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[alloboard]

Are subways, i.e rapid transit/heavyrail considered part of the traditional railroad equipment? Maybe obviously not traditional, but are they true trains. Personally I think subways are true trains, only that they are not traditional. I mean that they form their own group. However I am asking this question because I don't know that as a fact.
What I meant was, if subways are true trains. i.e I thought that the PATH train was a rapid transit, but I found out shockingly, it was actually a railroad, but it is styled like a rapid transit. The same goes for the Staten Island rapid transit. I aknowledge that light rails cannot operate with freight at the same time i.e NJT Riverline. I also know that trolleys, and light rails are not true trains or railroads, they are vheicles that run on rails. Anything that is long can be called train but does not mean that it is a railroad type. i.e long caravan. Most rapid transit systems, at least the ones that I know have their own right of way,but can subways operate with freight, passenger,or commuter trains at the same time? For instance the NYC Subway is a true railroad but with it's own distinc right of way and style. The Newark city subway is not a railroad type, it operated trolleys/lightrails. When they consist more than one vheicle you can even call it a train, but it is not a railroad type at all. The NYC subway is. You cannot call a single railroad type MU car a train when it operated with one car, but it is still a railroad,but not a train. When more than one MU car operate then you can call it a train, and it will be a railroad type. Please reply

[artpeterson]

Not all rapid transit systems fall into the PATH situation, where they're subject to FRA.  CTA in Chicago (and a lot of others) is not subject to FRA rules and regulations.  Certainly in terms of rulebooks, crew responsibilities and the like they behave very much in the classic railroad sense, but with the recognition that they have much more frequent operations.  Going to one-person operation has obviously changed their rules and operating procedures.

Until 1973, CTA ran interchange freight service from a yard served by the Milwaukee Road on Chicago's northside to serve a coal yard (and before that some other customers) along what are today the Red and Purple Lines.  Gauntlet track was used to provide sufficient clearance for the mainline railroad cars with respect to the third rail.  The 50-ton steeplecabs used to run the freight had pans and were powered off the catenary above the gauntlet track.  By day the "normal" track (closer to the third rail) was used by CTA rapid transit trains, but there was no sharing of this track when the frieght was out on the line.

Hope this helps!

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The freight service on CTA on the North Side Main from Buena Ave. northward was operated under contract for MILW and was an outgrowth of the lease of that line from MILW to the Northwestern Elevated Railroad around 1915.  That particular stretch of the North Side Main is on an earthen embankment rather than a steel structure.  It was orignally at ground level and was raised in an early grade crossing elimination project.