charlie hebdo Have you ever ridden other bilevel equipment, such as in California, Ontario or Germany?
Have you ever ridden other bilevel equipment, such as in California, Ontario or Germany?
In my bombastic opinion, the GO Transit design makes the most sense with by far the best path from lower to upper floors. The passageways on the lower floor of the Superliners remind me of a tour on a 688 class sub.
SD70Dude18 mph love tap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GfiujrRItc TSB report: https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/2016/r16e0051/r16e0051.html Restricted speed was obviously not being complied with in this case.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GfiujrRItc
TSB report:
https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/2016/r16e0051/r16e0051.html
Restricted speed was obviously not being complied with in this case.
And thus we have 'Weed Weasels' doing Banner Tests.
I note from the TSB report that the lead train did not feel the impact. Lot of slack in the train.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
18 mph love tap:
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Juniatha CSSHEGEWISCH wrote "There are no headrests. " And that in 'god's own land' of safety and astronomical claims for damage ...? What about a simple little (accidental) banging into the back of a standing train? or one rough engine coupling? Will ... naw, ok, I stop it here. =J=
CSSHEGEWISCH wrote "There are no headrests. "
And that in 'god's own land' of safety and astronomical claims for damage ...? What about a simple little (accidental) banging into the back of a standing train? or one rough engine coupling? Will ... naw, ok, I stop it here.
=J=
Oh, therein lies a tale! I could go on and on but I'd better stop, things could get ugly and we've had enough of that lately!
The last thing the Forum needs is another dogfight.
I'm a lifelong Chicagoan so the answer is no.
Since the overwhleming majority of my riding experience is in suburban service, I'll comment from that point of view. Most seats are walkover seats for quick turnaround and only come up to just below shoulder height (I'm 5' 10"). There are no headrests. Legroom is a little tight but not uncomfortable. Window posts on gallery bi-levels do not obstruct the view on either level. Stairs to the upper level are a bit narrow but no different than the Superliners.
The American railroads still believe people are the size which they had during the Civil War?
Never mind! In Europe it seems railways still orient themselves by the door profile and 'stools' in ancient castles. Other ways I cannot understand their size of seats, back rests and leg space. Or, as Juni once said: they have a normed 150 lbs sack of potatoes and when this stays on the seat while on a test run everything is fine. This is especially true for the so called 'head rest' which in most cases is rather like a knock on the neck than any 'rest'. They must believe the head comes out at the front of the chest, not sits on top of the body.
(The Austrian RailJet is better in this category, however, to be sure I rather tested the first class: One friendly conductor forwarded me to it since the second class on this night train was completely occupied.)
0S5A0R0A3
On the subject of leg room: Back in my Berkeley days, I noted that the seat pitch on the AC Transit buses was too short for my legs to fit without placing them at an angle and my wife complains about my "stubby" legs. BART was noticeably better (original Rohr cars). More recently I've had the experience of commuting on the Pacific Surfliner - best seats for legroom were on the Superliner car, could actually use my computer when person ahead reclined their seatback. The Amfleet cars were the worst, and the Surfliner cars were a bit better than the Amfleet, though some had seats where reclining was done by moving the seat cushion forward, thus preserving leg and lap room for the person behind.
Erik_Mag
Gee - no! I didn't ask for it! At school it gave me problems, although it still wasn't that much then. But it's alright now, I feel comfortable with what nature has given me. I do good workouts (replaces: training) to keep in shape and my backbone strong - that's vital if you are 81".
Sara T That explains it. I am 1,96 (77"), Juni is a little over 2m. Ok, we are 'oversize' but still we also want to travel like passengers, not like parcels and if that's not possible in a railway car 4m high, then I don't know.
That explains it. I am 1,96 (77"), Juni is a little over 2m. Ok, we are 'oversize' but still we also want to travel like passengers, not like parcels and if that's not possible in a railway car 4m high, then I don't know.
I was picturing Juni to be closer to my height (1.90m when I was younger) when she was complaining about not be able to fit in airliner seats - now that I know she is my cousin Bob's height, there's no question about her trouble with airline seats.
FWIW, my wife is 1.83m and my daughter is 1.82m.
Sara T charlie hebdo wrote >> I'm 188 CM but I don't find myself stooping on the DB trains. << That explains it. I am 1,96 (77"), Juni is a little over 2m. Ok, we are 'oversize' but still we also want to travel like passengers, not like parcels and if that's not possible in a railway car 4m high, then I don't know. 0S5A0R0A3
charlie hebdo wrote >> I'm 188 CM but I don't find myself stooping on the DB trains. <<
Wow! next time I'm in Germany, I will feel like a midget if I ride with you and Juni.!
daveklepper And did not one of the luxury tour operators, possibly Rocky Mountain, have commuter galery cars rebuilt for sight-seing and meal sevice?
And did not one of the luxury tour operators, possibly Rocky Mountain, have commuter galery cars rebuilt for sight-seing and meal sevice?
https://railpictures.net/showphotos.php
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I honestly find the DB (Deutsche Bahn) Regionalbahn or Regional Express train double deckers acceprable. The seat are not great, but compared to our gallery cars' interiors here, they are brighter and quieter, not like being on a cell block. I'm 188 CM but I don't find myself stooping on the DB trains.
Charlie Hebdo
The electric TEE name trains of the 1960s and 70s: ok, but still they divided the train into the red/cream and the blue/cream section and the electric went with one section. I prefer all cars in one color scheme and the loco in another so you can see this is the propulsion and that is the train.
You wrote >>What is bad about them compared to locomotive-hauled DB double deckers is the interior, reminiscent of a prison<<
Do you mean DB: Deutsche Bundesbahn? or is it one American RR?
Double deckers: ohohoh, DB cars are uncomfortable, too. I feel the lack of height with my head bent sideways, but for Juni it's a reason not to take the train. She had once made a rhym: "Nur gebückt - macht verrückt" means: 'always bowed down makes you crazy', the rhym only works in German. And to me, there is so much space spent with trep-trep up and trep-trep down that I may ask how many seats do you really gain? In Russia they have a higher profile, but still I am for the one floor cars, I'm a bit old-fashioned.
(hmm - no, that doesn't look so good. I think I have to put up my own 'number plate' picture - but it's become complicated)
Sara: The old red and beige/creme and blue/creme schemes on DB trains like Rheingold back in the late 60s (through late 70s?) were great looking.
The gallery cars are mostly for commuter trains. They were a big improvement for riders over 40+ year old equipment, but the design is ~70 years old. What is bad about them compared to locomotive-hauled DB double deckers is the interior, reminiscent of a prison.
CSSHEGEWISCH wrote "What, specifically, do you want?"
At least no broken or weird proportions, fitting colors to railway equipment and if dual-color fitting to the other tone. Since in Europe the railways (here: -ways) gave up the everlasting universal green for passenger bogie cars, there has been a great straying around with colors token because they were different from the green before. That is not enough, colors transport the spirit of the company - this is an important message: modern - serious, reliable - fast, substantial and comfortable - cheap and tight space, ---
A passenger train is something very different than an overland bus and it should be distinguished by the colors, not competing, and to be mixed up. In that, the now often chosen red in bright alarming tones is questionable. The Austrian railways for some time had a light apricot-red (almost orange - brrrr!) and cream (not white, not yellow, not sand color but just somewhat dirty looking) that was way too light and no bus enterprise would have painted their coaches this way! It looked like a 'five cent business'! Then they changed to a fire-red that would have been beneficial to find a train that had fallen from the Trisanna bridge - but not otherwise. Then they came to senses partly in painting the upper side in light grey and the lower in whitish grey, the roof now became a refuge for the inevitable red. Red stands for 'modern' 'fast' 'agile' and such things. If that was right then I ask why airlines don't jump at it. Instead they have and keep a lot of white and silver.
Silver cars (stainless steel) were one time present on DB - but not on fast and far traveling trains but on commuter trains and it was not kept up but allowed to deteriorate and weather into a shabby gray. It finally stood maybe for the light weight of these cars, the minimal upholstery of plastic seats but not for something fast and efficient. So they got rid of it: It was replaced by, take your breath, light green and greyish white. SEUFZ! The express trains were torn in two parts: the first class greyish white and red, the second class in an actually qualitatively superior looking blue and greyish white, both with a somehow mixed color stripe in between. They have meanwhile repaired that and have all passenger cars in red (upper) and white (lower) sides with grey roof that may stand as a cheap make-up for the former silver roof (in 'green times').
ÖBB now have a quite decent and modern looking color scheme on their fast Railjet express trains: dark grey lower side and dark red upper side with a lighter red stripe dividing the two areas. It looks distinguished, or, perhaps I was so impressed by the performance and smoothness of the train when I traveled one Vienna - Salzburg - Munich late at night, at first only because there was no other train. For me, this is the continuation of classy rail in modern times and it is highly successful. The Taurus BoBo electrics run, oh, hm, ever so slightly faster than we 05s did back in the fifties. No, they go much much faster and they don't take long to reach fast speeds - about the way we could do light engine, if hard pressed, huhuhuhu! But they do it with 12 to 14 bogie comfort cars. The design of the cars is smooth streamline but with sound proportions, the bogies are part of the whole, not suppressed, everything looks just right, the train definitely has a high-class aura about it.
daveklepper The Stadler MUs may not be an SP Daylight or an Electroliner, but to my taste, they are a real esthetic improvement over the gallery cars they are replacing. But the Denver single-level MUs are better looking, again for me..
The Stadler MUs may not be an SP Daylight or an Electroliner, but to my taste, they are a real esthetic improvement over the gallery cars they are replacing.
But the Denver single-level MUs are better looking, again for me..
Definitely. And a more comfortable, pleasant ride inside, too.
Aesthetics can be expensive. The Stadtler cars, being designed for mass transit, are going to look more utilitarian and straightforward than long-haul equipment. What, specifically, do you want?
Why is it so that internationally, worldwide, the design of every new car is so un-railway-like (railroad), so trivial, so hackneyed, so potty? Is there a secret coalition of railway or step-in non-railway designers to make every new train so repellent, so rebarbative or abhorrent for -- yes, for what reason? for what aim? Is there a secret contest to produce the train with the least flair, with absolutely no style, no attraction? The most boring and uninspired design seems to be the most celebrated?
This is a wide spread trend that involves other things, too: cars, houses --- In Munich the new underground or subway has a spectacular light effect that makes the most of telling (screaming at) people "YES, get in now !! (wide green light at door sides) / STOP!!! stay out !!!" (light changes to red) but the interior light is terrible on skin and makes everybody look like they are zombies! How can they do that to the public and get payed for it, too!?
SARA 05003
500 Kw =670.5 HP and Eight provides approx 5300 HP, more than enouigh!
I believe these are the motors in the KISS train sets:
https://tsa.at/references/stadler_rail_kiss_traction_motor
The six-car sets are 'top and tail' powered; all axles in the two cab cars are motored, with the four cars between being trailers.
Article in Railway Age from 2016 discussing the Caltrain project (explaining the acronyms for both KISS and FLIRT) is here:
https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/for-caltrain-16-kisses-from-stadler-but-no-flirts/
I assume there are two motors in each motor car, with this configuration:
Cab-motor
trailer
blind motor
Assuming each motor is 320HP, 2560HP total should be adequate.
Eight motors for seven MU cars?? Sounds grossly underpowered to me even if some of the cars are trailers.
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