[PRCo] Re: Electric Railway Accidents

[Fred Schneider]

Back in the 1970s SEPTA was notorious for its surface rail  
maintenance.  PCCs were breaking down every 100 miles give or take.    
I imagine the subway cars might not have been much better but when  
one car in a six car train craps out, the customer doesn't know it.    
Well, SEPTA also provided the MU cars for Amtrak's Philadelphia -  
Harrisburg service, and breakdowns on them were also in the 150 mile  
range.  But again, when you have two MU cars coupled together, the  
customer doesn't know if one is dragging the other.  Acceleration  
just isn't as good as it should be and the customer doesn't know  
why.   But what if both cars crap out.

Well, one morning on 601 it happened.   And the equipment that  
morning were the 1960s St. Louis-built Silverliners, which had no  
Thomas Crappers because installing such conveniences eliminated two  
rows of seats for 2 people, or 4 seats that you could sell.   Well,  
mornings is not a good time to not have access to facilities  
especially after liberal doses of caffein,   That morning it became  
women over the left bank, men over the right.   I never did hear how  
many women sat in poison ivy.    I'm sure it improved Amtrak's image.


On Sep 27, 2005, at 9:36 PM, Mark McGuire wrote:

>   Hold it or make sure you go before you board. I started a thread on
> this not long ago entitled "Interurbans and Mother Nature".
> Must have been right before you joined us.
>   I would imagine there were more than a few people who had to get
> off in the middle of nowhere and wait for the next car. Wonder if they
> gave transfers for that.
>
>
>