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Surely if it were big enough it'd not bob about too much? And you could include some kind of self-stabilising linkage in the bit that supports the track?
You could have rail links across seas and oceans that way - wouldn't that be fantastic?
yeah but, no but.
out side the box thinking - but im glad your in IT 😉
Tie some boats together...
Trains are fairly heavy, and not great at dealing with water in large quantities, nor gradients.
So, if you can make a bridge that can float and deal with 2000+ tonnes without moving then yes.
I suspect it would be easier and cheaper to just fill the Atlantic in.
Floating bridges would be far more viable for road vehicles.
You really didn't think this idea through; did you?
Surely if it were big enough it'd not bob about too much?
or a tunnel .....
I don't mean a Dad's Army style pontoon. Each float would have to be really big of course to not bob about all over the place.
Maybe properly fast boats would be better.
I thought how cool a bridge across the Atlantic would be then I thought about what it'd be like to actually drive it. Three thousand miles of bridge would be agony. There'd have to be entertainment cities or something along the way, resorts where you could spend the night with things to do. Some kind of automatic driving system would definitely help.
Re the bobbing about - yes of course they'd bob about, that's why you'd have to have a giant steadycam thing built in.
There was a TV doc on the other day about a suspended underwater rail tunnel across the atlantic ........ apparently not totally unrealistic!!
Maybe properly fast boats would be better.
Or even, right, check it: Big metal birds which can carry passengers in! 😮
Big metal birds which can carry passengers in!
Can I take my car in one?
They've done this already, over 100 years ago over Rannoch Moor. They dug down to try and find the bottom of the bog and couldn't, so the track floats in the bog in places.
Burn the witch! Flying metal birds my arse.
There is this daft thing in China...
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I want some of whatever Molgrips has been smoking.
you ever been on a semi sub or a drill ship oil rig molgrips ....
Obviously not 🙂
Would the floats be blasted for when the train is not on the floaty bridge thingy and ballast pumped or moved out of the section as the train moved on to it so it all stays at the same level of floatyness? Hmmm big fast pumps or slow train?
What about cakes, would there be a cake shop?
[url= http://www.tunneltalk.com/images/Strait-Crossings/6-1-TransAtlanticTunnel.jp g" target="_blank">
http://www.tunneltalk.com/images/Strait-Crossings/6-1-TransAtlanticTunnel.jp g"/> [/url]
florida keys has a similar bridge
wouldn't it be easier just to run the road across the ice caps 'oop north'? they hardly move at all.
still struggling to see why somone would want to do a 3,000 mile journey by train (quick maths suggests a full day's travel) when you can do it by plane quicker, and for a whole load less money, once you take into account the multigazillionpound cost of building such a line
Can I take my car in one?
🙄
You can take a frikken' hekilopter in one if you really want to...
[img] 
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'Oh but I've got a Space Shuttle will that fit on a Big Metal Bird?'
Sigh...
Yes.
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(quick maths suggests a full day's travel)
A full 24 hours at 125mph...
There's an ace bridgunnel from denmark to sweden I think, half bridge, half tunnel...[img] 
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once you take into account the multigazillionpound cost of building such a line
you're thinking back in the box again! The floaty things you put the train on needn't be fixed. So you'd only need enough line for the length of the train, then let's say with 3 of these things you could move them in front of each other the whole way across like those rolling stuff along on logs.
I'm building the replacement for [url= http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=5441&NewsAreaID=2 ]This[/url] as we speak...
You could get around the bobbing by building a big wall either side of the tracks to stop the waves. All the boats would need to go on the giant birds to get over them though.
CharlieMungus - Memberonce you take into account the multigazillionpound cost of building such a line
you're thinking back in the box again! The floaty things you put the train on needn't be fixed. So you'd only need enough line for the length of the train, then let's say with 3 of these things you could move them in front of each other the whole way across like those rolling stuff along on logs.
You could even call it a boat.
I think a space elevator is more feasible.
well, yes, it is a bit like a boat, but there are three of them and they move to carry the train
[url= http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/transatlantic.htm ]A Transatlantic Tunnel Hurrah![/url]
CharlieMungus - Memberwell, yes, it is a bit like a boat, but there are three of them and they move to carry the train
It exists!
[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_ferry ]Train Ferry[/url]
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a train on a conveyor belt
the big question is - will it take off 😉
Think of the delays caused by all the seaweed on the line...
Transatlantic trains? About as likely as an Edinburgh tram......
I think this thread needs some [url= http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2006/12/biggest-ships-in-world-part-1.html ]Dark Roasted Blend[/url] treatment:
[img] 
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[img] 
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Ave that!
i built a poontoon brdge [tottaly floating no land based parts] and the problem is getting heavy weights [dumper truck for example] on and off as they cause the bridge to massively dig into the waters. I suspect the rails would be strong enough to keep the rails parallel and hold the poontoons in place
So I think it can technically be done if the train stays on the floating rails
How about a suspension bridge that's based on a Newton's Cradle (swingey exec toy thing), obviously a huge stressed executive giant would need to be employed to set things off. Or maybe just get some dragons an' that?
Elfin, that link has just done some strange things to my PC...
Had a look at one of these at work a short while ago. There are plenty of them around, best on deep lakes where there are no strong currents, more stable water level (no tides, less impact from flooding) and piers would have to be so tall/deep they'd be impractical to build or finance.
The pontoons are anchored to the bottom, but you've still got the wind to worry about. Some pontoon bridges have had tugs put in place during heavy storms, pulling the bridge into the wind to stop the anchors snapping and the whole thing blowing away.
So the Atlantic has massive storms and very strong currents. How long would the anchors have to be? What sort of angle would they have to be at? And the lower the pontoons sat in the water to mitigate movement due to swell, the more they'd be susceptible to forces from currents. And how much would it cost to constantly inspect all the pontoons to make sure they were water tight?
For those reasons, I'm out.
When they build it... and you travel across it... can you take this cup with a bit of string tied to the end of it with you?
I need to call my Nan.
Ta.
How about you split the train into it's seperate carriages and made each one watertight and then just floated then across instead? You could put props on each one to make them move quicker as well
Bah - I'll halve the costs and the technical challenge of this floaty railway bridge thing. Let's build a MONORAIL!
Tehre is this concept for a floating tunnel
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/engineering/transatlantictunnel/interactive/interactive.html
North Atlantic gyre says no (as would 10-40m waves). Plus it would just be completely pointless in so many ways.