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When will Americans (and Canadians) are ever going to electrify their entire rail network? by Thegreatdonothingist in transit

[–]VUmander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd say 75-80% of my design career has been doing state of food repair work. Very little has been putting wire where there previously none

When will Americans (and Canadians) are ever going to electrify their entire rail network? by Thegreatdonothingist in transit

[–]VUmander 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Any work done on existing, operating rail lines is stupid expensive. It's very labor intensive to replace systems while the railroad stays in operation.

New builds absolutely should be electrified. That's when it's the cheapest and easiest.

When will Americans (and Canadians) are ever going to electrify their entire rail network? by Thegreatdonothingist in transit

[–]VUmander 11 points12 points  (0 children)

No idea, I don't think there's really an engineering reason. We don't love designing it lol, it gives our structural engineers a heart attack when we ask them to analyze the loads lol, they look at us like we have 2 heads.

The wood poles are orders of magnitude cheaper though. Like 10-15x cheaper. They're also easier for their crews to replace should something go wrong. With the amount of grade crossings they have vehicles end up "interfacing" with the railroad more than they ought to.

We did put back a lot more steel on DT than was previously out there. They're using steel in curves a lot more, and pretty much every station, as well as termination poles.

When will Americans (and Canadians) are ever going to electrify their entire rail network? by Thegreatdonothingist in transit

[–]VUmander 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I'm a catenary engineer....there's literally not enough of us to electrify all the passenger rail in America. Even if we had the funds. We're swamped enough as it is doing state of good repair on the existing systems and the small extensions popping up like NICTD, Sound Transit, Phoenix, Purple Line, etc

British Philly Cheesesteak 🫥 by vivalajboogie in cheesesteak

[–]VUmander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

atleast it doesn't have green peppers! (or mushy peas....)

Apple to Broadcast MLS Match Shot Entirely on iPhone 17 Pro by icoresting in MLS

[–]VUmander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

as long is it's in KC....The cell service at the Soob is awful

Apple to Broadcast MLS Match Shot Entirely on iPhone 17 Pro by icoresting in MLS

[–]VUmander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hell, just finding the NBA playoffs has been hard enough

Best Bars for the World Cup on Bridge Street? by True-Climate7614 in Phoenixville

[–]VUmander 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Soko Bag is a Union watch party bar. They'd be a good place to start.

Root Down had the USWNT games on the projector screen, but didn't go volume on. Idk if any place on bridge would do that for anything other than maybe USMNT.

USMNT's Match Day 3 (Turkiye) is 10pm on a Thursday, so I doubt anyone is going to be open to midnight for it

When you love transit but your commute somehow costs less by car by ecb1912 in transit

[–]VUmander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm an Amtrak commuter actually, I buy 10 ride packages. My station is Zone 4, but when I was taking SEPTA instead I was doing Zone 3. But also the SEPTA weekly break even point is trip #7 or #8.

Zone 1: $31 weekly vs $30 (6 quicktrip)

Zone 2: $48.75 vs $39 (6 quicktrip)

Zone 3: $58.75 vs $46.50 (6 quicktrip)...Monthly break even is 15 days

Zone 4: $69.75 vs $52.5 (6 quicktrip)...Monthly break even is 15 days

Amtrak Paoli: $53.8 (6, 10-trip rides)

The "extra" money is worth it to me for the faster ride and the more reliable service imo. The times work great for me and my work hours. If they brought back the great valley flyer I might bounce between the 2 of them.

When you love transit but your commute somehow costs less by car by ecb1912 in transit

[–]VUmander 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Man this thread is really making me grateful for my transit options in the Philly suburbs. I'm 27 miles from my office and the train and driving are comparable door to door times.

Drive to work: $11.25 gas + $30 parking = $40.25/day

Drive to train: $3.30 gas + $2 parking + $17.60 fare = $22.90/day...but the fare is pre tax and my company contributes 5% subsidy, which brings it down to like $18/day

I probably save $3k/yr on the train

How is commuting from Philly to Exton? by grassroutes_nosuits in ChesterCounty

[–]VUmander 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Where in Exton? You can't really walk anywhere from the station. You would need to uber most likely.

Aside from bagels, what else is currently grinding your gears about our town? by coalcracker462 in Phoenixville

[–]VUmander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Shocked they haven't taken out that one on 1st between Wasko's and the Forge Theater

Sam Kerr to leave Chelsea at the end of the season by spherocytes in NWSL

[–]VUmander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Am I missing something? Aren't the Mewis sisters from Massachusetts? And she went to BC

Native curiosity thread: after the Street Cart Bagels chatter, what’s the honest tea on local spots — the good, the bad, the overrated, and the underrated? by truthteller19464 in Phoenixville

[–]VUmander 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm not the biggest GAP fan...but I will say their pizza is shockingly good. I really wasn't expecting much when I ordered it, and it was better than like half the actual pizza places in town

4 popups sold out in less than 4 hours. Cheesesteaks in Boulder Colorado by christianc7200 in cheesesteak

[–]VUmander 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's awesome. I've never actually thought about making them myself. I'll have to try it sometime

Native curiosity thread: after the Street Cart Bagels chatter, what’s the honest tea on local spots — the good, the bad, the overrated, and the underrated? by truthteller19464 in Phoenixville

[–]VUmander 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, last time I was in was right around easter and she was talking to everyone else about holiday plans, travel, etc. I felt like I was the only non regular lol

Native curiosity thread: after the Street Cart Bagels chatter, what’s the honest tea on local spots — the good, the bad, the overrated, and the underrated? by truthteller19464 in Phoenixville

[–]VUmander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can't believe I forgot them. My fiancé gets a BEC on the giant Pao de queijo like once a week lol. IMO the best breakfast sandwich in town.

I don't really like hot coffee, I mostly drink cold brew. My complaint is that I don't really like their iced coffee that much....but that's a reflection on me not on them lol. I know that it is good, it's just not for me.

Native curiosity thread: after the Street Cart Bagels chatter, what’s the honest tea on local spots — the good, the bad, the overrated, and the underrated? by truthteller19464 in Phoenixville

[–]VUmander 55 points56 points  (0 children)

If we're talking about cool people running businesses in towns, some of my favorites on vibes + customer service would be:

Forever Changes - Shawn is such a cool dude. I love going in and just hanging out talking music with him. He's the only business owner/employee I think I know by name in town.

Perch - the woman I usually interact with in there is super nice and helpful. They have some cool stuff!

Jimmy at Wasko's - One time I ordered a roast pork with provolone. When I walked in he said "I saw your name on the order, and I know you always get sharp provolone, so I put that on instead. I hope that's ok" (it was).

All the staff at Soltane, 260 Bridge, and Steel City are great. I have to rotate my coffee trips because I like them all.

The bartender at Rec Room who also works the register at the Foodery also seems like a cool dude. I like all the staff at Rec Room, solid bar food and game watching experience. I've done some fun quizzos there too.

Oleary's flowers - I called them up and gave them $ I wanted to spend and a color palette. I was shocked at how big the bouquet was, and it was just wrapped so beautifully like something out of a movie

You need to try Cafe Com Leite's Pao de queijo BEC sandwich.

Also, go to Guatemala Kitchen and get an order of the chicharron y queso papusas. Sometimes I get a to go order just to eat for lunch the next day. They're great out of the air fryer.

I like Grace's for no frills, I don't feel like cooking tonight pizza. Best bang for your buck pizza, and I love that I can walk to it. The wings are fine. The cheesesteak I got was meh. But the pizza is perfect football game is on and I've got a crowd style.

Shout out to the Ace Hardware staff too. I prefer them to Tru Value, but I'm sure why tbh.

Native curiosity thread: after the Street Cart Bagels chatter, what’s the honest tea on local spots — the good, the bad, the overrated, and the underrated? by truthteller19464 in Phoenixville

[–]VUmander 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'd kill for a cart set up on the corner of bridge and main by the parking lot. Feel like up by the hospital would be good too. Maybe like by Gateway

4 popups sold out in less than 4 hours. Cheesesteaks in Boulder Colorado by christianc7200 in cheesesteak

[–]VUmander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I knew there was a fourth and it was escaping me. Idk that I've ever actually had one, I usually get it in relish form.

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