European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 16, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Is the train of the future too expensive magnetic propulsion for High Speed by Malcolm w. Browne the new York times could trains floating on invisible magnetic cushions one Day carry people from new York City to los Angeles in one hour or is magnetic levitation transportation even in some less ambitious form a Mere fantasy while a definitive answer to the question is not in sight a new $700 million Federal fund has strongly freshened the wind in the Quot mag lev Quot sails. During the six year life of the mag lev demonstration program authorized by Congress last november and signed by president Bush scientists engineers and transportation experts Are to create the prototype of a commercial mag lev train. The train would have no locomotive but would be lofted above its track by a magnetic Cushion and propelled by a magnetic wave. In an article in scientific american sen. Daniel a Moynihan of new York the principle congressional proponent and sponsor of the Federal mag lev appropriation wrote that magnetically levitated trains Quot will define the coming Century much As the Railroad defined the last one and the automobile and air plane have defined this  others View mag lev As an unreal Zable pipe dream. There is no question that trains floating Over magnetic a guide ways Quot and propelled by alternating magnetic Fields could travel at very High speeds with High efficiency and Little or no Wear. Demonstration mag lev trains Are already operating in Germany and Japan the former having established a Speed record two years ago of 273 Miles an hour Over a test track. Planners in Florida Hope to build a 14-mile mag lev train route expected to Cost $500 million from Orlando Airport and to Disney world in Florida. Japan has started work on the first link of a 300-mile mag lev line Between Tokyo and Osaka along which trains would travel at 300 Miles an hour covering 60 percent of the distance in deep underground tunnels. But there is also no question that mag lev transportation systems will be readers action line enormously expensive to build a costing More some analysts contend than the United states could Ever afford estimates Range from $8 million a mile to $63 million a mile of trackway. Papers presented by mag lev experts in february at the annual meeting of the american association for the advancement of science disagreed in some of their technical assessments of various mag lev systems but they agreed on one Point mag lev trains will never pay for themselves from passenger Revenue. If mag lev is to become a substantial form of transportation analysts agree permanent government subsidies will be essential a justified perhaps by a growing need to divert passenger traffic from congested airports and overcrowded highways a mag lev system built with sidings at convenient transshipment nodes might offer major advantages Over trucking to carry freight a a much More profitable cargo than passengers. Freight might make mag lev transportation  november a committee of 19 experts appointed by the National research Council an Organ of the National Academy of sciences gave mag lev a mixed review. The panel concluded that it was technically feasible to build trains even today that Are capable of speeds up to 200 Miles an hour but that no Type of High Speed train a wheeled or magnetically levitated a could Ever be supported in the United states or Canada from passenger Revenue alone. Members of the panel said High Speed passenger trains could find a Niche Over distances from 150 to 500 Miles a Range intermediate Between those at which most passengers would probably prefer to travel by air or automobile. The committee added that even if High Speed trains could be justified conventional designs running on wheels like France s Tiv which have operated commercially for More than two decades without Accident should be considered As alternatives to mag lev systems. But Moynihan and others argue that the real future of High Speed transportation belongs to magnetic levitation and that Europe and Japan have already taken a train moving Mog Nodo Froid electric a Otto that in dump. Magnate Iwald magnate of train in this site of a magnetically levitated train each electromagnets along the guide Way creates a moving by switching polarity whenever one of the train s propulsion magnets passes Over a alternately pulling and pushing the vehicle. Carman design electromagnets japanese design in the German version of magnetic levitation electromagnets Slung from each car pull the car up toward magnets on the guide Way slower surface another set of magnets along the sides keeps the train entered with no friction. In a japanese version magnets in the guide Way repel magnets on the train so that it floats above the track. Source trans rapid . Times news service Long Lead in this technology which was invented in America but never developed. Now that the Federal government has committed appreciable funds for mag lev development the United states has a Chance to regain a position in the mag lev race they say otherwise this country May one Day be reduced to buying mag lev technology abroad. The idea of a magnetically levitated train was described in 1909 by Robert Goddard an american better known for inventing the liquid fuelled rocket. The first modern design for a mag lev train was the work of or. James r. Powell a nuclear Engineer and or. Gordon t. Danby a particle acceleration physicist both of Brookhaven National Laboratory at Upton .they were awarded a Patent in 1968 for their design which underlies Japan s prototype mag lev train and has strongly influenced mag lev planning everywhere. Since 1968 the Federal government has supported several modest mag lev research programs but All Federal financing of mag lev projects ended in 1975, until Moynihan s Bill was passed four months  Story not hard Luck enough q Belore we came to Mildenhall we had orders to Japan. When we got our orders we were told there was a 2.000 Pound weight limit and you could t take your car. So we sold almost ail of our furniture and our new Van which we Only had a year. The car dealer figured we lost about $4,000 on our Van trading Down. I Don t have $300 a month to let a car sit stateside they cancelled our order right before we were going to leave so we were left with no furniture and a car that we owed a whole lot More on than what it was Worth. We went into debt to replace our furniture. Six months later we got orders to Mildenhall. We called before we came to see How Long it would Lake to get housing. We were told eight to 10 months at Newmarket. So my children and i came with my husband we had enough Money to make it for a year. Now the Money we had saved is gone and we will probably have to go Back to the states. The housing office Here says it s not a Good enough reason for us to get housing they say people coming from closing bases Are More important and it s our problem not theirs. It really in t very fair to us. We Are in the same situation As someone coming from a closing base. They said we could have a House at Shepard Grove but our car would t hold up travelling 26 Miles each Way every Day. We tried to explain this but they would t listen. I still owe $2,400 for my car. It s an 84 with 88,000 Miles on it. If anything goes wrong with it and one of us can t make it to work it will be me. Then we re really in trouble All we want is a three bedroom House at Newmarket. Its about 13 Miles from the base. With a House we can make it on our own. I Don t feel its too much to ask. Please consider helping us a Sharon Page Raf Mildenhall englande tech. Sgt. Lehard l. Shock jr., Unocic Public affairs office he 48th fight Wing replies assigning our families to military housing is done on the basis of several factors but ultimately the goal of our policies is to ensure housing is assigned As fairly As possible. Key elements of the housing assignment policy include Grade family size and position on the waiting list. In some cases special circumstances come into play such As medical or other family hardships. In the Case of hardships each Case must be reviewed to determine if an out of Lurn assignment is appropriate. Each time we assign a House to someone out of turn All others on the waiting list Are forced to wait a Little longer. Since we receive Many hardship requests Only the most extreme cases can be approved for out of turn assignments. While Many of the requests Are legitimate they May not be nearly As severe As others and As a result cannot by approved. A Large number of our younger military families seek military family housing for monetary reasons and to avoid financial hardship. In the interest of fairness to All involved Only the most severe hardship cases can be approved for an out of turn assignment. While we regret not being Able to meet everyone s needs for military housing we provide personalized assistance in finding affordable housing on the Economy. With a limited number of family quarters and Long waiting lists we cannot lose sight of our goal to assign military family housing on an equitable basis and find comfortable affordable rentals when military quarters Are not  write us readers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort Quot striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and done to know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. Ail letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 a the stars and stripes monday March 16, 1992