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Comment by a3n | Hacker News Reader

And if only there was some mechanism to get freight from rail yards to its final destination, without the inflexibility of rails. Perhaps some sort of steerable vehicle ...

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Context is key here. The comment you’re replying to was made in the specific context of the volume of long-haul truck traffic on I-40.

Not sure how the context of what I said changes this? Yes, trains already exist and have existed much longer, and yet have obviously lost out to the truck.

> Yes, trains already exist and have existed much longer, and yet have obviously lost out to the truck.

That may be in large part due to the substantial government subsidation of car/truck traffic through public roads, not the merits of one against the other.

Which was worth more, the government funding of the interstate project, or the almost unchecked power and monopoly of the robber barons of the Gilded Age?

It would be foolish for me to attempt to quantify what worth "more"; however, it is worth keeping in mind that the railroads we're very heavily subsidized in their time as well.

http://archive.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2011/06/05/colla...

https://mises.org/library/crony-capitalism-and-transcontinen...

Trains have in no way "lost out" to trucks. Rail transport is a huge and growing industry. But long haul trucks are sometimes preferred because they're faster. Our cargo transportation system needs both.

Trucks aren't just "sometimes preferred", they move far more tonnage than trains.

https://www.bts.gov/content/weight-shipments-transportation-...

Trains didn't "lose out" to the truck, they're both widely used, along with ships, pipelines, airplanes, bicycle messengers, and every other conceivable means of transporting goods.

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