for this emergency. It may be, that some courageous staff on candidates rosters will research "theoildrum" and demand some time with their respective presidential wannabes. APTA, don't bet the country on this... Please take the initiative and make the contacts. Immodestly, it is recommended interested parties see ASPO Newsletter 89, article #1037 in the May 2008 issue. This is boilerplate for rail mode discussion. Some will work the rail mode, many others will work with APTA for the USA bus manufacturing expansion. But rail is crucial for ensuring freight & victuals distribution, and rail is most easily linked to renewables generation to propel prime movers (electric). APTA must talk to GM and Ed Hamberger at AAR, get lines of communication open with manufacturing side, plus mains & short line rail operators. As we move along on this new page, we must look at the role to be played by the respective States' National Guard Units, and re-establishment of railway operating & maintenance Battalions. People working this part of the effort can download "GCOR" from the web, and see that their respective states NG Commandant has a copy for initial briefings of existing logistics personnel. Political talk about drilling is ringing in our ears, but the emergency shortage of transit & freight rail infrastructure is Job #1, for the people of MASS TRANSIT. APTA, clear the calendar for some special doings. We have an emergency to deal with. On Nov. 30- Dec. 1, 1973, I was newbie on a crew of three dispatched by the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, to pick up a new school bus. At Hayward, home of Gillig bus and coach, we picked up brand new bus 79 passenger #22, resplendent in school bus yellow… with a fuel gauge reading “E”. Not to worry, they said. They had calculated miles to South Lake tahoe, and had put in enough to make it.

We did make it, but the bus was sputtering when we finally got home after show delays overnight on Echo Summit. This was an early and indelible lesson, of a supposedly priority transport mode being caught short on diesel fuel. Interestingly, on the way to Hayward, we observed new construction for the BART rail system, and my older bus garage buddies made disparaging remarks about “pork barrel” projects. I kept my mouth shut, satisfied with knowledge of railway history and the efficacy of rail in times of fuel scarcity.

Mr. Joe Caruso is sounding a loud & clear call for transit officials to be the calm ones in the room, the ones intimately knowledgeable about the Peaking Oil challenge. All men & women of transit are charged with ability to produce, at short notice, “The General Depletion Picture” found at (peakoil.net), website of The Association For The Study Of Peak Oil & Gas (ASPO). The coming months will require much outreach to civic groups, chambers of commerce, employees & the public at large.

As in WWII, the people responsible for “Keeping ‘em Rolling” know they have one of the most important jobs in the country, at a crucial period in our national history. With that knowledge, it is not out of line for APTA, stepping in for a lame Federal Government & timid elected officials, to look at how manufacturing was mobilized for emergency needs during the Second War.

This time, we will not be building Wright Cyclone airplane engines in the Buick plant, or B-24’s at Willow Run. We will talk to GM about getting back into the locomotive business, and assess closing auto plants for setting up lines to build buses and electric streetcars.

We will talk to the US Chamber of Commerce about putting a freeze on sale of steel scrap, diverting this raw material to several stateside mills that can get us sheet steel and dimensional products for transit vehicles. And, we will get the Bethlehem rail rolling mill back into action, for track, rail fittings & fasteners.

These things will not come about from the Federal Government, they are too enamored of their laissez faire philosophy to understand the present threat is not business as usual. This is extraordinary, so much so, that many responsibles will need to be replaced in order to fully position the USA for this emergency. It may be, that some courageous staff on candidates rosters will research “theoildrum” and demand some time with their respective presidential wannabes. APTA, don’t bet the country on this… Please take the initiative and make the contacts.

Immodestly, it is recommended interested parties see ASPO Newsletter 89, article #1037 in the May 2008 issue. This is boilerplate for rail mode discussion. Some will work the rail mode, many others will work with APTA for the USA bus manufacturing expansion. But rail is crucial for ensuring freight & victuals distribution, and rail is most easily linked to renewables generation to propel prime movers (electric). APTA must talk to GM and Ed Hamberger at AAR, get lines of communication open with manufacturing side, plus mains & short line rail operators.

As we move along on this new page, we must look at the role to be played by the respective States’ National Guard Units, and re-establishment of railway operating & maintenance Battalions. People working this part of the effort can download “GCOR” from the web, and see that their respective states NG Commandant has a copy for initial briefings of existing logistics personnel.

Political talk about drilling is ringing in our ears, but the emergency shortage of transit & freight rail infrastructure is Job #1, for the people of MASS TRANSIT. APTA, clear the calendar for some special doings. We have an emergency to deal with.

]]> By: simcha chamberg http://www.masstransitmag.com/interactive/2008/06/27/keep-an-eye-on-your-dipstick/#comment-4503 simcha chamberg Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:46:09 +0000 http://www.masstransitmag.com/interactive/2008/06/27/keep-an-eye-on-your-dipstick/#comment-4503 Your analysis in MOSTLY on target but you left out one thing: The Asians are mastering the small car manufacturing techniques and are simply forward pricing their units while our folks think there is no tomorrow and rake in the bucks on every overweight inefficient SUV they used to be able to sell. Never mind the pollution..But NOT even the Asians are positioning themselves to solve present TRAFFIC CONGESTION let alone future congestion as a lot of small cars also congest the roads. You must keep on plugging for mass transit as even all electric AND small cars will bring us smogless traffic jams, same waste of prime time etc Your analysis in MOSTLY on target but you left out one thing:
The Asians are mastering the small car manufacturing techniques
and are simply forward pricing their units while our folks think
there is no tomorrow and rake in the bucks on every overweight
inefficient SUV they used to be able to sell. Never mind the
pollution..But NOT even the Asians are positioning themselves
to solve present TRAFFIC CONGESTION let alone future congestion
as a lot of small cars also congest the roads. You must keep on
plugging for mass transit as even all electric AND small cars will
bring us smogless traffic jams, same waste of prime time etc

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