Recent content by smallspy

On top of all that..... There is nothing installed between the axles on the lead trucks of the loco and cab car - certainly nothing that is low enough that it would be able to affect the railhead like the aerials for the shunt enhancers. Now, I'll concede that it's possible that they've come...

They have not been certified for use by Transport Canada - they haven't even tested them yet. It is possible that Siemens has developed some alternate mounting method for the shunt enhancers, but none of the photos of the trainset show the system as designed and tested by Amtrak, and approved...

It is not clear as yet just what is going to change on these new trains. There may be a lot of carry-over from the TRs for all we know. This is absolutely not true. The H5s were split between the two lines, and the H6s were all delivered to the B-D. While the YUS got the base order for the T1s...

Beyond all that.... The TTC also runs storm cars & trains when the weather is expected to be inclement. They do this done on all streetcar trackage, on the surface-running parts of the subway, and on the Crosstown as well. I don't know if the contract for Finch West allows for them, but up to...

The obsession - if you think it is that - has to do with what is capable. Some members seem to think that using the particular track that they are planning on using will enforce some sort of artificially low speed limit that could potentially damage the long-term viability of the project by...

Switch heaters, and trackside forces equipped with brooms. The same thing as the full-sized railways. Dan

The trainshed is not an impediment to electrification of the tracks at Union Station, and never has been. Dan

The H5s in particular went through a couple of courses of rather intensive work to keep them running reliably. The one that APTA-2048 refers to in the 1990s specifically was a rather major structural rebuild, to deal with structural corrosion issues. But you don't need an overhaul to keep an...

The plow was stuck at the time - the operator had exited the vehicle before the train was in sight. Dan

Why are you assuming that the TTC didn't rebuild any of their equipment? Dan

The trains that operate the actual tests where they are aiming for the highest speed possible - yes. That is correct. But part of those programs also involves operating regular trains at higher speeds than will be operated in revenue service. As part of the 1990 high-speed tests, for instance...

The French have seemed to have figured out the issue. Even in the test runs, where they ran many, many runs well in excess of 350km/h, they didn't have any issues with flying ballast. Perhaps look into what they are doing? Dan

There will be a switch added to the current north track immediately west of the current Danforth interlocking. In the long run, the whole plant at Danforth needs to be moved and reconstructed, as the 4th track will be added to the north side of the corridor to the west of there, but to the...

The vast, vast majority of the French network is ballasted track, and they've tested it up to almost 575km/h. The LGV Est is operated at 320km/h every single day with no issues. Dan

There are a number of different regulatory regimes regarding equipment. There are regular inspections for certain things like air brakes, suspension, wheels, etc. that need to happen on an ongoing basis (every 10 days, I believe). These are pretty innocuous, however. Locos - and any...