Downtown parking

[Red Arrow]

Elon Musk released his idea this afternoon
http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/blog_images/hyperloop-alpha.pdf

At the most basic level, the concept seems OK.  The devil is always in the details.  My guess on cost is to expect big overruns.  Development cost seems to have been neglected.  The semi-reclining passenger seats may be incompatible with rapid loading and unloading.  Headway times seem overly optimistic.  I don't see cost of the tube as being significantly less than regular rail except for ROW costs which could be low if routed along I-5.  He talks of a 1G acceleration to speed but then limits other accelerations to 0.5G for passenger comfort.  Side routes with minimal headway times and high speed may be really tricky.  Vehicles would need to slow down significantly to negotiate the change in direction of a turn-out while maintaining the lateral support of the tube.

Somehow it seems like the old JC Whitney ads to add horsepower to you engine.  Put on all the small increases and you could get 500 HP (slight exaggeration) from a small block Chevy or Ford.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Elon Musk released his idea this afternoon
http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/blog_images/hyperloop-alpha.pdf

All I can think of is a line from "Animal House" where Dean Wormer says "Put a sock in it, or you'll be out of here like sh!t through a goose".

[heironymouspasparagus]

There are several open tracts of land along Greenwood, from Archer to about 3rd.  How about a different direction?  Community gardens.  Possibly a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) approach to a truly productive use of the land instead of another slab of assfault.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Reading through it now...
It's 100 miles between Tulsa and OKC
Perhaps the cost between Tulsa and OKC is closer to a couple hundred million.
Perspective:  Cost of BOK center:  $178 mil.

What would those luxury apartment nay-sayers think if OK got a futurama tube between OK's two largest cities?
And got it first?

Heard talk on NPR a few days ago about high speed rail from Tulsa to OKC....estimated at over a billion.  Too much. 

Elon's idea is fantastic.  Didn't finish that article, but EE Times was talking about it and a NYC to LA was proposed at about an hour.  Pull a little vacuum on one side, and a little pressure on the back, then levitate magnetically for low friction...NOW we're talking transportation!!

[BKDotCom]

At the most basic level, the concept seems OK.  The devil is always in the details.  My guess on cost is to expect big overruns.  Development cost seems to have been neglected.  The semi-reclining passenger seats may be incompatible with rapid loading and unloading.  Headway times seem overly optimistic.  I don't see cost of the tube as being significantly less than regular rail except for ROW costs which could be low if routed along I-5.  He talks of a 1G acceleration to speed but then limits other accelerations to 0.5G for passenger comfort.  Side routes with minimal headway times and high speed may be really tricky.  Vehicles would need to slow down significantly to negotiate the change in direction of a turn-out while maintaining the lateral support of the tube.

Somehow it seems like the old JC Whitney ads to add horsepower to you engine.  Put on all the small increases and you could get 500 HP (slight exaggeration) from a small block Chevy or Ford.

The .5G he refers to is the side-to-side / go-around-a-corner forces..  which are apparently more annoying that than push you straight back into your seat forces.

In an interview he made after the release, he's revealed he now plans on building a prototype

"I think it might help if I built a demonstration article. I think I probably will do that, actually. I've sort of come around in my thinking on that part."

- http://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahelliott/2013/08/12/latest-update-elon-musk-will-start-the-hyperloop-himself/

[Red Arrow]

The .5G he refers to is the side-to-side / go-around-a-corner forces..  which are apparently more annoying that push you straight back into your seat forces.

In an interview he made after the release, he's revealed he now plans on building a prototype - http://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahelliott/2013/08/12/latest-update-elon-musk-will-start-the-hyperloop-himself/

I realize the .5G mentioned is lateral.  1G go faster/slower is equivalent to about 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds, assuming constant acceleration.  I believe most passengers will not find that to be comfortable.  Increase in speed would probably be better tolerated than deceleration at 1G.  Both would be a no liquid refreshment type ride.

[davideinstein]

Heard talk on NPR a few days ago about high speed rail from Tulsa to OKC....estimated at over a billion.  Too much. 

Elon's idea is fantastic.  Didn't finish that article, but EE Times was talking about it and a NYC to LA was proposed at about an hour.  Pull a little vacuum on one side, and a little pressure on the back, then levitate magnetically for low friction...NOW we're talking transportation!!

A billion is about what we've spent on the Brady so far. I think high speed rail between the two cities has about the same value, plus we have federal funds already allotted for it.

[Cats Cats Cats]

Too bad our state isn't forward thinking enough to try to get them to prototype here in Oklahoma.  A fast cheap ride from OKC to Tulsa would benefit both cities.

[DTowner]

A billion is about what we've spent on the Brady so far. I think high speed rail between the two cities has about the same value, plus we have federal funds already allotted for it.

I was talking about Tulsa/OKC high speed rail with an ODOT official recently and he told me the real cost estimate is much closer to $2 billion.  He said a lot of the problem is the current RR has a lot of turns that would have to be straightened out to get any kind of speed in the high speed rail.  I know ODOT may not be the  most reliable source on this, but I've always felt that $1 billion figure was somewhat pulled out of the air and it's been around a while.  Plus, what project like this ever comes in even close the original cost projections.  

[BKDotCom]

Too bad our state isn't forward thinking enough to try to get them to prototype here in Oklahoma.  A fast cheap ride from OKC to Tulsa would benefit both cities.

And linking Tulsa and OKC first... may make it more likely that any Kansas-City <-> Dallas route would be
KC <-> Tulsa <-> OKC <-> Dallas

Tulsa built the Alaska pipeline.  I think we can handle this.
Our aircraft manufacturing industry's future isn't so certain.   Could Tulsa manufacture the passenger cars/capsules/pods? 

[heironymouspasparagus]

I was talking about Tulsa/OKC high speed rail with an ODOT official recently and he told me the real cost estimate is much closer to $2 billion.  He said a lot of the problem is the current RR has a lot of turns that would have to be straightened out to get any kind of speed in the high speed rail.  I know ODOT may not be the  most reliable source on this, but I've always felt that $1 billion figure was somewhat pulled out of the air and it's been around a while.  Plus, what project like this ever comes in even close the original cost projections.  

ODOT has a vested interest in NOT having high speed rail - they are roads. 

We shouldn't be worried about a billion here...a billion there....the turnpike authority is running around a billion in debt the last time I looked (little over a year ago) and back in the late 90's they were just over $2 billion.  And they can't get a turnpike right yet, so hey, why not give high speed rail a shot?  Just NOT letting ODOT or the OTA get involved....

[BKDotCom]

Just NOT letting ODOT or the OTA get involved....

Oklahoma Department of Tubes and Oklahoma Tube Authority?

[swake]

Oklahoma Department of Tubes and Oklahoma Tube Authority?

you would have to think that pipeline technology could be adapted for this use.

[DTowner]

ODOT has a vested interest in NOT having high speed rail - they are roads. 

I don't disagree, but I think the $2 billion estimate is more realistic and you would still end up with "high speed" rail that isn't very fast and would end in two cities with very little public transit options.

[BKDotCom]

I don't disagree, but I think the $2 billion estimate is more realistic and you would still end up with "high speed" rail that isn't very fast and would end in two cities with very little public transit options.

Two slightly different tube designs were revealed.
a)  passenger only
2)  passengers + their cars  (which read somewhat  like a Tesla Ad..  as he says a full-sized car, "such as the Tesla model S")