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Train dreams
The story of early twentieth-century day laborer Robert Grainer, who endures the harrowing loss of his family while struggling for survival in the American West against a backdrop of radical historical changes.
Book
Exploring the risk transmission characteristics among unsafe behaviors within urban railway construction accidents
Various construction accidents are proven to be caused by multiple unsafe behaviors (e.g., wrong use of PPE), but the risk transmission among different behaviors remains unclear. This paper provides insight into risk transmission through behavioral risk chain that leads to accidents from a system safety perspective. To better understand the coupling mechanism of various unsafe behaviors, integrate different behavioral risk chains and present the risk transmission process, a directed-weighted complex network (DWCN) method was adopted. Historical urban railway construction accidents in China are investigated to extract behavioral risk chain. A DW-BRCNA is applied to integrated behavioral risk chain and the behavioral risk transmission characteristics are explored and clarified by the five network properties, including degree and degree distribution, node strength and node strength distribution, average path length and diameter, weighted clustering coefficient and betweenness centrality. The results show that DW-BRCNA has the characteristics of a small-world, scale-free and hierarchical network, indicating that some unsafe behaviors are of greater importance in the process of risk transmission through behavioral risk chains. In addition, risk transmission in critical behavioral risk chains is more potentially to lead to accidents. This study proposed a new perspective of accident causation analysis from risk transmission among unsafe behaviors. It explains the risk transmission characteristics by a DWCN method based on behavioral risk chains. The findings also provide a practical guidance for developing control strategies on sites to prevent risk transmission and reduce accidents.
Journal Article
Model trains : creating tabletop railroads
\"Model trains are about more than building each car. It is also about building realistic surroundings for the train to travel through. This compelling introduction to model making explains the mathematics of scale, how clockwork, electric, and steam trains work, and the difference between building from a kit and building from scratch. Tips on painting, cutting and filing, cementing, and basic electronics help build fine-motor skills. Young readers are encouraged to build patience, concentration, perseverance, and problem-solving.\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
The filth of progress
The Filth of Progress explores the untold side of a well-known American story. For more than a century, accounts of progress in the West foregrounded the technological feats performed while canals and railroads were built and lionized the capitalists who financed the projects. This book salvages stories often omitted from the triumphant narrative of progress by focusing on the suffering and survival of the workers who were treated as outsiders. Ryan Dearinger examines the moving frontiers of canal and railroad construction workers in the tumultuous years of American expansion, from the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 to the joining of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads in 1869. He tells the story of the immigrants and Americans-the Irish, Chinese, Mormons, and native-born citizens-whose labor created the West's infrastructure and turned the nation's dreams of a continental empire into a reality. Dearinger reveals that canals and railroads were not static monuments to progress but moving spaces of conflict and contestation.
eBook
The filth of progress : immigrants, Americans, and the building of canals and railroads in the West
\"In America's historical imagination, toil and triumph against nature and overwhelming odds characterizes such achievements as the Erie Canal and the transcontinental railroad. Triumph transformed canal and railroad entrepreneurs into visionaries whose work brought the nation bountiful riches and did the Lord's bidding. Celebrated for their spirit and perseverance in 'building' the nation's infrastructure, they found respect for looking to tomorrow and creating a future. For generations, most indexes of American history supported and reinforced this narrative of progress. Yet, if this is the historical memory, it is conveniently stunted. What of those whose bodies strained and broke under the load of such glories? What of those men beyond the din and fanfare who only appear in old photographs with faces blurred and indistinguishable? In their lives and deaths in the mud, muck, and mountains is another history of American achievement. These barely visible and forgotten, ordinary men, 'unskilled' immigrants from Ireland and China, Mormons, and native-born American workingmen rank, as well, as the creators of national growth and progress. Their experiences and voices, along with those of the privileged and well-connected, are the subjects of this study. I examine the rise of Western canals and railroads to national prominence through the menial labor of countless men, largely hidden from view because they left virtually no paper trail, who strung together livelihoods at the economic fringes of society. This book examines the contest for control of American progress and history as distilled from the competing narratives of canal and railroad construction workers and those fortunate enough to avoid this fate\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Reducing the social risks of transnational railway construction: a discussion on the formation mechanism of host country people's coping behaviors
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the formation mechanism of the host country people's coping behavior regarding the construction of transnational railways to help engineering managers and decision makers improve their risk management and lead to sustainable transnational railway construction projects.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopted the grounded theory methodology to analyze the news stories reported by “Belt and Road Portal” and “The New York Times” about eight transnational railways. They were China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan (Central Asia), Mecca-to-Medina (West Asia), Hungarian–Serbia (Europe), China–Nepal (South Asia), Bi-Oceanic (South America), Mombasa–Nairobi (Africa), China–Laos (Southeast Asia) and Panama railways (North America). The keywords for news search were the names of each railway. After eliminating the problem sentences with semantic repetition and ambiguity, 2,631 effective sentences were formed to screen the information and code. The process included open, axial and selective coding.FindingsIt was concluded that the core structure of the formation mechanism was “situation,” “influence factor,” “cognition” and “coping behavior.” The country-of-origin image has served as an adjustment function in the analysis for the host country people. Governance strategies were suggested focusing on risk prevention, risk mitigation and risk response according to social risk management.Research limitations/implicationsThe rise of transnational railway construction is encouraged by the process of globalization. But during the long construction period, the host country people's coping behavior would develop into social conflicts and mass incidents, becoming a significant obstacle to construction objectives. Thus, studying the formation mechanism of public coping behaviors can better take measures to prevent social risks.Originality/valueThe contributions of this research are three aspects: first, a formation mechanism of the host country people's coping behavior based on grounded theory is presented. Second, the country-of-origin image is found to be a factor that cannot be ignored in a transnational context. The formation mechanism of public coping behaviors is improved compared to risk management in the domestic situation. Finally, the host country people pay more attention to the motivations of country-of-origin's controlling interests and their own emotions compared with internal stakeholders.
Journal Article
Dance of the Jakaranda
Set in the shadow of Kenya's independence from Great Britain, this story reimagines the special circumstances that brought black, brown, and white men together to lay the railroad that heralded the birth of the nation.-- Provided by publisher.
BOOK
Crushed stone supply challenges for infrastructure development in Hungary
The rapid expansion of Hungary’s infrastructure projects, especially in railway construction, has significantly increased the demand for crushed stone. Both national and EU-funded initiatives have strained supply chains, resulting in logistical challenges and material shortages. With limited domestic production capacity, efficient resource management is crucial to keeping projects on track. This paper evaluates Hungary’s supply chain for crushed stone, identifying key weaknesses and proposing solutions to enhance sustainability. Purpose. This study investigates the logistical and supply chain difficulties in delivering crushed stone for Hungary’s railway infrastructure projects. It evaluates current supply limitations, proposes ways to improve domestic resource management, and offers strategies to reduce reliance on imports while emphasizing sustainability. Methodology. The research applies Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling to analyze transportation routes for crushed stone, suggesting ways to streamline logistics. It examines the production capacities of Hungarian quarries, some producing 15,000–25,000 tons monthly, and assesses the impact of European and Hungarian regulations on material quality and availability. The potential for integrating recycled materials into the supply chain is also explored. Findings. Hungary’s domestic quarries cannot meet the high demand for railway ballast, estimated at 192,000 tons annually, leading to import reliance. GIS modeling shows optimized transportation routes could cut costs and carbon emissions. Incorporating smaller stone fractions and recycled materials could mitigate shortages, with recycled materials potentially comprising 40 % of railway ballast. Originality. By integrating geological, logistical, and regulatory insights, this paper provides novel approaches for addressing Hungary’s crushed stone supply chain challenges. The use of GIS modeling and recycled materials offers innovative solutions for reducing environmental impacts. Practical value. The findings present actionable strategies for improving Hungary’s supply chain efficiency, promoting recycling, and optimizing logistics. These solutions are applicable to Hungary and other regions facing similar infrastructure material supply challenges.
Journal Article
Ghosts of Gold Mountain : the epic story of the Chinese who built the transcontinental railroad
\"A ... history of the Chinese workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad, helping to forge modern America only to disappear into the shadows of history until now\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Carbon Footprint of Railway Projects Under the Belt and Road Initiative and the Future Low‐Carbon Pathways
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) makes headway in constructing railway projects invested by China, yet related environmental impacts are rarely discussed. Here we quantify the carbon footprint of railway project construction (RPC) under the BRI and identify the drivers behind their variations to find possible carbon reduction pathways. Our results show that China‐invested overseas RPC in BRI countries induced 2,095.2 Mt CO2 emissions through the global supply chains during 2008–2017. Specifically, 73% of the carbon footprint relies on supply chains in BRI countries, and 27% spills over to other regions serving as the suppliers of global resources. Upgrading key industries' technological levels in BRI countries to China's average level can mitigate the carbon footprint by 77%. Once all industries achieve China's average technological level, nearly 90% of the carbon footprint can be avoided. The findings potentially provide valuable insights into achieving sustainable project construction in cross‐regional cooperation and promoting green development of the BRI. Plain Language Summary The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has promoted massive overseas infrastructure investment and construction in BRI countries, especially railway project constructions. The railway project construction promotes some targets of Sustainable Development Goals while hurting others directly and indirectly. The direct environmental impacts of China's overseas infrastructure projects in BRI countries have been fully investigated. However, the indirect impacts of these overseas railway projects are rarely discussed. Our study quantifies indirect CO2 emissions driven by railway project construction under the BRI through the global supply chains. We find that the carbon footprint mainly relies on supply chains in BRI countries but significantly spills over to the globe as well. Upgrading BRI countries' technological levels (Hereinafter, technological levels are proxied by country‐level emissions intensity) to China's average technological levels can potentially mitigate 77%–90% of emissions. Key Points China‐invested overseas railway project construction (RPC) under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) induced 2,095.2 Mt embodied CO2 emissions during 2008–2017 73% of CO2 emissions induced by RPC rely on supply chains of BRI countries and 27% spills over to other regions Upgrading BRI countries' emissions intensities to China's current level mitigates 77%–90% of carbon footprint
Journal Article