[PRCo] Re: Geography

[Bob Rathke]

Good points, Harold.

When was the last time anyone picked up a printed AIRLINE timetable,
especially from a major carrier?  Last year I saw an ATA timetable at an
airport, and it reminded me that most airlines no longer issue printed
timetables.

Meanwhile, I see Amtrak timetables in hotel literature racks, especially in
California.

If you're going to meet someone at the airport, and you want to check the
progress of their flight, go to www.flightview.com
and scroll down to the "Track a flight" section.  Enter the airline name and
flight number, and you'll see a map of the U.S. (or other countries) with
the exact route of the flight, the location of the aircraft on the route,
altitude, speed, departure time and estimated arrival time - all
continuously updated.  The outlines of the states are shown, but not the
state names.  Flight View is linked to Air Traffic Control computers, and
its information is much more accurate than the airlines' simple "on time" or
"delayed" reports.

Bob 1/11/04

-----------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Harold Geissenheimer" <transitmgr2 at earthlink.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>; <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2004 8:59 AM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Geography


>
> Greetings to all
>
> About geography......for some reasons I never understood,
> some schools (most?) have dropped the subject.
>
> But there other reasons I believe for the lack of geographic knowledge.
>
> Aviation vs long distance trains....Fly to California and try to
> identify the states in between coasts.
>
> Taking a train you identified the Mississippi River and the Rocky
Mountains,
>
> Read the timetable and you learn your route
>
> When I was in high school I learned the railroad routes by collecting
> rr system timetables.  They were in racks in hotel lobbies available to
all.
>
> Also avaliable road maps.  Every oil company issued free maps which
> were available in gas stations.  I collected them also.
>
> In the NY public schools, I had geography classes.  Often tied to history
> to explain the Civil War etc.  I believe most Europeans can name
> adjacent nations by taking the train.
>
> Being a rail fan helped also.
>
> My mother only reached 8th grade before going to work in World War I
> But she could name the various capitals.
>
> I wonder now in western Pa how many students know the difference
> between the classes of various cities, boroughs, first and second class
> townships.
>
> Another example where our society and culture has failed
>
> Harold Geissenheimer
RR