light-rail (13. 623)

Via Kottke, we learn that a rather enterprising Swiss start-up has recently concluded the first year’s trial run of a demonstration project in along a one hundred metre stretch of train track in the village of Buttes in the canton of Neuchâtel that placed forty-eight removable solar panels in the space between between the rails (called sleepers—Bahnschwellen, the spot for the crossties). Installed in May of 2025, the short spur has seen the traffic of over eleven thousand locomotives (despite its size and remoteness, it is well-connected to the national transport network), rolling safely over the panels, which despite the narrow gauge, short length of the array and interruptions for maintenance and winter snows, the portable solar generator produced enough electricity to power four average Swiss homes for an entire year. The innovative idea is attracting interest in Italy, France, the Philippines and South Korea.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica) plus Project Ester

two years ago: more links to enjoy plus the Trump-Vance ticket

three years ago: even more links,  Netscape Navigator defunct (1993) plus the Rosetta Stone (1799)

four years ago: Jane Fonda in Vietnam (1972) plus Gangnam Style (2012)

five years ago: the Elder Fuþark plus the Stone Ship of Nassjä

six years ago: a rhapsodic roller-coaster, Castor and Pollux plus more official state junk