Speed

[Vigrass, Bill]

There was one such case reported in the suburban Main Line Press several
years ago.  A Norristown High Speed Line car approached a station, Ardmore
Ave, I think, no advance light was on, but the motorman saw a person
standing on the platform waiting for a car.  The person was carrying a bag
over his back.  The car stopped beyond the station, and then backed up to
pick up the passenger (this is not uncommon on Rt. 100). As the car was
backing up, the waiting passenger fell from the assymetrical load he was
carrying, and the car ran over him, killing him (or maybe electrocuted from
the 3rd rail, I forget which).  Anyhow, he was dead.  The police looked in
the bag he was carrying, and found silverware and other objects stolen from
local dwellings.  With both members of a household working in many cases,
houses are empty during the day so are a tempting target.  In this case,
poetic justice was metted out. 

When the southern end of the Baltimore LRT line opened, there was a rash of
juveniles riding the cars out to suburban areas and stealing bicycles.  I
learned of this when local NIMBY's used it against "my"
Burlington-Gloucester Corridor plan.  The Balimer case was quickly solved
and stopped, but that did not prevent the NIMBY's from making maximum use of
the information.  They gave it to all local newspapers that were following
the case closely.  The NJMBY's won.  There will be no Gloucester Branch.
And the Burlington line will be diesel LRT following the Riverside line, the
old Camden & Amboy RR & Transportation Co. because no one lives on the north
side of the tracks (that's where the Delaware River is) so there were only
half as many NIMBY's.  And that is why that line was selected. Ridership
forecase is 9300 rides per day on a 34 mile line.  Of these, 1300 per day
would transfer to PATCO in Camden. And 26 (two digits) to NJT Northeast
Corridor at Trenton.  NJT approved a few million to study a one mile
extension from Trenton Penn Station to the Statehouse.  That's a good idea
since there are thousands of state office workers.  The DBOM contractor has
placed an order for 20 DLRV's with Adtranz/Stadler of Switzerland for an
articulated 2-B-2 type car (only the center truck is powered,
diesel-electric).  NJT has given the DBOM contractor a limited notice to
proceed, allowing test borings and detailed design work.  NJT still does not
own the railroad.  Negotiations with NS/CSX are supposedly continuing for
this joint service line.  Interesting.   Bill V.  
> ----------
> From: 	Kenneth and Tracie Josephson[SMTP:kjosephson at sprintmail.com]
> Reply To: 	pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Sent: 	Friday, October 15, 1999 4:33 PM
> To: 	pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: 	Re: Speed
> 
> Derrick J Brashear wrote:
> 
> > Going from a one car to a zero car family is
> > inconvenient: ever try to transport large objects when walking to and
> from
> > a bus? (larger than groceries)
> 
> It seems anti-transit pundits and NIMBYs always claim a new light rail
> line will encourage criminals from "the city" to ride into the suburbans
> and "clean out" everybody's house. How they get all their ill-gotten
> gains onto the trolleys is anyone's guess. Ken J.
>