When Pigs Fly

Posted on April 27, 2012 by RL CRABB

I attended the Tea Party debates this week. One of the candidates for District One Supervisor had some pretty far out ideas for the future of transportation in our fair little county. Of course, he was somewhat vague on how such lofty goals could be realized on the meager budgets we have been forced to live with in this age of debt and deficits. That’s okay, we all have our dreams.

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9 Responses to When Pigs Fly

Russ Steele says:

April 27, 2012 at 6:29 am

He mentioned that he has invited investors from China to build the rail line to Colfax. That should work out well, until they discover that only 4 or 5 people will be riding the train everyday. Just take the cost per mile to build light rail in hilly terrain and multiply by the total distance and then add a 20% for the cost over run and you will soon realize we cannot afford this dream, under any rational ridership numbers. That is just the cost to build, then we have the cost of maintain the rolling stock and the tracks. Let’s not forget snow removal in the winter. This pig will never fly!

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- rl Crabb says:
  
  April 27, 2012 at 6:41 am
  
  On the up side, if my dream of future aerial sausage comes true, it will mean the muslims haven’t occupied Nevada County. Same goes for vegans.
  
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- Todd juvinall says:
  
  April 27, 2012 at 6:57 am
  
  I think a “zipline”, a continuous one from Nevada City to Colfax with bosun’s chairs would be the most economical. And fun!
  
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Judith Lowry says:

April 27, 2012 at 7:36 am

It’s not just Nevada County with its “no can do” attitude.
The entire U.S. has been left in the dust of other developed nations, with superior rail lines, who will dance on our imperialist graves.
Go Big Oil!

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- Greg Goodknight says:
  
  April 27, 2012 at 8:40 am
  
  Good luck getting the EPA signing off on Flying Pig Emssions. Don’t look up as they fly overhead.
  
  The engineers who make it real are busting their asses developing real solutions; passing laws pushing technologies that aren’t ready for primetime is a recipe for making us all poorer.
  
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- rlcrabb says:
  
  April 27, 2012 at 9:54 am
  
  Some dreams are doable, others are of the pipe variety. In addition to the hurdles Russ outlines, one would have to run the gauntlet of lawsuits from property owners, and the cost of building a span over the Bear River. I used to live in Chicago Park and would take walks along the old Narrow Gauge roadbed. There are many houses along that route today. (On quiet nights in the summer, you could hear the train whistles from Colfax. )
  On the other hand, the new performing arts center that has been bandied about is something that could be realized. If it was up to me, I’d put it on the Loma Rica property, in between the two towns. Together with the Center for the Arts, the Vet’s Hall, and the Nevada Theatre, it’s easy to imagine Nevada County competing with Ashland, Oregon as an entertainment destination.
  
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Ryan Mount says:

April 27, 2012 at 7:41 am

Yes, the truth is weirder.

The other day I made a sarcastic quip about the 2022 Alec Baldwin Administration. 3 days later I heard on NPR that there’s an Baldwin exploratory committee. Be careful for what you wish for. Or in my case, be careful of what you make fun of.

What’s the number one item on the Baldwin agenda? Well obviously it’s genetically altering all American males so they’ll secrete hair gel naturally.

Wait, I just didn’t…

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George Rebane says:

April 27, 2012 at 9:10 am

Having heard this candidate’s dreams about the Colfax railroad, I wasn’t aware that getting to that bustling metropolis has been a problem. What have I missed?

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- Michael Anderson says:
  
  April 27, 2012 at 8:35 pm
  
  George, once we’re on the other side of the Great Divide only your side will still have working automobiles. We need to get a working train in place before that happens (-;
  
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