Ferry mpg

[Stig-OT-Dump]

But you are all forgetting that you can't drive a car through or over water. Why, it would be ecologically unfriendly to even try. If you look at the water based economy of the country we really do need ferry traffic.

As it happens, research into "motorways of the sea" (google it if you want to know more) showed that sea was an efficient means of transporting goods, even london-hull-scotland 's east coast, but that where it fell down was the distribution system at either end (to the port and from the port). Fast ferries have their place.

When you look at economies like Ireland's (Eire), ferry traffic is even more important and scheduling reduces the need for warehousing, with all the associated costs there.

Plus, if you're leaving cars behind - why not short haul fly? and that'd be much worse.

(so leave off ferries, I like them..)

 

[Keith Oates]

Generally speaking sea transport is still the most efficient mode of transport. However high performance vessels are less so than others!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Trillian]

It would be interesting to learn the equivalent fuel consumption of the channel tunnel trains. I would expect the train to be more fuel efficient.

There is too much friction in water to make ships efficient users of fuel.

ah, but the all weather channel crossing gets closed in bad winds at the calais end, yet, when they were still running, hover speed were still running to time in winds that had closed the 'chunnel' and could do it faster (12 mins crossing being the fastest time they got with the hovercrafts iirc)

so whats the point?

 

[tdr1nka]

Do you feel the same way about the space shuttle lifting off ?

No because that runs on liquid hydrogen you dingbat!

 

[Keith Oates]

What's a dingbat..................................Oh another name for LLB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TheDoctor]

No because that runs on liquid hydrogen

Which would make the exhaust primarily steam and hot water?
*gets mother of all teapots and 15 000 000 mugs*

 

[Keith Oates]

Which would make the exhaust primarily steam and hot water?
*gets mother of all teapots and 15 000 000 mugs*

Don't do that or we'll never get to work on time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[domd1979]

Deltics are a bit mad. Good at chucking oil everywhere and setting fire to the exhaust... Last weekend had to clean oil off the windscreen on our loco to see out after double heading with a Deltic. Good fun blasting through Leekbrook tunnel though!!

They do make an immense racket, though not much whistle because the engine noise drowns everything out. Deltic engines are quite bonkers, originally designed for marine application. They have some obscure triangular arrangement of pistons:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier_Deltic

Ah yes, but the noise.......

the whistle of those two huge engines.

 

[LLB]

No because that runs on liquid hydrogen you dingbat!

Just to be pedantic, most of its propulsion comes from the twin solid rocket boosters :-

Cured propellant looks and feels like a hard rubber typewriter eraser. The combined polymer and its curing agent is a synthetic rubber. Flexibility of the propellant is controlled by the ratio of binder to curing agent and the solid ingredients, namely oxidizer and aluminum. The solid fuel is actually powdered aluminum -- a form similar to the foil wraps in your kitchen -- mixed with oxygen provided by a chemical called ammonium perchlorate.

The 'main' inboard Oxygen & Hydrogen engines only provide a small proportion of the combined engines power and less than 10% of the combined thrust of the Solid rocket boosters. It wouldn't have enough power to get the shuttle off the launch pad without them.

 

[iandg]

I have just shelled out £127 for a car and £26.50 for a passenger (return ticket) for the Stornoway - Ullapool ferry. I've still got the 200 miles + petrol to pay to get to Kirriemuir for the snow roads. Is it surprising I don't ride many cycling events?

Calmac are supposed to be reducing the Isle of Lewis ferry charges by introducing a 'road equivalent tariff' later this year. This should reduce ferry charges by approx. 1/3

 

[Trillian]

yeh, the hovercraft can be put off by bad weather, i don't deny that, however i've known a couple of occasions that cross winds at calais have closed it. and i find it bizare that an 'all weather' method can be closed by the weather.

 

[Keith Oates]

I once did a channel crossing on a hovercraft. Firstly it was delayed due to bad weather and then when it did finally get underway all was fine until we cleared the shelter of the land. The motion when a wave caused the air cushion to escape was very upsetting and most of the passengers onboard were soon 'throwing up'. I was one of the ones that didn't but the motion was very strange!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LLB]

Linf, why did you ask me about the shuttle?

Because you bang on about the excesses of consumption and then praise the raw power of massive machinery

 

[LLB]

The attack on the twin towers was breathtaking and awesome linf.

It doesn't mean that I support it.

Buffoon.

If you want respect as a mod - Drop the name calling MrP.

 

[LLB]

Respect from you is not something I value linford.

You continually try to make arguments out of things that aren't being said, or very basic statements that you misunderstand. Or you divert from your misunderstandings by picking up on other parts of the posts, as you have here.

Try posting about cycling occasionally.

You don't want to talk cycling with me MrP, you just like arguing the toss about everything else

You constantly lean on the green aspect of cycling as the be all and end all of the pastime/transport. This still doesn't escape the fact that you are a two car family running an MPV as your main family runaround.

I know what I am and don't make any pretentious claims to my green credentials, but what does this make you ?