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Disgruntled Bovine posted:I used to live half a block from a greenline station so I rode these a lot. I know the Boeing LRV's gave the MBTA a lot of trouble but they were the most comfortable cars on the greenline. They were quiet, had the best AC, the smoothest ride, and the most comfortable seats. Boeing's foray into building transit vehicles was an interesting one. They were one of a few aerospace companies [Rohr also comes to mind] which had excess workforce following the loss of defense contracts (due to Vietnam winding down) in the early 1970s and decided to try railcar building as a result. Rather than hiring engineers and consultants away from their competitors in this new industry, they decided to use their own ~*aeronautical expertise*~ which generally commanded an unnecessarily high level of precision in the manufacturing process, and produced components which were too complicated to withstand the rigors of daily use, such as the door opening/closing mechanisms. Their "US Standard LRV" was the direct result of this way of thinking, and although they worked more or less "OK" on the other system they were sold to (San Francisco's MUNI), the MBTA's cars had problems right and left, and it got bad enough that some of the Boston cars were sold (by Boeing) to San Francisco when the former refused delivery. MBTA kept modifying their cars until they finally did work as intended, which was right about the time they'd reached their intended service life and were retired. However, Boeing did build a drat good "L" car for the CTA in Chicago (the 2400 series). Mostly because the CTA's engineers kept Boeing's design staff at arm's length and demanded justifications for design "innovations" which were only going to overcomplicate the cars and make them unreliable. These cars were still in passenger service up until about a year ago, and they kept a small fleet of ~30 cars for work trains and special events.
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Feb 5, 2016 03:58
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Disgruntled Bovine posted:Interestingly the MBTA still uses old PCC cars on an extension of the red line south of Boston. I've never been down there but I want to at some point just to ride them before they eventually decide to retire the old things. Some have apparently been in service for over 60 years at this point. Are you talking about the Mattapan line? I've read bits and pieces about it and it seems pretty drat cool!
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Feb 5, 2016 04:18
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Neddy Seagoon posted:I forgot about the Hitachi's rising from the grave for that. I dont think the answer to congestion was to oven-bake commuters somehow. That heatwave was bad (obviously as it ended with Black Saturday) and the week of not dropping below 30 at night ending in a 46.9 degree day had the whole network failing. I'm glad I had that week off from uni at the time.
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Feb 5, 2016 06:54
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drunkill posted:That heatwave was bad (obviously as it ended with Black Saturday) and the week of not dropping below 30 at night ending in a 46.9 degree day had the whole network failing. There's no doubt there'd have been some network failures, it was 45+ degrees after all, but I doubt it would've been the catastrophe it was if anyone else other than Connex had been at the wheel. I was also thankful for the same. Not that I'd have gone a step outside on any of those days regardless, because gently caress that noise.
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Feb 5, 2016 07:22
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I have just now realised that this is the same Connex that used to run the trains in south east England, and can immediately sympathise.
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Feb 5, 2016 13:57
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Axeman Jim posted:For the uninitiated. AnsaldoBreda made trains that made BR's worst junk look like world-class engineering. Wikipedia posted:
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Feb 5, 2016 15:22
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Tex Avery posted:Are you talking about the Mattapan line? I've read bits and pieces about it and it seems pretty drat cool! It is pretty cool. The Murderpan line is the only public light rail that goes through a cemetery. Be aware though, it's in a...less nice part of Boston.
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Feb 5, 2016 15:54
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jammyozzy posted:I have just now realised that this is the same Connex that used to run the trains in south east England, and can immediately sympathise. They are to date the only company to be stripped of their UK franchises mid-contract for being poo poo. In fact it happened twice. And considering what the likes of Virgin, SWT and Worst Great Western got up to that's saying something.
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Feb 5, 2016 19:26
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Neddy Seagoon posted:As for the X'Trapolis, they're only just now barely allowed on the "Bayside" lines after nearly a decade of track upgrades, and even then only for a few specific trains on the weekend to show that they can, no really, shut uuuup. Turns out that not only are they still hard on the track despite recent upgrades, but they have to use a single specially-modified X'Trapolis with a speed limiter because otherwise they have a nasty habit of outpacing crossing signals Random thing, ever notice that on the centre doors of the X'Trapolis trains, the aircon vents dont actually expel any cooled air in that standing area? Really great during hot days. I actually prefer the Siemens trains, because they appear to have working aircon all the way through the carriage.
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Feb 6, 2016 12:46
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Me too, plus you can walk all the way along the train instead of using the 'airlocks' on the Xtraps. More room when it gets crowded after a footy match.
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Feb 6, 2016 17:49
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Head-on collision in Germany: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35530538 It's hard to tell from the Google Maps overhead view and there's no Street View mode to check things out closer because German privacy laws are insane, but it looks like this is a single set of rails. Reports are saying that there should have been some sort of autobraking system triggered by passing a stop signal, so it'll be interesting to see what kinds of failures came together here once the investigation is complete.
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Feb 9, 2016 17:10
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wolrah posted:Head-on collision in Germany: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35530538 Rumors currently say that someone overrode the signaling system to let a delayed train catch up, and that signal ended up also being sent to the train going the other direction.
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Feb 10, 2016 00:12
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I am currently on one of the expensively rebuilt class 458s at Barnes. The PA has announced that we are at Mortlake. It says the next station is Clapham Junction whereas it is in fact Putney. Both toilets are out of order. Money well spent.
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Feb 10, 2016 15:13
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Axeman Jim posted:I am currently on one of the expensively rebuilt class 458s at Barnes. The PA has announced that we are at Mortlake. It says the next station is Clapham Junction whereas it is in fact Putney. Both toilets are out of order. Money well spent. When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back  .
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Feb 10, 2016 15:59
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I'm taking the train to work this morning as my car's in the shop and I just encountered my first HSP46, the MBTA's new commuter rail locomotives. I've heard people complain about the replacement of the F40PH-2C "screamers" with these, and while it's true that they don't scream I actually think the low rumble they produce is louder. When this one pulled out of the station it was so loud it set off a car alarm in the adjacent parking garage. I guess it's hard to muffle 4650 hp. 
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Feb 12, 2016 14:47
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You're not kidding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1n0LjhBlkM That sounds like a pretty solid 80Hz-ish rumble at idle that my music production clients would complain about if I put it on one of their mixes... And then it sounds like an HST as it spools past, that's a great-sounding supercharger. For those who haven't had the pleasure, the as-built HSTs (they've since been re-engined) had supercharged Paxman-Valenta engines that would scream under load, more than an F40PH even: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1ICcOu0NkM
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Feb 12, 2016 21:17
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That is a hell of a good sound. That said, the HSP46's are turbocharged, not supercharged. Also the microphone used for that video is not very good. It doesn't capture half of the low range that thing is pumping out. It's the kind of sound you feel more than hear, probably why it's so good at setting off car alarms.
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Feb 12, 2016 22:43
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Axeman Jim posted:You're not kidding: I really miss the Valentas.
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Feb 13, 2016 09:49
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Whoops. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/vline-crisis-tracks-on-365b-regional-rail-link-to-be-torn-up-this-weekend-20160212-gmsude.html quote:V/Line crisis: Tracks on $3.65b Regional Rail Link to be torn up this weekend Vline is the state regional public transport service, a government owned corporation, mainly coaches but a number of rail lines too. This started getting traction when the trainsets failed to trigger level crossings on the suburban network due to the wheels being worn away, although that was apparently un-related it brought the issue to to the media. The Vlocity trainsets are locally built by bombardier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V/Line_VLocity  While the Regional Rail Link was the most expensive public transport project in the states history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Rail_Link And this is the flyover in question, lots of rails because of dual gauge.: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.8087431,144.9429605,106m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en 
drunkill fucked around with this message at 10:40 on Feb 13, 2016 |
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Feb 13, 2016 10:35
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I can't wait for whatever fuckups are going to come with HS2 make that look like chump change 
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Feb 13, 2016 13:23
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Feb 15, 2016 19:22
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Goddamn I love old EMD locomotives 
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Feb 15, 2016 22:03
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I'll take a PA or Baldwin Sharknose over an E unit any day.  The sharks are the BMW 2000 of locomotives.
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Feb 15, 2016 23:46
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Petitioning the FRA to stop requiring Leader and Trip Optimizer http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=5805 actual letter http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/FRA_Lauby_Leader.pdf
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Feb 16, 2016 23:40
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B4Ctom1 posted:Petitioning the FRA to stop requiring Leader and Trip Optimizer humans are bad at monitoring automation. unfortunately, automation is often much more efficient than humans.
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Feb 17, 2016 00:31
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MassivelyBuckNegro posted:humans are bad at monitoring automation. This, plus using in-cab cameras to make
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Feb 17, 2016 02:51
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B4Ctom1 posted:This, plus using in-cab cameras to make TE&Y are pretty good at eliminating their own jobs. I know if the carrier can eliminate grade crossings the railroads would go to full on automation with roaming mechanics to fix crap as it breaks.
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Feb 17, 2016 03:41
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Can someone tell me what happened at 1:40, because I'm pretty sure rails aren't supposed to do that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5D1Ms4Qes0 All I can think of is Repair + Russian = Crazy Rail.
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Feb 20, 2016 14:37
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Gorilla Salad posted:Can someone tell me what happened at 1:40, because I'm pretty sure rails aren't supposed to do that. Apparently the english word for it is "sun kink"
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Feb 20, 2016 14:55
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I never realised it could be so dramatic. Currently the rail line near me is out of order because of exactly that* and thousands of workers are being bussed to and from the city each day and people are pissed. * Also issues with carriage wheels** ** Also hosed signals*** *** 
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Feb 20, 2016 15:17
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Klaus Kinski posted:Apparently the english word for it is "sun kink" I'll show you a 'sun kink' https://youtu.be/_LoXgN1QWZM
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Feb 20, 2016 18:44
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Gorilla Salad posted:Can someone tell me what happened at 1:40, because I'm pretty sure rails aren't supposed to do that. I want to know what exactly that smell was that that dog loved so much
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Feb 21, 2016 02:08
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When the bitch be so ugly it makes a train take a dirt road http://imgur.com/gallery/UmBrJYy http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35639164
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Feb 23, 2016 17:27
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B4Ctom1 posted:When the bitch be so ugly it makes a train take a dirt road Hmm, that isn't the crane type hit from the article. The crane was crossing a level cross meaning it wasn't a rail crane. It was most likely one of the regular truck cranes with the outfitters and boom extension.
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Feb 23, 2016 17:56
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Truck driver totally spaces out while pulling away from a police stop, drives right in front of a train. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0obAEPT-3Y
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Feb 24, 2016 05:07
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That makes me miss my home state. Love the response of the locomotive engineer when asked if he's OK: "Oh yeah no problem" That truck driver is lucky as gently caress.
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Feb 24, 2016 05:29
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I just finished Fargo seasons 1 and 2 last week, this could have been a scene straight out of it. Down to Lou Solverson there just havin a good day, doing his job and listening to some goofy-rear end music in the cruiser.
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Feb 24, 2016 05:37
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wilfredmerriweathr posted:That makes me miss my home state. Love the response of the locomotive engineer when asked if he's OK: God drat, thats a hell of ride down the tracks.
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Feb 24, 2016 15:49
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The Flying Scotsman has been restored and went on a trip today. It looks great! http://i.imgur.com/ypAJVbv.gifv
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Feb 26, 2016 05:57
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drunkill posted:The Flying Scotsman has been restored and went on a trip today. It looks great! That train's gonna add another notch to it's "Owner's i've bankrupted" belt
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Feb 26, 2016 16:14
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