The Chicago Tribune last week ran a story about the air quality on the platforms at Chicago Union Station being really, really bad…but not nearly as bad as the air INSIDE of the Metra cars we ride in (some of us twice a day). Now that brings a question to my mind…what about the quality of the air we railfans breath when we’re hanging around places like Eola (like me), Rochelle, Folkston, etc., etc.? Kind of scary but worthy of at least a passing thought or two, don’t you think?
Well, just superficially and simplistically - Since we’re outside, it’s probably the same background/ ambient air quality for the surrounding region ost of the time - except when a train is passing. Then you might get a shot of diesel smoke - nitrous oxide and others - plus particulates, etc., as well as fugitive dust and particulates off the cars and roadbed, plus maybe the odd vapor from the lading - vents from tank cars, noxious fumes from the garbage containers, etc. However, since there’s no asbestos in the brake shoes, that’s not an issue, although again those are source of dust and particulates. Otherwise, the sunlight exposure on a sunny day will kill a lot of germs anad viruses, and any breeze will perform a lot of ‘air changes’ as compared to the closed environment of a passenger railcar.
It would be interesting to see if anyone here with credentials in the subject - which is not me, that’'s for sure - has more in-depth and detailed information on this.
- Paul North.
Or what kind of air do you breathe when you drive the Dan Ryan Expressway? Or through Gary, IN? Or anywhere in Chicagoland? I don’t think your concern for particular railfan spots are any worse than virtually anyplace else in the area. Yeah, it is important to have clean air, but to single out one location when threre are thousands of other points, or the whole area has a problem, is paranoid or just out picking one’s fights.
My eyes used to tear up when I drove through LA - even on days that appeared more or less clear (ie, no smog).
Stale air isn’t usually a problem on our tourist line. The trips may take an hour and a half, but the doors are constantly being opened as passengers move between cars, especially up to the baggage car, which serves as our open air car.
Is there a designated spot for smokers on passenger trains? I just realized that since they can’t smoke around others, and if you are going x-country by train, where could they smoke? Or can they at all?
We don’t let 'em smoke at all. Besides passenger comfort and state laws, there’s that multi-million acre forest we run through and would prefer not to burn down…
No smoking on any Amtrak equipment any more. There are occasional pauses at stations for smoke-breaks (on my way to Philly five years ago they had one at Cumberland…totally boring for us non-smokers).
As for Rochelle, Jim, I wouldn’t be worried, any more than I would be at Eola (after all, you have the potential of idling locomotives there). You’re breathing fresh, outdoor air for the most part. I actually enjoy that occasional whiff of diesel exhaust. And the air inside Metra trains has never bothered me, nor have I really noticed the smell of exhaust. I understand it can be a problem in Union Station at times, since those platforms are below ground level.
Pat, who’s very sensitive to secondhand smoke, has never commented on conditions at either Rochelle or in Metra coaches.
Just tagging on:
I’m a smoker. My mom swore I was born with a cigarette in my hand.[:D] OTOH, I respect the rights of those who don’t and will not light up in their presence. I can go for long periods without smoking before “needing my fix”.
The topic is just about as divisive as guns so I won’t delve deeper.[:D]
I read that story. Deep in the article was the claim that air quality in the cars measured several times worse arriving at Downers Grove than it had sitting at Union Station. That defies my sense of logic.
Agreed.
In addition, in all my years on suburban trains, I never noticed any air-quality issues in the Northwestern station. Sure, some fumes are to be expected. But as the canopy over the trains is open to the sky, the exhaust just goes up up and away. Of course, back in the older days the fumes of 567-series prime movers that sat at low idle for many hours, plus the smell from the old oily Cummins engines, at times the depot used to be a bit fumey (is that a word?).
My father was a smoker thus we always rode the western most, or rear car, or Hoboken bound DL&W MU’s and Boonton Line cars. I became a smoker (at too young an age) and continued the riding pattern. Smoke “never bothered” me. In the mid 80’s my wife and I were in NYC for a special event on a Friday night and made it to the 12:30AM out of Hoboken. As a smoker we grabbed seats in the last car (the first and last cars of EL trains were smokers). All seats were filled and the air in that car was thick and stifling…I don’t ever remember being in a train car so filled with smoke despite the 40 some odd years of riding them. It did convince me, however, that the time to quit smoking was at hand but that took another 6 or 7 years to accompolish.