Transportation

The Dangers of Train Yards, Through the Eyes of Railroad Employees – Atlas Obscura

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The Dangers of Train Yards, Through the Eyes of Railroad Employees – Atlas Obscura

In 1960, looking west from the Texas and Pacific freight yard in El Paso, Texas, you’d see the lines of the rails curving off to the north, towards the city buildings and smokestacks in the distance. In the yard, after an engine gave a rail car a push on its way, workers might uncouple the car and let it roll under its own momentum down the way, or simply release a brake to start it in motion. During the day and the night, children from the neighboring houses would find their way into the yard, along with itinerant workers and drifters. Cars and trucks following Tornillo Street, a public road, across the dozen or so rails in the yard, might find heavy train cars traveling straight towards them or blocking their way.

For the men working on the trains, it felt like a dangerous situation. The photos shown here were taken by engineers and other rail workers on tracks across the country, in an effort to prove how hazardous these places could be and to show why cutting crews was a terrible idea.

The Half-Truth on Infrastructure at the Heart of the American Jobs Plan

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The Half-Truth on Infrastructure at the Heart of the American Jobs Plan

Here’s a quiz to test your understanding: The American Jobs Plan states that “public domestic investment as a share of the economy has fallen by more than 40 percent since the 1960s.” Does this mean:

Here’s a quiz to test your understanding: The American Jobs Plan states that “public domestic investment as a share of the economy has fallen by more than 40 percent since the 1960s.” Does this mean:

a. The U.S. spends less money on infrastructure today than it did in the 1960s.

b. When adjusted for inflation, the U.S. spends less money on infrastructure today than it did in the 1960s.

c. The U.S. spends more money on infrastructure today than it did in the 1960s, even when adjusted for inflation, but that amount has not kept up with the size of the economy.

d. The U.S. spends more money on infrastructure today than it did in the 1960s, even when adjusted for inflation, even as a portion of the size of the economy, but all that old infrastructure is depreciating more quickly than we are increasing new infrastructure spending.

 

Planet Money : NPR

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About Your Extended Warranty : Planet Money : NPR

Calls about auto warranties or similar guarantees are a constant pain for phone users. But what are these warranties? And why are they not only still around, but seemingly bigger than ever? Today on the show, we dive into the history of this industry and these calls. How they started, got big, and why they persist to this day.

Radar makes the GREEN LIGHT longer?

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Every stop light on the planet has "A BAD PLACE" which makes you feel awkward and more likely to crash. Technology acts is a life guard who throws you a pretty cool life preserver: A longer green light!