[PRCo] Fw: More primitive, old-fashioned trolleys!

[Jim Holland]

"Bill Blomgren"  wrote in message 
news:<40apj3d48abc9e1m09g13rus58sndsp1gc at 4ax.com>...
 > On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:30:11 -0800, gl4316 at yahoo.com 
(gl4316 at yahoo.com) wrote:
 >
 > >In article ,
 > >billblomgren at hotmail.com wrote:
 > >
 > >> Well, the Charlotte light rail killed someone that was sitting on 
the tracks
 > >> before it carried its first revenue passenger.
 > >>
 > >> The city council has apparently decided that they need to fence 
the whole
 > >> right of way. That wouldn't have prevented the death, because he 
was sitting
 > >> near a grade crossing.
 > >
 > >
 > >The first several people killed by getting run over by Portland MAX 
trains
 > >were on the right of way along I-84. To get there, they either had to
 > >have walked across 6 lanes of high speed auto traffic, or crossed the
 > >Union Pacific Railroad's fence, crossed the UP main line, scaled an 11
 > >foot tall concrete retaining wall, climbed over the 6 foot tall 
chain link
 > >fence at the top of the wall, and then dropped down onto the MAX 
tracks.
 > >Or, they might have walked from a station platform past a number of 
signs
 > >warning people not to walk on the tracks, but when the first one 
died they
 > >hadn't even started public service yet, so I don't think the platforms
 > >were even open for people to walk down to.
 > >
 > >Charlotte hasn't yet learned about the creativity of idiots in getting
 > >themselves killed.
 >
 > This guy was sitting on the tracks, and apparently FROZE when the train
 > "Appeared"... The "driver rang his bell, applied emergency brakes, 
and sounded
 > his horn" (which, by the way, is an electronic recreation of a steam 
engine's
 > whistle... sounds VERY odd for a high tech tram...)... and the guy 
just looked
 > horrified. And didn't move. Followed by Splat.
 >
 > They have had people driving around the gates, but have missed them 
all so
 > far. Their aim will get better when the things are running every 7 1/2
 > minutes. (more chances.) -- So they started putting stick up rubber
 > barriers at the crossings.... Those haven't stopped the idiots, 
however.. So
 > they may have to go with 4 quadrant gates... at an extra $100k or 
200k per
 > crossing. Or close the crossings, or update to fly overs.... None are 
in the
 > budget, of course. About 15 grade crossings will need updates... so 
that's an
 > additional few million.
 >
 > The fence budget has been set. (They don't have money to repair 
street lights
 > and pot holes.. but they DO have millions for a new fence that runs 9 
miles
 > from uptown to 485.
 >
 > They don't explain how they will keep idiots and drunks from doing 
the same
 > thing at stations and grade crossings, however.
 >
 > Locally, we have a VERY creative group of idiots. I expect them to 
continue
 > to find their way into the light rail row in a messy manner, and the 
city
 > council will react badly over and over.
 >
 > I wonder if that 9 miles of fence are coming out of the city budget, 
or the
 > CATS expenses for the light rail line.. I suspect that is going to be a
 > general city expense...

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^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
.
.
Jim  Holland
.
Studying Pittsburgh Railways Company (PRCo)
.
..............................From 1930 -- 1950
.
Pennsylvania  Trolley  Museum  (PTM)
.
http://www.pa-trolley.org/
.
N.M.R.A.
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http://www.nmra.org/