[PRCo] Re: Fwd: Streetcars All Over the World - Zurich (2)

[John Swindler]

Postings about other places help provide hints for future travel possibilities.  But I suspect - and hope  - you already realize this, Fred. 
 
John
> From: fwschneider at comcast.net> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Fwd: Streetcars All Over the World - Zurich (2)> Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:38:20 -0400> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> > Bob,> > I have no idea which funicular it is. It isn't the Rigiblick (view > of Rigi) Bahn (railway) because I've attached that. And it isn't > the Pilotbahn, because that's the last one in the column. I'm not > sure what it is unless the Japanese creator slipped in one of the > hundreds of other alpine cog rails in the wrong place.> > The blue cars in Zurich are VBZ (Verkehrsbetriebe Zurich or City > Operations Zurich). The red cars are the Forchbahn, a suburban > system that begins in the southeastern edge of the city of Zurich.> > Switzerland is one of those gorgeous places on the planet that you > just die to go back to. I have a particular near death story about > Zurich of my own. I had been in the country for several weeks. > Arthritic joints in my back (lumber 3, 4, 5) had gotten so bad that I > could barely move by the end of the trip. Now I hate being gouged > but I paid through the nose for a room in a five star hotel across > the street from the train station just because of where it was. And > I stumbled in and stayed there for the last three days (at something > like $300 a night for a single). I fell out periodically to crawl > two doors down to the Chinese restaurant for a meal and then back to > the room. The one cheery sight was going out on the street about > 6:00 one evening and seeing the tour tram go by with the tables set > for dinner ... snow falling ... every one dashing to the train > station to go home. It was like a US city 50 years before.> > Well, came my day to stumble across the street to the train station > and catch a train to the airport to come home Now that is the nice > thing about Zurich ... a mainline train station in the basement of an > international airport.> > When I walked out of the room, there was the concierge vacuuming the > hall. Now, you know Bob that the concierge's job is behind a desk > in the lobby and not vacuuming on the third floor. He saw me, the > vacuum got pushed to the side. He came running down the hall and > grabbed my suitcases. He man was obviously there to see that I got > to the train station in one piece. He walked me over to the > station. Stood beside me while I fed my money into a ticket vending > machine and then put the ticket into a validator. Then he carried > my suitcases onto the coach. When I pulled out my wallet to tip > him, he refused it. I tried to get the man to take the money. He > said, "helping you is my job. I get a salary to do this."> > That man was probably the best salesman the chamber of commerce could > ever ask for!> > The arthritis? The back has since been opened and the joints > scraped. The knees have come from a factory somewhere in the U. > S. The shoulders have been opened and rebuilt. Glucosamine > Condroyton seems to keep the arthritis at bay. I find I can walk up > to six miles for dinner again. For a while.> > And I hope some people do not object to my posting something from > Europe once in a while. I call it education. I think we need to > see how other people survive in this world with out as much fuel. I > find it amazing that we are 3% of the world's population burning up > 20% of the world's fuel. Europeans burn more than their share too > but no where near what we consume. I've spent four years of my > life over there, half living there and half vacationing. I never > cease to enjoy those nations that have cities and countryside instead > of cities surrounded my miles and miles and miles of suburbs and > traffic.> > > > http://www.skiresort.de/english/funicular.htm> > http://www.funimag.com/suisse/Funimag-Suisse.htm#zurich> > http://www.railfaneurope.net/pix/ch/funicular/Rigiblickbahn/pix.html> > http://www.stadlerrail.ch/index.php?page=233> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zürich> > > > > > On Sep 18, 2008, at 5:34 PM, robert simpson wrote:> > > Regarding pictures on link at bottom of page....> >> > Noted picture on Zurich (page 2) of a streetcar with a third rail. > > What is the the reason for or the purpose of this third rail. It > > has on overhead power line.> >> > The pictures are fantastic!> >> > Thanks> >> > Bob> > From Krazy Kalifornia> > where higher taxes are on the way and English is sometimes heard.> >> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> > --- On Wed, 9/17/08, Schneider Fred <fwschneider at comcast.net> wrote:> >> > From: Schneider Fred <fwschneider at comcast.net>> > Subject: [PRCo] Fwd: Streetcars All Over the World> > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org, "SCHNEIDER ALAN" > > <alschneider2 at juno.com>, "Volkmer Bill" <bvolkmer at bellsouth.net>, > > "McGuire Mark" <macmarka at netzero.net>> > Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 2:54 PM> >> > The URL below was sent to me by Bill Robb. I think he didn't want> > to take the heat for putting it on a Pittsburgh Railways address list> > so I'll take the crap. It is a worldwide file of of an amazing> > assortment of about 6,000 streetcar pictures. Go to the map and> > click on the city, or the country and then the city that you want.> > You can spend literally hours on this.> >> > While the list makes no pretense to have subways and heavy urban rail> > systems or other fixed guideway lines, it might have been nice to> > have such a file too. If someone know of a similar worldwide file> > of these other systems, I would be happy to be the recipient of a URL.> >> > In the U. S. A. for instance, we are missing San Juan (Puerto Rico),> > Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, BART, Miami> > and Chicago. In Canada, Montreal and Toronto's subways are> > missing. And the people movers (ALRT, linear induction systems ...> > all those odd things) are missing, such as Vancouver, Scarborough,> > Miami,Jacksonville, Newark, New York, and all the capitve airport> > systems. There is also one in Texas that is missing.> >> > There are some things missing from this ... Charlotte's new light> > rail is missing. Some of the San Diego lines are missing. But I> > commend them for the monumental task that they did do.> >> > Now don't neglect to go to Switzerland and click on Zurich ... there> > is a real nice night time picture of a couple kissing on> > Bahnhofstrasse with a trolley in the distance and behind it the main> > train station. They guy taking some of this stuff did have an eye> > for a picture.> >> > And if you are like me, it's a blast just looking at these to find> > all the places you've been.> >> > Enjoy, guys.> >> > http://www.shugotram.jp/twrldmap/twrldmae.html> >> >>> >> >> >> >> >> > > 
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