DMU what is the lunar signal showing (E?) and what does it signify?
SecretWeapon,
I was NOT implying, that there IS anywhere that a train can travel 180 MPH in the US, 180 MPH equals the 10 second 1/2 mile that morseman was referring to. I was pointing out that 150 MPH( which I understand to be the Acela’s top speed) would take more, rather than less than 10 seconds to cover 1/2 mile.
Morseman, I had, had a long day and wasn’t feeling like doing the math for a 1/2 mile @ 150 MPH, when it is very easy to figure @ 180 MPH. Guess I was misunderstood as well. [:)]
Doug
The accident happened at the Mansfield station platform (station mainly serves MBTA commuter trains). A co-worker of mine lives in Mansfield and says the word around town is that this was a suicide (it’s still under investigation, O.C). All of the NEC stations in our area have warning signs, painted safety lines and audio alert systems (a recorded message that states “warning, train approaching the station)”. Of course there is really no way to suicide proof a station platform…
Considering the line of sight ant Mansfield I am surprised it happened. Lots of visual distance at both sides of the station. Isn’t there a fence between the opposite sides of the platform there? I seem to recall there was but then again it was a year ago.
If those warning messages are like the ones on the new Greenbush MBTA line, (I’ve seen both, and they’re pretty similar) than there’s no way anyone could NOT know a train was coming! Those things are loud!
If so, I bet that really made a mess.
Safe zone???
They are noisey as they pass,but you can’t hear them coming up from behind you. Esp. since it’s an electric engine. They are very quiet until they pass. If the engineer doesn’t see the person until he’s right on him,he’s dead,plain & simple. No sugar coating it. Take it from me.
As far as a mess, I was riding Commuter Rail about 6 years ago. It was the next day after an Acela had hit a Deer. It looked like a Butcher Shop. The Acela was towed back to Boston, but a Deer is a big animal.
The Acela normaly has just one man in the cab, but you still have the fireman’s seat for officials and guests. When you enter the Acela Cab you have an open area, this open area is “armored”. You then must step up onto a platform where there are the Engineer and “fireman’s” seats. The Engineers seat pivits only to the left, the Fireman’s seat only to the right. In event of a pending impact, I was told to pivit out of the seat and drop into the protected area. Under that “swing up nose” is a frame with full coulper for towing. The side view photo below shows how high up the engineer really sits above the door sill.
I was in Mystic CT three weeks ago looking for a place to photograph a westbound train passing the station when the grade crossing signals started flashing and the bell started ringing. The gates hadn’t come down so a pickup truck hauling utility trailer crossed the tracks even though there was a warning that a train was approaching. The grde crossing, Broadway Avenue Extension, has four quadrant gates so the trains don’t blow for that crossing. Fortunately the truck and its trailer cleared the crossing before a westbound Acela Express came. When I saw the truck trying to cross the track with an Acela Express approaching I got well back from the track just in case.
The Northeast Corridor is fenced in around Niantic, CT, and it also has four grade crossings between Mystic and New London. The trains do not pass through Mystic, CT too fast, most likely due to the sharpness of the curve. Based on the trains crossing the Mystic River and the Niantic River bridges they seem to cross the moveable span bridges at reduced speed.