Complaining to History Channel will not get it canceled. It's only going to be on for 6 more episodes. I'm sure they've already paid for it.
And it's too late to get a new host. I'm sure this series was shot months ago.
Reality TV is to reality, what Professional Wrestling is to Professional Brain Surgery.
Lighten up...I laughed my *** off. The hyper host (whose head I thought was going to explode) jabbering with the crew while they were either smirking or bemused was a hoot. The 1,000 MPH camera speed ups sort of fit the hyperbole. It was like a twelve year old was given a production budget..what was hilarious when the crew was doing some tedious task.they had done a million times.he went off like a hallucinating gerbil....I surprised one of them just didnt say, "oh..knock it off...it's just a rock..." or "what planet are you from? I cant wait for the next episode to see railroading's Pee Wee Herman next big adventure!
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
The sad story they are selling the episode on DVD at $24.95
What happens, after all the *extreme* topics are covered? Are we going to see Mr. Host spazing over riding the local freight?
I'm looking forward to the following Extreme Trains episodes:
Extreme switching in Houston.
Extreme humpyard action in Chicago.
Extreme gravel hauling in S.D.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
I watched the first two episodes, which certainly live up to the title: "EXTREME". One thing I got a little confused about on the 2nd episode is exactly WHERE the BNSF stacker left the Transcon to get to Dallas. Was it Clovis, NM via Lubbock, or Amarillo TX via the old FW&D? That was never really made clear to me. One shot we were in Abo Canyon, the next we were at the transfer facility near Dallas.
And wowee, did we go through Arizona FAST! After all of that footage of Cajon Pass, I was hoping for some footage of traveling from Needles to the 7,000 foot elevation around Flagstaff. That's some pretty interesting trackage, also--that mainline has been re-laid about three times over the years, from what I understand.
And several other posters were right--that train sure kept CHANGING!
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Id like to see an episode where there is a freight roll by, the cab door opens and Pee Wee is jostled out and tossed over the side. He rolls several times, brushes himself off grins into the camera...WoW! That was Extreme!
What could have been such an excellent series, has been polluted with such "acts" and "actions" by said host. What a shame.
Quentin
twhite One thing I got a little confused about on the 2nd episode is exactly WHERE the BNSF stacker left the Transcon to get to Dallas. Was it Clovis, NM via Lubbock, or Amarillo TX via the old FW&D? That was never really made clear to me. One shot we were in Abo Canyon, the next we were at the transfer facility near Dallas.
One thing I got a little confused about on the 2nd episode is exactly WHERE the BNSF stacker left the Transcon to get to Dallas. Was it Clovis, NM via Lubbock, or Amarillo TX via the old FW&D? That was never really made clear to me. One shot we were in Abo Canyon, the next we were at the transfer facility near Dallas.
They never actually indicated what route they took, but I'm going to make an educated guess that they used the routing through Amarillo, TX and the old FW&D. Had they left the Transcon at Clovis, NM and headed toward Lubbock, TX, they would have left BNSF trackage near Sweetwater, TX and headed east on the UP (former T&P, trackage rights) via Abilene, TX for Fort Worth. The program made no mention the train ever left BNSF trackage, and I'm guessing it stayed on home rails all the way to Alliance, TX
Mike
Well, I watched the Acela Express show last Tuesday, and I have to say that it was encouraging...MUCH better than the first two. Matt wasn't really as bonkers as he was in the first episodes. And, one thing I really liked...just about NONE of the footage of the train was sped up, it was all shown in real time. I also liked the parts about testing out the pantographs and repairing the insulators on the catenary, and all of the in-cab shots. And apparently Matt isn't as dumb as I thought he was, he knew that the train they were overtaking in one of the shots was a Regional.
All and all, I was pleased. I sure hope the last five are just as good as the previous one.
I knew of the series, but had not watched any of it; in part because I do not like the style of narration that is generally used by many producers. At lunch today, a man who had little knowledge of the workings of railroads told me of his having seen the episode with the Acela train, and he was impressed by the speed of the train. So, the general public who have watched the series may come to know something of what railroads do.
Johnny
I agree, Matt seems to have calmed down a bit
He still confessed to being scared toward the beginning of the episode. I have to admit that I was more satified with this one than the other two, and Pat was pretty impressed.
One thing that "impressed" me the wrong way was the little segment on the history of the PRR. While discussing the 800 or so railroads it took over, graphics of such lines as GN, MKT, and NYC were flashing in the background--and the map showed the lines expanding into New England, the southeast, and as far west as Texas!
The host was very lucky to have an Acela engineer who gave back as good as he got. Most of the crews in the previous episodes just kind of cringed, as indeed I was doing while watching them.
Tell you what--Proviso is a pretty extreme place! If there's ever a second season of this show, I'll be ready for this guy!
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
CShaveRRThe host was very lucky to have an Acela engineer who gave back as good as he got.
Well, I messed up again....Missed the Acela program. Guess I'll blame it on the holiday week. It does repeat here, I believe sometime on Saturday. Now if I can only catch it. That sounds like an interesting episode.
Goober did settle down a bit for episode three. I hope it's a trend.
The errors on the Acela were, as he might say, "Awesome" !
The Train Sets can be broken apart for major repair if desired and cars can be added. Amtrak is buying extra cars for that reason.
Not covered, the "Tilt" has been limited to 1/2 the design do to clearence problems and in some areas must be locked off. Entering MetroNorth trackage the Engineer must confirm the Lockout to the Dispatcher.
The Pellum Bay Draw Bridge was built buy the New York Connecting Railroad, a joint venture of the New Haven and Pennsylvania Railroads. It was once twin double track draw bridges but one was removed as not needed for Amtrak. NYCR built from the Penn/Long Island Sunnyside Yard, over the Hellgate and Pellum bridges to the New Haven Connection at New Rochelle. It was first electrified in 1918
The "Blended Braking", the automatic computer controlled application of the four Disk Brakes per axle with Dymanic Braking was not explained well. Dynamic Braking involves turning Traction motors from "powering" to "generating" mode.
Penn Station in New York opened in 1910 with electric locomotives running under the Hudson River to "Manhattan Transfer" in Harrison N.J., powered by a third rail DC. It wasn't untill 1933 that the Pennsylvania followed the New Haven lead by installing high voltage AC Catenary from New York to Washington (and west to Harrisburg). This put the Corridor under Catenary from New Haven to Washington. In 2000 it was extended from New Haven to Boston
I loved the way the Host "held on to the dash" as the train accelerated to full speed, it looked like he was in Terror! Just think, at the same time 300 passengers are sitting back in the cars drinking there coffee and working there Laptops unaware of the speed.
By the way, you never Accelerate fast, no faster than a regular train. Never spill the Passenger's Coffee, never cause a Passenger to fall, unlike an Airplane, no seat belts.
Note photo upper left, been there, done that!
Don U. TCA 73-5735
I finally watched Episode 3 this morning, GREAT SHOW. Too bad they can't go back and reshoot the first 2 shows now that Matt has relaxed.
When they showed Penn Station, they didn't answer at question I've always had. How do they get people on and off all of those multiple platforms without the people crossing the tracks? I'm assuming there are stairs from the next floor above to get people on and off the platforms. How do they get our disabled citizens on and off the trains, IF I'm guess correctly about stairs?
I live in South Dakota and I've never been to a passenger station in my life.
ButchKnouse I finally watched Episode 3 this morning, GREAT SHOW. Too bad they can't go back and reshoot the first 2 shows now that Matt has relaxed. When they showed Penn Station, they didn't answer at question I've always had. How do they get people on and off all of those multiple platforms without the people crossing the tracks? I'm assuming there are stairs from the next floor above to get people on and off the platforms. How do they get our disabled citizens on and off the trains, IF I'm guess correctly about stairs? I live in South Dakota and I've never been to a passenger station in my life.
I hope that you will be able to travel by train soon and enjoy the experience.
DMUinCT The errors on the Acela were, as he might say, "Awesome" !
.....I enjoyed your write-up of the Acela program. Very interesting. Hope I might catch the re-run of that program in this area today.
I AGREE ! Matt calmed down or has ran out of steam (pun intended) in this episode..I dont know if this was the last one they did or what but he acted more normal than ever and talk about getting home..
I hope the remaining episodes are as low key as he was in this one...
Mission accomplished today....Caught all three episodes on re-run today. Up around Horseshoe.....Union Pacific and the Acela program. Yes, liked the Acela better while the host was slightly calmed.
But as the host explained some of the operation of dynamic braking....It sounded a bit out in left field to me...."Traction motors are set to dynamic braking, and that works against the engine {diesel}, to slow the train". I'm paraphrasing but I thought that was way off base......
All of the complications that could happen around those lift bridges in the NY area make one wonder how they continue to work as planned each and every day.
Another wonderment to me is how they get material to maintain durabulity on the cat wire running at such speeds.
Deggesty ButchKnouse I finally watched Episode 3 this morning, GREAT SHOW. Too bad they can't go back and reshoot the first 2 shows now that Matt has relaxed. When they showed Penn Station, they didn't answer at question I've always had. How do they get people on and off all of those multiple platforms without the people crossing the tracks? I'm assuming there are stairs from the next floor above to get people on and off the platforms. How do they get our disabled citizens on and off the trains, IF I'm guess correctly about stairs? I live in South Dakota and I've never been to a passenger station in my life. There are escalators and elevators down to the track platforms, so that handicapped people are able to move up and down--and across to other platforms, safely, on the concourse floor when necessary. Since the platforms are level with the car floors, the tracks are well below the platforms. If you look a picture of the old Penn Station's concourse, you will see a multitude of stairways going down to the platforms; elevators were also used for baggage and handicapped people back then. I hope that you will be able to travel by train soon and enjoy the experience. Johnny
Unless Amtrak starts running on the DM&E, I'm SOL as far as going on a real passenger train. I did ride a train 9 miles in 1968, and I rode the BNSF Employee train for 50 miles in June. (My cousin's husband is an employee based in St. Louis and they always serve as workers on the train). That is the full extent of my railroad experience.
DMUinCT I loved the way the Host "held on to the dash" as the train accelerated to full speed, it looked like he was in Terror! Just think, at the same time 300 passengers are sitting back in the cars drinking there coffee and working there Laptops unaware of the speed. By the way, you never Accelerate fast, no faster than a regular train. Never spill the Passenger's Coffee, never cause a Passenger to fall, unlike an Airplane no seat belts.
By the way, you never Accelerate fast, no faster than a regular train. Never spill the Passenger's Coffee, never cause a Passenger to fall, unlike an Airplane no seat belts.
Your comments are appreciated. A gazillion years ago I had a couple of trips on the corridor behind GG1's, but I don't recall anything special about acceleration. I would guess that they and the current Regionals can accelerate at a very good clip. I took a couple of short trips on Acela trains between DC Union Station and the Baltimore Airport stop just for the experience. I think there is a short stretch of that part that is good for 100MPH+. While it wasn't enough to cause anybody to fall over, I did have the sense that the train was making a quite rapid acceleration from higher speeds, say from 75 to the 100+ speed.
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics
jeatonYour comments are appreciated. A gazillion years ago I had a couple of trips on the corridor behind GG1's, but I don't recall anything special about acceleration
Acceleration behind GG-1's....Decades and decades ago....{while old Penn Station was still busy and intact}.....I rode behind GG-1's pulling our train, and out of Harrisburgh {where the K-4's were removed, going east...}, and I will say, the acceleration is still fresh in my memory as to how rapid it really was....and then to a speed of up around 90 mph heading east towards Phila.
When are they going to re-run the episodes?
Awesome! When are they going to re-run the episodes?
I caught all three programs run so far on re-runs Saturday at 3 pm. That was Eastern time. Of course, the History channel. So look each Sat. for re-runs.
DMUinCT [clip] I loved the way the Host "held on to the dash" as the train accelerated to full speed, it looked like he was in Terror! Just think, at the same time 300 passengers are sitting back in the cars drinking there coffee and working there Laptops unaware of the speed. By the way, you never Accelerate fast, no faster than a regular train. Never spill the Passenger's Coffee, never cause a Passenger to fall, unlike an Airplane, no seat belts. [clip]
By the way, you never Accelerate fast, no faster than a regular train. Never spill the Passenger's Coffee, never cause a Passenger to fall, unlike an Airplane, no seat belts. [clip]
Concur. Not only is all his "danger" or "scared" stuff just completely imaginary childish nonsense, but to the contrary, for the Acela episode what a missed opportunity to tout - or at least mention - the factually excellent safety record and casualty rate of passenger train travel, esp. in the NorthEast Corridor, as well all know (or should).
So far the Acela hasn't had a single fatality to a passenger, as far as I know - it would have been great if the engineer had pointed that out ! I can recall only a handful of accidents with passenger fatalities in that territory since Amtrak's 1971 inception - the Colonial wreck was the worst, of course (23 or 27 ?), and there was a collision with several fatalities (4 ?) on Hell Gate Bridge, both in the mid-1980's. (There may have been a few others, but I can't remember them.) More notably, in all railroad wrecks there is never a total loss of life of all passengers as often happens with an airplane crash, and very often the majority of the passengers aren't even injured ("You could look it up !"). But it's clear in this context that someone with this program or at the History Channel would rather create and exaggerate boogeymen than report reality.
- Paul North.
For those of us (masochists ?) who still haven't had enough - tonight's Episode of Extreme Trains is the ICE COLD EXPRESS:
"Union Pacific's refrigeration train is the coolest train in the world. On its cross-country trip from Wallula, Washington, to Schenectady, New York, it employs the most high-tech mobile refrigeration technology in the world to keep its produce intact and fresh. Even the railcars themselves are stored inside a cooled facility so as not to break the cold chain for this delicate cargo. Also in this episode: how trains and trucks battled for business in the 1950s."
At 10:00 PM EST Tues. 02 Dec. & 2:00 AM EST Weds 03 Dec. 2008
(you guys can figure out the times for the other zones), per:
http://www.history.com/shows.do?action=detail&episodeId=389218
videomaker I AGREE ! Matt calmed down or has ran out of steam (pun intended) in this episode..I dont know if this was the last one they did or what but he acted more normal than ever and talk about getting home.. I hope the remaining episodes are as low key as he was in this one...
As my daughter says:
"They have medications for that now."
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