Difference between revisions of "Railroads"

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(→‎Types of Railways: renamed and slightly restructured. More work is needed.)
(Adding new section with items discussed in NSS Space Chat yesterday evening.)
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:Vestibulation issue  
 
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:Gauge  
 
:Gauge  
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==Rail System Solutions==
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===Number of Rails===
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The number of rails may vary.  Does the system go with a monorail solution, a two rail solution, or a three rail solution that provides external power?
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===Rail variations===
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A smooth rail is the tried and true Terrestrial solution refined over an extended time period.  Any proposed alternate type of rail would need to prove its capabilities to exceed the safety and performance in Lunar gravitation.  A possible point of concern is that with lower gravitation the risk of derailment may be greater.
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Maglev solutions have been experimented with on Earth and may have value, especially after the infrastructure needed is in place.
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A toothed rail and wheels might be able to provide some additional stability.
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==Motive power==
 
==Motive power==

Revision as of 01:07, 21 September 2007

Railroads are one of best methods of moving materials over landscapes. In the short run they are expensive to build yet over the long run the prove to be very valuable. Your other options are to go over the rough or paved surface in a vehicle or to mix your material with a liquid or gas and send it through a pipe.


Lunar Environment

The Lunar Regolith consists of extremely fine crushed rock. This acts like abrasive powder and will electrostatically adhere to anything in contact with it. Vehicles travelling over the open surface will experience wear at an accelerated rate. Paving a road with dust free materials does not solve the problem because the sunlight will cause the dust to climb up and over structures to about a meter in height.

One solution to this problem is an elevated railroad supported above what the dust can reach. The cost of building such a structure compared to earth is greatly reduced due to the 1/6 Gravity and firmly compacted water free soils. Rust and weathering is not a factor. Electrifying the rails is quite easy as there is no corrosion of even calcium to consider. If you build it you pretty much can count on it performing even under heavy load for decades if not hundreds of years.

Mars

With such a thin atmosphere and no oxygen, Mars has essentially the same dynamics as the moon only with more gravity (better cornering).

Asteroids

All asteroid like objects have a gravitational force insufficient for traditional railways. The modifications necessary are two fold. An upper tract must be added like roller coaster to be able to go a reasonable speed without jumping the track. All materials must be securely fastened with either lids or binding clamps.

Cargo Type Iteration Development Model

Bulk Iteration

In the soil of the moon there is elemental nickel iron that can be easily collected and thus a strategic resource. At a concentration of only a few kilograms per cubic meter, it makes sense to build a railway to open up new regions once the local soil has been processed. This need not be a major railway as the amount of material that can be passed over even a model guage can be hundreds of tons a day. The rails are easy to make from the iron so the real cost is in electrically powering the system.

Freight Iteration

Once you have a sizable base and need higher volumes of material, you simply leverage the existing facilities to build a larger railway. Railroads are exceptional for automated delivery and could conceivably be launched like carrier pidgeons to far off secondary bases. A lunar railway of about a meter wide would be able to transport virtually any freight.

Passenger Iteration

For passengers and large more fragile freight, you will need protection from radiation as well as the extremes of the solar insolation. A railway with tracks several meters apart (wider than on earth) should have the desired characteristics of fast travel in secure accomodations. Once you have a developed network of railways the need for vehicles to drive on the surface is reduced to a local level. Railways are far less to maintain and last significantly longer.

Design Issues

Thermal expansion issue
Switching issue
Derailment avoidance issue
Vestibulation issue
Gauge

Rail System Solutions

Number of Rails

The number of rails may vary. Does the system go with a monorail solution, a two rail solution, or a three rail solution that provides external power?

Rail variations

A smooth rail is the tried and true Terrestrial solution refined over an extended time period. Any proposed alternate type of rail would need to prove its capabilities to exceed the safety and performance in Lunar gravitation. A possible point of concern is that with lower gravitation the risk of derailment may be greater.

Maglev solutions have been experimented with on Earth and may have value, especially after the infrastructure needed is in place.

A toothed rail and wheels might be able to provide some additional stability.


Motive power

Solar electric network
Polar power tower network
Maglev
Conventional
Nuclear
Fuel cell
Lunar fuels

Right of way

Real estate grants
Siding-based starter settlements
Pipelines
Roads

See Also

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