I like trains!!! Train thread...

[indiggio]

9 hours ago, momskeeztoo said:

Idk, I just feel the whole tombstone thing, embalming your body, putting it in the ground is just too weird. And expensive. Then your family feels obligated to visit your grave. I’m all for being cremated, and having your ashes spread in places you loved. But to each, his own. 

 

[theprogram4]

I’ve been going overboard studying the nyc subway recently.  The current system is only half of what was originally planned to be built.  The amount of abandoned tunnels, abandoned stations, shell stations, bell mouths, and provisionals is amazing.  There are parts of the tunnels not even the MTA knows exists.  I have always wanted to explore the tunnels but that seems like something you need someone to show you.  Gotta worry about getting hit by a train, touching the third rail, getting your foot stuck in a track switch, getting seen by train operators and cops, plus motion sensors in emergency exits and pump rooms and vent shafts.

hipsters and the media gave away the location of the abandoned Chinatown tunnel from the 70s and gave away the location of the south 4th street shell station.  Fortunately the street art in the shell station was dissed before the city sealed it off.  Both these places are now permanently sealed shut.

 

 

[toast21602]

4 minutes ago, theprogram4 said:

I’ve been going overboard studying the nyc subway recently.  The current system is only half of what was originally planned to be built.  The amount of abandoned tunnels, abandoned stations, shell stations, bell mouths, and provisionals is amazing.  There are parts of the tunnels not even the MTA knows exists.  I have always wanted to explore the tunnels but that seems like something you need someone to show you.  Gotta worry about getting hit by a train, touching the third rail, getting your foot stuck in a track switch, getting seen by train operators and cops, plus motion sensors in emergency exits and pump rooms and vent shafts.

hipsters and the media gave away the location of the abandoned Chinatown tunnel from the 70s and gave away the location of the south 4th street shell station.  Fortunately the street art in the shell station was dissed before the city sealed it off.  Both these places are now permanently sealed shut.

 

 

I've spent a stupid amount of time looking at this stuff as well. The abandoned tunnels are fascinating. If you find more good shit please post it! 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

The teenage mutant ninja turtles live down there.  

[theprogram4]

7 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

I've spent a stupid amount of time looking at this stuff as well. The abandoned tunnels are fascinating. If you find more good shit please post it! 

Check out LTVsquad.com. A ton of pics from subway tunnel exploring 

also Google 76th street station...it is the holy grail of things that give rail fans a boner.  This is the most infamous picture in the history of the NYC subway.  I bet people have this framed at their house.

 

 

[Schif]

The stuff underground in NYC is astounding. Between the subway tunnels, the steam tunnels, the storm sewers, sanitary sewers, all the utilities from the past 150 years and I'm sure much, much more it's insane to me to think how much is just stacked in criss crossing lines under that city. 

Also if you want to read some interesting stuff, start reading about Andy Byford, the public transit guru who has been at a number of major cities transit authorities and has been a Godsend for them in terms of making the systems better. He spent two years at the MTA in New York before the heavy hand of Andrew Cuomo was too much and he resigned. He's now the head of London's system. 

[theprogram4]

6 minutes ago, Schif said:

The stuff underground in NYC is astounding. Between the subway tunnels, the steam tunnels, the storm sewers, sanitary sewers, all the utilities from the past 150 years and I'm sure much, much more it's insane to me to think how much is just stacked in criss crossing lines under that city. 

Also if you want to read some interesting stuff, start reading about Andy Byford, the public transit guru who has been at a number of major cities transit authorities and has been a Godsend for them in terms of making the systems better. He spent two years at the MTA in New York before the heavy hand of Andrew Cuomo was too much and he resigned. He's now the head of London's system. 

For sure, there is a city underneath the city.   Since all those utilities, tunnels, etc were built over 100 years ago by various private companies that no longer exist, it can be tough for the city to even know what is down there.  The current subway was originally 3 separate private companies that were merged together in I believe the 40s.  Numbered lines are the original lines called IRT, lettered lines were BMT or IND.  IND stations tend to have been overbuilt as the city was planning significant expansion that never happened

[enjoralas]

On 6/22/2021 at 4:30 PM, Schif said:

I can't tell if pictures like that on tombstones are cool or tacky, I think I lean towards tacky, but it's kind of cool to put a little more on there than just your name so in 100 years someone knows a little bit about you. 

I’m gonna have a hollowed out area on the top of mine with a grate on it, so people who stop by can bring a few briquettes of the Kingsford and fire themselves up a burger or something. 
 

Just please pack out any ashes and bones. Don’t need to freak anyone out.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Amazing 

 

[C1erArt]

Sacramento Railway museum.

[toast21602]

Some appropriate photos on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[toast21602]

Another I saw posted this morning of the LV tug that worked float jobs between LVRR and LIRR. 
 

[Mixilplix]

The steam locomotive I saw yesterday...sorry bout the glare..

 

[Schif]

Amtrak named a new CEO. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/amtrak-names-a-new-ceo-ahead-of-federal-infusion-of-funding-11639593002?mod=hp_lead_pos11

Big Takeaways: 

1. Amtrak is getting $22B from the federal government. It also will have access to an additional $44 billion in grants, with government and private sector partners, aimed at improving and broadening U.S. passenger rail service.

2. First order of business with the cash is pay off the new trains they just ordered from Siemens at a cost of $3.4B. Which works out to around $46.5M per train. 

3. They seem to have a well laid plan for how to spend money now that they have it but it was not detailed in the article. 

 

[abe]

somebody needs to fix the hudson river tubes, that is a big project

If one of those breaks the entire northeast corridor including NJ transit is kaputt

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

1 hour ago, abe said:

somebody needs to fix the hudson river tubes, that is a big project

If one of those breaks the entire northeast corridor including NJ transit is kaputt

The Amtrak Acela is on my bucket list. I also want to ride a bullet train in Japan.  

[abe]

5 hours ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

The Amtrak Acela is on my bucket list. I also want to ride a bullet train in Japan.  

I was on an ICE train in germany.  It was pretty radical going 200mph on the ground

Amtrak is retiring the current Acela trainsets next year and getting new French trainsets, they definitely have a much different style

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

22 minutes ago, abe said:

I was on an ICE train in germany.  It was pretty radical going 200mph on the ground

Amtrak is retiring the current Acela trainsets next year and getting new French trainsets, they definitely have a much different style

That’s radical but I want to go on the 300mph trains in Asia. When I was in Europe years ago I took a train from Paris to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Basel Switzerland and Basel Switzerland to Paris.  They were all pretty slow. 

[Schif]

27 minutes ago, abe said:

I was on an ICE train in germany.  It was pretty radical going 200mph on the ground

Amtrak is retiring the current Acela trainsets next year and getting new French trainsets, they definitely have a much different style

What's the point of upgrading the Acela right now? My understanding is that they are limited by the track not the train itself in terms of speed. The Acela only gets you to Boston 30 or so minutes faster than the Northeast Regional and both are less convenient and more expensive than driving. 

[abe]

1 hour ago, Schif said:

What's the point of upgrading the Acela right now? My understanding is that they are limited by the track not the train itself in terms of speed. The Acela only gets you to Boston 30 or so minutes faster than the Northeast Regional and both are less convenient and more expensive than driving. 

To be honest I don't know whether or not they actually need to be upgraded but they claim that the old trainsets are worn out (they're only 20 years old, so idk, some of Amtrak's equipment is much older than that).

The old trainsets were supposed to tilt when they go around corners but in their infinite wisdom they made them too wide to tilt around corners while maintaining clearance.  The new ones are actually supposed to be able to tilt and go a little bit faster.

The new trainsets are a lot lighter weight, the federal rules regarding crashworthiness were recently changed- they used to basically have to be heavy and remain rigid in a crash and as a result were all unique designs to North America.  Now they define crumple zones or something but I guess that's what Europe does, and they can use European designs now.

The main reason I think is that the new ones will look a lot flashier on the inside and outside for publicity.  I will kind of miss the big stainless steel American designs though if the passenger trains around here all end up getting replaced with European designs.

[abe]

2 hours ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

That’s radical but I want to go on the 300mph trains in Asia. When I was in Europe years ago I took a train from Paris to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Basel Switzerland and Basel Switzerland to Paris.  They were all pretty slow. 

I took the train from Leipzig to Munich to Füssen and back.  I got up at like 4:00am to take the first ICE train out, but it was delayed several hours, so impulsively decided to hop on the local "Trans-Thuringian Express" over an alternate route. which turned out to be anything but an express.  No regrets though, the scenery was nice.  Germany looks a lot like Pennsylvania.

[Schif]

12 hours ago, abe said:

To be honest I don't know whether or not they actually need to be upgraded but they claim that the old trainsets are worn out (they're only 20 years old, so idk, some of Amtrak's equipment is much older than that).

The old trainsets were supposed to tilt when they go around corners but in their infinite wisdom they made them too wide to tilt around corners while maintaining clearance.  The new ones are actually supposed to be able to tilt and go a little bit faster.

The new trainsets are a lot lighter weight, the federal rules regarding crashworthiness were recently changed- they used to basically have to be heavy and remain rigid in a crash and as a result were all unique designs to North America.  Now they define crumple zones or something but I guess that's what Europe does, and they can use European designs now.

The main reason I think is that the new ones will look a lot flashier on the inside and outside for publicity.  I will kind of miss the big stainless steel American designs though if the passenger trains around here all end up getting replaced with European designs.

Welcome to PASR. You are a fantastic new addition to this site, regardless of skiing. Just tell us, how do you feel about planes, beer, and MALVERN? 

Edited December 17, 2021 by Schif

[abe]

1 hour ago, Schif said:

Welcome to PASR. You are a fantastic new addition to this site, regardless of skiing. Just tell us, how do you feel about planes, beer, and MALVERN? 

I am actually doing some aircraft repair work with my internship, not aerospace in the truest sense, but still cool to be working with the things that go up in the air.  The old warbirds that fly into the beautiful town of Reading every year are pretty neato.

I like a nice heavy German lager.  Yuengling especially the Black & Tan is pretty good.  If you want something... interesting... try the Lancaster Brewing Co's Milk Stout.  Heaviest thing I've had.

MALVERN is a magical place I pass through sometimes when I'm on my way to park my car on the Schuylkill Distressway.

Edited December 17, 2021 by abe

[C1erArt]

I am actually doing some aircraft repair work with my internship, not aerospace in the truest sense, but still cool to be working with the things that go up in the air.  The old warbirds that fly into the beautiful town of Reading every year are pretty neato.
I like a nice heavy German lager.  Yuengling especially the Black & Tan is pretty good.  If you want something... interesting... try the Lancaster Brewing Co's Milk Stout.  Heaviest thing I've had.
MALVERN is a magical place I pass through sometimes when I'm on my way to park my car on the Schuylkill Distressway.

Are you working at that Warbird restoration place in Reading?

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

This is badass..you can go all the way from Portugal to Singapore by train.  For that journey you better bring a couple of good magazines lol

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/portugal-singapore-train-rail-travel-b1975630.html?utm_content=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3cFL7e0uLlhZbGFECAQDiJcoOspHGPXcbgIrHSeOxPKCpdsv6j5R5mfW4#Echobox=1639481716