Locomotive Insanity: Murder on the BNSF Mixed Consist doesnt have the same ring to it

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Locomotive Insanity: Murder on the BNSF Mixed Consist doesnt have the same ring to it

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Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Stairmaster posted:

It's funny considering that actually did happen to one of the locomotives on that show and it was the most horrifying thing ever.

Shin-chan posted:

There was an episode of Thomas & Friends where an engine got hooked on meth? I don't remember that.

If I remember right, it's a little more horrifying in the book version because the wall goes right up past his face.

# ¿ Sep 10, 2013 04:20

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# ¿ May 7, 2024 18:57

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Brother Jonathan posted:

I got a big laugh out of that post, and I really want to submit it to the PYF Quotes thread, but I doubt that anyone outside of this thread would understand it. Drat.

There's enough there to understand what he's doing is comically dangerous. Do it anyway.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2013 04:26

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

quote:

Australia BHP Run on 21 June 2001, comprising 682 wagons and hauled by eight 6000 hp General Electric AC6000CW diesel-electric locomotives controlled by a single driver with a total length of 7.353 km on the 275 km iron ore railway to Port Hedland in Western Australia � total weight 99,734 tons[17]

That poor soul. Probably clenched tight enough to forge diamonds the whole trip.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2014 07:27

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

kathmandu posted:

I found this part interesting:

US railroads started replacing stream locomotives pretty aggressively in 1945, and by 1955 it was just a few hold-outs that still rostered them in significant numbers (mostly coal-haulers like Norfolk Western for obvious reasons). I'm surprised that replacing steam with diesels over a ten-year period starting in 1955 was viewed as too early or crazy in other countries when the US had pretty much already pulled it off with great success. So why was that such a challenge for the rest of the world? Yet another symptom of the US being fortunate not to get bombed to poo poo in WW2?

The US companies probably had an actual long-term plan in place to phase out steam instead of "Shut the gently caress up and make it work, LALALALALA I-AM-NOT-LISTENING!"

# ¿ Apr 11, 2014 02:51

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

drunkill posted:

But speaking of proper trains in Australia. The last of the remaining few Hitachi sets were retired from the Melbourne rail network, one of the heritage orginizations ran a special train for fans to ride on the Hitachis one last time. Although a bunch of dickhead vandals tampered with the airhoses of the train and forced it to stop, allowing them to tag the side of the train while passengers hurled rubbish and abuse at them:

Video: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f71_1397444110

As a life-long resident of Melbourne and someone who's grown up riding on those trains to get to school and university, all I can say is GOOD RIDDANCE. Those trains were awful, prone to breaking down and never had air conditioning until a rare few at the very end of their lifespan. Any time you saw one pulling up to the platform (and there was always the silent prayer of please don't let it be a Hitachi), you knew you were in for a nice hotbox on awful too-closely-spaced seating. And god help you if it was in rush hour because then it became a literal sardine can.

I steadfastly refuse to believe anyone was sad to see those rolling shoe-boxes go to the scrapyard :colbert:

# ¿ Apr 16, 2014 03:22

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

drunkill posted:

At least you could open the windows. bit then it'd be super loud down in the city loop.
Although the Comeng with original brown/orange interiors were the superior trains.

I swear on summer days in the 90's you could hear the collective bargaining echoing across the platform praying for an air-conditioned Comeng to pull up :corsair:

. And yes, they were godawfully loud in the Loop.

On a side-note apparently they're also looking to scrap the Y-Class trams. And nothing of value was lost there either :bubblewoop:

. The W's are nice historic rides to plod round Melbourne on when you need a free ride round the CBD, but the Y's have about half the interior space and high interior stairs you have to lug stuff up to get on. And again, only really got air conditioning in the last few years.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2014 03:46

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

The E-Class trams look pretty nice, though I haven't had a reason to ride on one. I do think they've gone a tad overboard with the safety stuff like the big :siren:

PASSENGERS BOARDING :siren:

scrolling LED's on the front and back though.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2014 05:35

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

some texas redneck posted:

Small world, I've been on Matilda a few times.

You guys have iron balls to operate the MATA cars as smoothly as you do - I'd be screaming at every car that decided "rail car? what rail? They put the tracks in the middle of the street, therefore they're required to stop as fast as a small car by law, amirite?! I'm gonna cut them off and slam on my brakes to make a turn into this restaurant parking lot!"

I've mostly ridden on weekends though, which seemed to usually have someone handling the middle door. _{I'll try and get on/off at the front from now on though}

That sometimes happens in Melbourne too. Yarra Tram's current awareness campaign is a big set of yellow warning posters of a rhino on a skateboard.

e:

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 12:01

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

drunkill posted:

As for trains, have a time lapse of a level crossing removal in Melbourne, we have like, 180 level crossings or something ridiculous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w13UxWzfR_w

I still can't believe someone thought removing the level crossing in Springvale was a good idea. For the rest of you; Springvale and the surrounding suburbs are home to some of the most :magical:

dangerous driving you'll ever see.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 17:33

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

FISHMANPET posted:

I had no idea what was going on here until they started digging down for the train tracks. Isn't it usually easier to change the elevation of the road than the train, since cars can handle higher gradients than trains can. Though maybe passenger trains can handle higher gradients than freight trains. When I took a train out west (USA) I saw plenty of nothing towns where the roadway was buried under the train tracks.

It's probably easier for Melbourne trains. They're two sets of three cars coupled together, made up of an engine on each end and a straight-through passenger car in between.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 17:44

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Erwin posted:

I don't understand this. In that video, there are cars waiting to make a right turn sitting on top of the rails. If they made the turn from the right lane, they wouldn't be sitting on any tracks. What would they be blocking in that case?

The reason for the hook turn is because if you're in the right lane pulling up at the lights you can potentially have a tram blocking your view of the right side of the intersection.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 18:18

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

wilfredmerriweathr posted:

I would imagine (after moving the big boy) that's one of those days where you get home and feel pretty loving good about your life.

Along with a massive unclenching and thanking your deity of choice that you're not going to go down in history as the guy who crashed the Big Boy.

# ¿ May 9, 2014 03:50

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

MrYenko posted:

Getting into the steam program and driving it around is the obvious answer, here.

Isn't it going to be about 5 years until the Big Boy's drivable? That sounds like plenty of time to get into the steam program to me.

# ¿ May 9, 2014 15:42

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

drunkill posted:

This is some heat damage on the hottest recorded day back in 2009 (when we had all the bushfires, Black Saturday) temp of 46.9C, you can bet the rails were a bit warmer though. Melbourne, Australia.

drat, I never knew that happened.

And hey, Connex is a blast from the (recent) past. Complete and utter fuckups from start to finish.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2014 05:58

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

evil_bunnY posted:

Literally designed to crush pedestrians and get derailed by vehicle collisions.

That thing's going to eat the first car it hits with that upward-angled front. Most of the newer Melbourne trams have the same basic interior, but instead of those long parallel seats they just have a long hip-height cushion to stand and lean your rear end against. It's also missing some ceiling railings in the standing-only spots, so that's going to make a sudden stop during a peak-hour trip fun.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2014 11:16

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

drunkill posted:

When a gearbox dies and you are unable to tow the tram with another:

Haha, holy poo poo. Lucky it wasn't one of the segmented trams or it would be a hell of a headache. For the filthy 'mericans :911:

, that's on the main line just on the edge of the Melbourne CBD that all the various routes out into the south suburbs branch off from. They'd have to work very fast to get that cleared before a backlog builds up (there's a tram on that line about every two minutes or so at peak, if not sooner). Though thankfully it's on the line going into the City rather than out, or you'd have enough disgruntled commuters on-hand to toss the tram off the bridge and into the Yarra River come 5PM.

_{And the Yarra River would probably just dissolve it into a melted pool of tram the moment it hit the water.}

# ¿ Jul 27, 2014 14:06

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

CrazyOldGuy posted:

There was a whoops the other week on our brand new track, this was the reason:

Above is test train with 145mm treads on the wheel (Vic standard), de-railed train has 125mm treads (NSW standard)

How the hell do you not notice that the moment it's on the tracks? :psyduck:

drunkill posted:

Swanston Street is the busiest tramway in the world. It is where the majority of the Melbourne tram routes end up though the city, more like 3 trams per minute in peak. It was blocked for an hour or two, lazy sunday so not too bad.

Also it wouldn't have happened with a segmented tram because they are newer and not un(in?)maintained 70's Z class.

Huh, didn't know Swanston St was the busiest in the world.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2014 14:15

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Elukka posted:

We need some schienenzeppelin in here.

I can't help but think that that thing's arrival at a platform is heralded with a thin red mist made of anyone who stood too close to the platform edge.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2014 14:31

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

I saw something horrifying yesterday while on a train in Melbourne. An intact Hitachi sitting off on a siding. They were supposed to be dead, dammit. They promised they killed them all :negative:

# ¿ Oct 12, 2014 07:47

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Pigsfeet on Rye posted:

Tell me more, what's so bad about a Hitachi (locomotive?/car?/trolley?)

They're the most despised trains in Melbourne. No AC and thirty years past their prime. And in a Melbourne summer past 40C, with trains often packed to standing room in peak hour, utter hell to ride on.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2014 13:46

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

MassivelyBuckNegro posted:

I'd hate to be on their seniority roster.

That's not even the full extent of their rolling stock. There's another 5-6 steam locomotives that aren't the flagship NA loco's, though some of those are special-occasion ones, and a few diesels on top of that.

# ¿ Nov 17, 2014 13:26

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

I've seen something really stupid in-person at a level crossing. I was waiting on the platform and saw some dumbass in an SUV drive up onto the tracks rather than wait on his side of the crossing, when traffic stops and he's stuck stopped right over both lines. And in the distance is a train at the next station. Now, granted, there's maybe a KM or two between the stations, and the crossing's right by my station so the train would be slowing down anyway, but god drat could it have still gone so wrong. Express trains use the line as well (or even worse, a big-rear end bi-daily train carrying metal sheet rolls), and those things power straight through.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2015 01:32

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

MassivelyBuckNegro posted:

I know that this question might be beyond the scope of anyone in this thread but: Why didn't more American railroads electrify? I know a couple of pieces to the answer but I know I'm missing some.

From what I understand, a lot of American railroads run through long stretches of nothing. There's no local power stations to draw from (and it takes a lot of power to push significant current over long distances), and if a wire or substation goes down in the middle of nowhere it's taking the entire line with it.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2015 05:16

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

wolrah posted:

Given that any modern "diesel" trains are all electric drive to the actual wheels it seems to me like it shouldn't be that complicated to take a diesel-electric and add the necessary bits for receiving electricity from a third rail and/or overhead wires. Then it's just a matter of switching power sources and idling/stopping/starting the diesel as needed.

I would've thought a Third Rail would be incredibly dangerous outside of an underground subway system due to wildlife and pedestrians?

# ¿ Mar 26, 2015 16:18

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Tex Avery posted:

God drat, I do apologize for the delay, but here's the quasi- dash cam footage of the streetcar line I work. Sorry for the vertical video, but I couldn't find another way to set my phone up where the camera could still see out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I5adNDsDTw

For reference, here's the streetcar I was operating in the video. Car 369 was built in 1925, measures 48' 10" (almost 15 meters), and weighs in at 25 tons (roughly 23,000 Kilos). Ignore my conductor doing a weird curtsy; he was trying to get out of the photo.

Oh hey, isnt that one of the W-class trams from Melbourne?

# ¿ Apr 21, 2015 08:04

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Tex Avery posted:

Yup. It's a W2.

One thing I've always wondered with the W-Classes; What's the chugging noise they make when they idle? The one around roughly the two-minute mark. Also as a bit of trivia, the Melbourne ones don't have whistles - they just have a bell.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2015 17:17

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

ctishman posted:

Ahh, and the bell was too much noise, I take it? That makes sense. I was afraid it'd been some concession to some dude on the city council who thought all trains should go 'whooo' or something stupid like that.

Actually the bells on the Melbourne trams are pretty quiet, so by the sound of it the SF ones needed to make more noise.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2015 04:20

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

MassivelyBuckNegro posted:

Back to back yard derailments affecting UPS trains. Engineer ran through a switch and then a conductor ran a shove through a bumper with UPS loads.

They really take that "the mail must get through" thing seriously, huh.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2015 09:41

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Tex Avery posted:

The bells suck. The whistles are the only truly effective thing in traffic.

I'd believe that. All the W-Class trams do around Melbourne is circle the edge of the CBD, Docklands, and go down Chapel Street. And you gotta be really, really stupid to try challenging a Tram in Melbourne CBD traffic (the average city driver knows better), so I doubt the local ones need them as much as whatever traffic they face in San Francisco.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2015 09:59

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

joat mon posted:

What is the difference in underframes? More stiffness? Greater tendency to under/override in the older ones?
If you're inclined to write, I'd like to read about the evolution of crashworthiness improvements in trains.

Have a read through Axeman Jim's posts in general, those trains are covered in one of them. They're a great read on just how hosed up British Rail has been over the past hundred-odd years.

# ¿ May 22, 2015 17:38

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Every time someone brings up a crossing crash it reminds me of that long description of what happens when a freight train is involved in one and I wish I could find it in the thread again. It's the one that ends with the driver drowning in blue water from the sewage tank and the whole accident blamed on a small amount of marijuana found on the conductor.

# ¿ May 22, 2015 18:27

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posted:

The main problem the D stock always had is the single leaf doors, classic 1970s underfunded public utility thinking: "oh ridership is going down, we can cut down on maintenance if you have half as many doors" without imagining the possibility that service use would go up. They're much nicer since the 2008ish refurbishment, though they got rid of the grippy wooden floors and replaced it with plastic-rubber (easier to clean) that bubbles up when it gets loose from the base it's stuck to.

Before: so very, very brown and orange

After: oh how spacious and airy

Also here's a picture of your interlocking things from when they used to take trains apart on the regular, pinched off this bit of nerdery http://www.trainweb.org/districtdave/html/coupling___uncoupling.html

Anyone who doesn't have the build of a marathon runner must utterly despise those new seats. Metro, the current operators in Melbourne, just hacked out the single disabled seats on either side of the doors in the middle carriages and added more overhead railings to hold onto. Everyone's much happier with them because there's a shitload more space for the 5pm weeknight sardine ride.

# ¿ May 27, 2015 03:32

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

EoRaptor posted:

Wow that was a pretty close thing, the driver must've gotten out alri- :stonk:

# ¿ Jun 2, 2015 07:20

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

MassivelyBuckNegro posted:

How can you get angry at a 'for profit' company for making economic business decisions? That's like getting mad at banks for not providing loans to every single person that applies.

There is a difference between turning a profit and turning a profit at the sake of everything else the company needs to function properly.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2015 08:48

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Stick Insect posted:

Locomotive Insanity: they are not available to be interviewed because of fatal injuries

Based on the horror stories in this thread, I'd expect management to prop the corpse up in an interview and be frustrated by a lack of answers. Not to mention terrible hygiene and when, exactly, will they be back at work?

# ¿ Jul 13, 2015 05:45

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

atomicthumbs posted:

Toot-Toot, all under the Darwin Express :cripes:

# ¿ Sep 15, 2015 18:28

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posted:

Someone took a horse on the Luas

Apparently the Rubberbandits are not to blame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljPFZrRD3J8

Of course not. Testimony from the defendants and witnesses clearly proves that their horse was indeed outside at the time.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2015 06:26

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

jadebullet posted:

It's written by Garey Busey, so the last chapter's probably about how to tie them to full-scale train tracks when they rebuke your advances.

# ¿ Sep 27, 2015 03:47

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Wilford Cutlery posted:

It's a miracle! http://imgur.com/gallery/t0zUrGk

That seems like the kind of thing that would be accompanied by ominous Latin chanting.

# ¿ Oct 5, 2015 03:16

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# ¿ May 7, 2024 18:57

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Axeman Jim posted:

Today I found out that there is such a thing as the Pacer Preservation Society.

These people must be stopped.

There are preservation groups who have gone out of their way to purchase Hitachi's down my end of Australia. Some things just need die so they never blight their thousands of ~~suffering victims~~ passengers ever again.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2015 11:13

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Locomotive Insanity: Murder on the BNSF Mixed Consist doesnt have the same ring to it

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