15” thick walls. Flying squirrels and other rodents really want you to build a house like that too!

We lived in Germany, close to the Alps. The houses they had were sturdy and extremely well insulated. To ground floor was always a cool 60F in the summer and the top floor was always a warm 70F in the winter. It was heated with a heat pump and had no active cooling. If I ever have to build a home, I’m definitely talking to folks who are familiar with those construction techniques.

On a side note, we replaced all the insulation in our attic the first year we were here. There were so many runs the generations of rodents had created between 1980 and 2017 that there may as well have not been any insulation at all. It dropped our power bill the next winter by 75%. Our wood burning rate went from 4 cords to about 1 too. Good times… Just something to think about if your current place has insulation that hasn’t been touched since the disco craze ended.

My toddler’s favorite restaurant is buddy’s burgers and fries in Montpelier. Definitely a classic burger joint, so grease is included, but very toddler friendly (and the milkshakes are sooo good)

That’s a bit of a stretch, the way that “driving is subsidized”

Are there even enough people in Vermont to make this worth the investment…

We haven’t been since the pandemic, but my kids loved Ladder 1 Grill in Barre. Its in a historic firehouse. The food is typical pub fare-the building and atmosphere outranks the food but I remember the burgers being pretty good. If the little one would like some cool stuff to look at, its a great option.

One other thing to keep in mind is when restaurants are open on which days, and to factor in either long wait times/make reservations/have a backup. Nothing worse than hangry toddlers (and parents) with limited options. Restaurants are doing the best they can but toddlers don’t always understand…

Guess I think that starting simple, correcting small mistakes, & then building out from there is a better approach for our region with its many issues and low budget. Small scale, imho, works better for VT because of the gnarly features I pointed out in my long first post. Thanks for being civil. Are you a civil engineer? 🌝

You joke but there are blade length limits in some parts of California. High capacity blades I suppose.

3 Tomatoes in Lebanon.

A mix of passenger & freight…

Now you are making sense, Dr T! A rail service to Boston would be helpful; it would take much daytripping traffic off the ‘pikes. We used to have that. NH geology is quite different and much easier than VT. A line from WRJ to Boston might work.

Train station in a town of 2000? Then you… catch the city bus?

I in fact have lived here for a few decades. I admit that I am dreaming big, but I believe starting with a big idea and then whittling it down to what's most realistic is the best approach. We already have to rebuild our roads every few years and seem to have the budget for that...

Thank you! Absolutely will look into them.

I'm 5-10 years away from it, but hoping to do the same thing. Check out Unity Homes in Keene, NH. That's who I'm looking at for the build.

Looks like we have a lot of work to do before a lot of these lines are feasible. Thank you for that reality check! I think we need to focus on the lines which would be obviously sound economic investments (Montreal to Boston being #1). However, I also don't want to dream too small, either, especially in a theoretical Reddit thread.

Worthy Burger is on the way though (South Royalton). Get off 89 at exit 2 and back on at exit 3, I do it all the time on the way to Burlington. Very family friendly. Also just friendly friendly.

Hey folks, KITTYONFYRE is absolutely right—this scheme is well intended but utterly delusional! Do you know the north-south glacial terrain in this region? Have you been around here long enuf to remember the impact on this area and the Keene Valley of New York by Tropical Storm Irene (late Aug 2011)? Do you know what happens during heavy rains along rtes 302, 25, & 2–Barre to St Jay)? RR lines along what you propose would need to be rebuilt every few years, and serviced every year, just to stay functional! It would cost the state billions to launch, and trillions over time! You are incredibly sweet & well meant to put forth a document like this, but perhaps you ought to live here for a handful of tough decades (long enuf to study VT’s history, geology, terrain, climate, weather patterns, etc., and re-think the entire plan. Did you know that VT is the only state with no billionaire residents? I love your altruistic vision. But live here for a few decades and then revise, or develop a more realistic plan. Do we have anything even close to the engineering capacity of Switzerland, Germany, Japan, or China? Probably, but they’re onto more chic & lucrative projects, not wrestling with Vermont’s issues. Do we have the workforce, and the funding to compensate them? Not now…(my dh disagrees with me adamantly, and we’re having a great debate over this tonite.) C’mon, guys…tell me that Kittyfyre & I are wrong! But only after you have tons of study & investigation on your resume.

Bruh I'm from rutland..

Very well-reasoned and realistic thinking. I do believe with the right frequency and really good branding, buses could be more successful in Vermont, which could bring more trains.

Really, I believe what it comes down to is that I think Vermont needs to start seriously building lots and lots of high-density housing in its cities and major town centers NOW. No more single-family housing - way too cost-ineffective and bad for the environment. The state is uniquely situated to be far ahead of the curve on the climate crisis, and if it had ample housing, it could see both a huge population and economic boom with tons of benefits for all of its current residents. Then, connect it all via trains - boom, now we've maintained all of the state's natural beauty and made it more livable while everywhere else will be struggling (although they could do the same thing...). This I do believe to be the real pipe dream, though.

Thank you so much for this great review! My husband is from Kansas and says the only fond memory he has of Pizza Hut is the book-it reading incentive program (get a free personal pan pizza for reading books)

Didn't even know this existed. I really do hope so!

"gotta love Rutland" they smugly say before going and crying about their own town having the exact same issues as every other small rural town in america

I was in Hanover today and I found parking after circling a bit. But a Saturday is going to be hard, and if they’re hungry and with a potentially cranky toddler, a place with a parking lot may be more palatable.

Right down the road!

*I wish it were frozen*

Not sure how it works in Boston, but a lot of of restaurants around here (White River Junction) are closed Monday and Tuesday so plan accordingly.

As mentioned, Tuckerbox is good if you’re digging Turkish fare, but parking can suck. There’s also Big Fatty’s if you like BBQ. IMO, it’s better than Wicked Awesome BBQ, but further off the 89, 91 interchange and they are both New England BBQ, so… yeah. Taj-E is good Indian, but it’s takeout only.

West Lebanon has the chain stores, (Applebees, Chilis, 99, etc) which are meh. Lui Lui’s has good wood fired calazone and some other Italian adjacent foods. Men At Wok is decent asian food, but you’ll find better 10 minutes N in Hanover. Guzano’s is good Mexica fare. Koto is hit or miss hibachi.

In Quechee… Just keep driving, everything there (except subway) is overpriced and mediocre (including subway). The closer to the gorge, the worse it gets.

Woodstock has quite a few places, but is a tourist town, with tourist prices and times.

If you go up to Hanover (91 N after passing into VT from West Leb on 89), you’ll find several good places of virtually all flavors as one would expect from a college town. Haven’t been to an unfriendly one yet. Parking is a certified challenge.

Barre has mostly fast food. But it also has a Pizza Hutt. Being the wife is from Kansas, we have to hit that place. Pretty sure it’s in the Kansas Constitution, a mandate on the birth certificate or some weird genetic memory that gives her that desire.

Montpelier has some decent places on and off Main. We usually hit up the Mad Taco. If the Mrs is feeling curry, we’ll hit the Pho Capital. Not the best I’ve had, but good enough. Really though, at this point, you’re less than an hour from Burlington which is loaded down with restaurants.