South Shore Line Questions

[daveklepper]

1. What is the name of the Michigan City Street that is also the CSS&SB RofW?

2. What is the authorized maximum speed for passsenger trains, for freight trains, for vehicular traffic?

3. Do the new Japanese mu cars have special brakes to stop as quckly as autos can, such as the magnetic track brakes similar to those on PCC cars and the Indiana Railroad and Cicinnati and Lake Eirie High Speeds?

[Anonymous]

In Michigan City the trains run from west to east on 10th Street,curving to the south over Amtrak's Michigan Line to 11th Street where the depot is, then crossing Michigan Boulevard it runs along School Street to the Shops. The tracks used to be located in School Street for some distance but were re-located in the '50s.

The speed for street running for all trains is 25mph, and trains are obliged to obey traffic lights. However the lights have a circuit the usually works with approach of a train. Freight trains have a device that can remotely operate the traffic signals if they have a heavy train. It would be tough to get a unit train stopped, going west and going up and down hill on the street for a red signal at Franklin Street. Auto traffic has a speed of 30 mph.

The MU cars now running on the South Shore have a blended dynamic, air brake. If you shut off the controller above 10 mph, the dynamic automaticlly cuts in. If you are in coast or off and set the airbrake the dynamic comes on until 10 mph. If you let go of the handle (while stepping on the deadman peddle) in any of the running positions, you can set the air without the dynamic comming on, but this is frowned on. This is known as running with "straight air." You cannot stop a South Shore MU train on a dime like a PCC. In the fall, especially on the street, the leaves make a perfect glide cushion making stoppin correctly that much more difficult.

Mitch

[daveklepper]

Thanks for the accurate answers.