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One Last Ride into the Great Northern Woods

https://www.straphanger.blog/a-ride-on-the-105-year-old-train-de-charlevoix-2/

Published: January 7, 2025 18:05

A Father-Son Excursion on Quebec's Century-Old Train de Charlevoix

The National Museum of Railway Joy

https://www.straphanger.blog/the-national-museum-of-railway-joy/

Published: December 30, 2024 15:44

Crocodiles, Elephants, and Other Iron Beasts at Switzerland's Verkehershaus // As a model for building a national network of sustainable transportation, Switzerland is hard to beat. (In terms of per capita rail usage, it is second only to Japan; every…

The Inventor of Transit

https://www.straphanger.blog/the-inventor-of-transit/

Published: December 27, 2024 15:23

An homage to the inventor of public transport, French philosopher Blaise Pascal.

The Future is Electric!

https://www.straphanger.blog/the-future-is-electric-2/

Published: December 2, 2024 21:14

// That's the story we're being sold. But not all electric transport is created equal.Here are the facts: globally, transportation is the second-largest contributor to emissions, after energy and heat production. But as energy production is getting…

From the Red Hell to the Sky of Blue

https://www.straphanger.blog/from-the-red-hell-to-the-sky-of-blue/

Published: November 17, 2024 21:03

// It's been an awful week. I don't live in the United States, but I'm close enough that the victory of Donald Trump is going to cast a shadow over my life, the life of my friends and family, and, quite assuredly, over the life

The War on Bikes

https://www.straphanger.blog/the-war-on-bikes/

Published: October 28, 2024 13:26

Ontario's Bicycles Aren't the Problem. "Ford Nation" Is the Problem.// At the end of the oughts, when I was working on my book Straphanger, everybody in the world of transportation and urbanism was horrified by, and obsessed with, Rob Ford, who was elected…

Villages Without Cars

https://www.straphanger.blog/villages-without-cars/

Published: September 30, 2024 17:08

In the Swiss Alps, I Explore an Automobile-Free ParadiseWhen you think about it, there are very few inhabited places in the world that haven't been touched by automobile traffic. The empire of internal combustion and asphalt has stretched its tendrils into…

Small Can Be Beautiful

https://www.straphanger.blog/small-can-be-beautiful-2/

Published: September 23, 2024 16:59

Is Microtransit a Shuck, or an Essential Service?// Some years back, I was walking along the Viale di Trastevere, the main drag of one of my favourite neighborhoods in Rome. Because of my interest in transportation, I'm always on the look-out for anything…

Train-Time Travel

https://www.straphanger.blog/train-time-travel/

Published: August 12, 2024 13:20

A Voyage Back to 1955, When Passenger Rail Still Ruled the Land// After spending some time in Europe—where I almost always get around by rail, usually of the high-speed variety—I'm inevitably beset by a sense of melancholy when I return to North America.…

The Little Station Library

https://www.straphanger.blog/the-little-station-library/

Published: July 25, 2024 17:02

And Other Inspiring Places where Books and Transport Meet// Last week, I wrote about the co-evolution of railways and books. To summarize: railway journeys, often of several hours, often in compartments, were ideal settings for reading a book, a newspaper,…

The Penguincubator and the Railway Journey

https://www.straphanger.blog/the-penguincubator-and-the-railway-journey/

Published: July 17, 2024 15:32

The Express Co-Evolution of Books and Trains// As a child, I dreaded long drives in the family car. I was a bookish kid, but when I tried to read in the backseat of one of a long line of Volkswagens, I was gradually overtaken by a mounting nausea that…