Car Life/757s

[Greg King]

Hi Ed,

My comments (except about the DC3) were tongue in cheek, you are absolutely
right, though I do enjoy the 757 for short haul, the 777 is a beautiful
aircraft to fly in, flew from Frankfurt to Chicago in one and it beat the
747 hands down for comfort. One of the best international aircraft is the
A340.

I agree with you on the DC9-30, in fact, they were so good, the new 717 is
an updated series 30 with BMW engines, got a real treat in 98 when I flew
out of Boston for Philly in a US Air (chasing PCC's to keep it on list) in a
series 30 DC9 and lo, it was an ex-Ansett machine from home, it still went
bullistic! Another fine and oft maligned aircraft was, the DC10/MD11, of the
three original wide bodies, the pilot's prefered in order, DC10, L1011 and
last was the 747.

Now, back to streetcars, it was mentioned about mono-motor problems, we have
basically the same motors in our Z3, A and B class cars, they have been
pretty good, occasionally you get noisy gearboxes and you get real "hunting"
of the tracks and braking problems if the wheels don't match from one side
to the other, unfortunately, since our system was split in two and
privatised, the standard of maintenance has plunged and they are nowhere
near as good as they where, the old story, when the government ran them,
they had to answer to the people, the private companies have to answer to
the stock holders, though they are upgading the bodies of some with new
interiors and new paint schemes etc., the sow's ear is still the sow's ear
underneath all the tarting up.

Greg
Motorman Melbourne
----- Original Message -----
From: Edward H. Lybarger <twg at pulsenet.com>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 1:56 AM
Subject: RE: Car Life/757s


> When the 757 was new with Eastern in the early '80s, I thought it was a
> treat to fly.  That was before the carriers raised the seats and squeezed
> them together to maximize the sardine effect.  In the past year or so,
I've
> become acquainted with Airbus Industrie through short hops on 319s/320s, a
> transcontinental round trip on 319s, and two trans-Atlantic round trips on
> 330s.  For me, at least, they absolutely blow away anything Boeing has to
> offer (I haven't tried a 777, so that's excluded).  The pressurization
> system is the smoothest, most continuous I've ever experienced, and the
> wider narrow-body cabin makes for much more comfortable seating.  And US
> Airways' 330s, with 60 fewer seats than the same -300 model that Aer
Lingus
> flies, is the most comfortable long haul craft I've been on.  I'm hoping
> they don't disappear into Untied, but am not holding my breath.  The
latter
> is incapable of managing itself, let alone taking on the integration of a
> major acquisition.
>
> Boeing makes great airplanes.  They're just stuck with a narrow-body
> fuselage that dates from the mid-'50s, and the competition has made hay
with
> that.  I go out of my way to avoid the 757 or MD-80 out of Pittsburgh,
> though I am fine with a DC-9-30!  My best flight of 2000 was on the C-54
> (DC-4) that visited the Washington County Airport in late July.  I trust
> they'll come back next year!
>
> Ed
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> [mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of Greg King
> Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 6:20 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: Re: Car Life
>
>
> By the way,
>
> I'm also an aviation entusiast and a private pilot, I rather like the 757
> but, love the DC-3 (have 5 hours on type) and would go anywhere on one
> (especially if I was driving!) but if I had get somewhere in a hurry, I'd
> prefer a 757 over all else Mr Boeing or Mr Airbus has to offer! Sorry
that's
> a wee bit off list!
>
> Greg
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Edward H. Lybarger <twg at pulsenet.com>
> To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2000 4:48 AM
> Subject: RE: Car Life
>
>
> > If you've ever been in the middle seat in the last row on a full 757,
> you'll
> > understand why I'd opt for the DC-3!
> >
> > Ed
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > [mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of Kenneth
> > Josephson
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 3:27 AM
> > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > Subject: Re: Car Life
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Derrick J Brashear wrote:
> >
> >
> > > But, just because it had longevity, don't assume it was necessarily
> > "better" than
> > > today.
> >
> > True. You may have noticed several prominent coach manufacturers were
left
> > out of
> > my little rant. A Boeing 757 is certainly "better" than a DC-3 though
the
> > latter is
> > well known for its longevity. (This last statement is guaranteed to get
a
> > reaction
> > from Bob Rathke or Ed Lybarger.) Anything can be made to last for
decades
> if
> > one
> > throws enough money at it. But Marmon, Brill and postwar Pullman trolley
> > coaches
> > were noted for their longevity as well as providing generally trouble
free
> > service
> > for over three decades when given the chance. While our favorite
traction
> > system is
> > well known for being a predominently Westinghouse equipped system, most
> long
> > term
> > trolley coach operators seemed to prefer GE equipped trolley coaches
over
> > Westinghouse equipped units when all other things were equal. There were
> > several
> > notable cases where the Westinghouse equipped half of a GE/Westinghouse
> > split order
> > of identical trolley coaches were retired or sold off  before the GE
> units.
> >
> > My point is that a guaranteed subsidy to a fat and sassy public agency
> will
> > not
> > inspire the same call for longevity and serviceability that the private
> > transit
> > industry and its suppliers needed when the PCC concept was born.
> >
> > I heard a rumor that people living between Mattapan and Ashmont were
more
> > worried
> > about the possibility of receiving hand-me-down Boeings from the Green
> line
> > than
> > losing their PCCs to bustitution or a Red Line heavy rail extension. Ken
> J.
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>