Google Rail View

dowlingm

Google have mounted a streetview camera on a rail flatcar and ran it along a railway line in the Swiss-Italian Alpine area.

Is there any line in Ireland (Wicklow?) picturesque enough to bother doing this?

topnotch

Dublin-Rosslare would be definately worth doing, but very unlikely to happen.

dowlingm

topnotch - you're probably right but what would you identify as the specific impediment

If 201 class locomotives can be tasked with pulling enthusiast trains out of places like Howth then surely an 071 and a flat, perhaps as part of a PW movement, doesn't seem like too much to ask.

Losty Dublin

If Google are willing to pay to have it done, I don't see why it can't be done

flyingsnail

Perhaps, but the difference there is that Irish Rail was not footing the bill to send the 201 to Howth. Not sure how h&s here would view somebody riding on a open flat waggon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4dp1F171w

dowlingm

flyingsnail wrote: »

Perhaps, but the difference there is that Irish Rail was not footing the bill to send the 201 to Howth. Not sure how h&s here would view somebody riding on a open flat waggon.

If it was a country where they usually take the rules with a pinch of salt, I'd say you're dead on. But this is SWITZERLAND. If they found a way it must have taken some will.
http://google-latlong.blogspot.ca/2012/03/take-train-through-swiss-alps-with.html

yachtsman

The Swiss appreciate the capacity and potential of railways. Where there's a will theres a way! If we were to do the likes of this we would want to be offering trips on trains with a view. Unfortunately our ICRs are not designed as such. Notice for instance that many tourist railways offer a view for the passenger ahead from the passenger section behind the Driver. This was once possible here on the railcars but alas no longer possible. The Drivers are now partitioned away like Flight Deck crew. I can't imagine why. Coach Drivers have no problem and they work alone and within physical reach of passengers. The forward view would provide an attractive feature to train travel. A blind could be used by the Driver during periods of reflection from the passenger compartment becoming a problem. The nearest train we have to a tourist train is the Mk 3 Executive now sadly waiting for the cutters torch.

Judgement Day

Some time back there was some excellent drivers eye Irish railway footage posted on Boards and may have been officially produced for IE but it was quickly taken down. Anybody remember the thread or post?

Anyway if CIE/IE were any damn good they would have commissioned such videos years ago and would be busy pedalling them. However, don't expect such innovative,'bold' commercial decisions from the moribund dinosaur that is CIE.

Losty Dublin

Good idea; cab view DVD's. Like the ones Telerail have and sell already?;)

dowlingm

yachtsman wrote: »

The Swiss appreciate the capacity and potential of railways. Where there's a will theres a way! If we were to do the likes of this we would want to be offering trips on trains with a view.

On IE that just means a view of a tractor crossing on yet another user-worked crossing where (a) the gates are left open and/or (b) the vegetation not properly controlled (see many, many past RAIU reports)

Judgement Day

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Good idea; cab view DVD's. Like the ones Telerail have and sell already?;)

I'm well aware of what's available already - my point is that like everything else CIE/IE miss-out on obvious commercial opportunities. Please don't bother coming back with nonsense about the sale of 49 DVDs to 10 and half enthusiasts not being worthwhile - that's CIE/IE's attitude to everything. :rolleyes:

Losty Dublin

Judgement Day wrote: »

I'm well aware of what's available already - my point is that like everything else CIE/IE miss-out on obvious commercial opportunities. Please don't bother coming back with nonsense about the sale of 49 DVDs to 10 and half enthusiasts not being worthwhile - that's CIE/IE's attitude to everything. :rolleyes:

Captain Chaos

About the Google rail thing. Very recently on NIR, 112 hauled a single bogie flat around the Northern network. On this flat was 4x4 pickup truck that had a Google like all round camera set attached to it. It will be interesting to see what comes of it.

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/23991072_CQtCC2#!i=1983022855&k=d6M79jf