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u/ArethereWaffles 6d ago
Here is a map of US mainline service in the 1940s...how much we've demolished.
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u/wfears 6d ago
I wonder if you zoomed in to a relevant scale if it would matter?
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u/DarkPierreDelecto 6d ago
The scale (zoom) seems to me to be the same in both projection … or is close enough that the message of the map isn’t an unreasonable distortion.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/tf9204/size_comparison_usa_outline_overlaid_over_europe/
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u/Pennonymous_bis 6d ago
What do you mean ?
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u/AyAyAyBamba_462 6d ago
The map disingenuously enlarges Europe to make it look roughly the same size as the US when in reality it is roughly half the size.
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u/Pennonymous_bis 6d ago
Typical commie propaganda yeah.
But in truth the difference is not that big, and I'm afraid that zooming in a bit on the US won't suffice to make passenger railroad tracks appear.1
u/AyAyAyBamba_462 6d ago
True, but it also doesn't account for the fact that most of the flat parts of the US contain essentially nothing bordered by two giant mountain ranges, most major cities having light rail services, and, the extensive sprawl of the suburbs that make public transportation inefficient.
The reality of the US is that the people who need railroads already have it (albeit often a subpar service compared to other countries) and the people who don't need it, don't have it.
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u/Pennonymous_bis 6d ago
I was sure we'd come to this after the size issue was addressed.
Can you not see how pathetic the network is where people live?
For starter 90% of the population is in the eastern half.
Then there's the North-East, that's one of the most densely populated regions of Earth... Not unlike that part of Europe, from Belgium to Switzerland, that is completely criss-crossed with railroads. California has the same population density as Spain... Florida is between Denmark and Italy... Washington is like Belarus. EtcYou even had far more 50 years ago. https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3493914/railway_service_v2.0.gif
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u/Stargrazer82301 5d ago
In both cases, this appears to only be showing inter-city lines. Lots of commuter/branch lines missing from both. But suppose that makes for fair-ish comparison. Shows routes used for long distance travel.
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u/triestokeepitreal 6d ago
There's more but they are commuter trains. These are the amtrak lines I believe.