News   Dec 20, 2024
 3.6K     11 
News   Dec 20, 2024
 1.3K     4 
News   Dec 20, 2024
 2.1K     0 

GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

I believe these will be in the new 16 loco arriving late this year and in 2017. Can do 125 mph, but our infrastructure needs to be upgraded before getting this high.

Part of the 16 new locos will be assign to KW line to keep the Weston group happy as promise for all the non EMU trains.

Cummins receives Tier 4 cert. for QSK95 locomotives


QSK95's were rejected in 2011 in favour of Dual QSK60's Drum.



http://www.railwayage.com/index.php...mp54ac-delivered-to-metrolinx-go-transit.html
http://investor.cummins.com/mobile.view?c=112916&v=203&d=1&id=1966257
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=137&t=95196
 
Also wouldn't any GO loco be geared to favour quicker acceleration/lower top speed, given that there's no necessity to shoot for 125?

The QSK95 is what's going in the Siemens Chargers for All Aboard Florida-Brightline, and for the US States buying for their locomotive pools for Amtrak operated regional services.

Since the dual QSK60 was mentioned, is 647 in service or near to being so?
 
Also wouldn't any GO loco be geared to favour quicker acceleration/lower top speed, given that there's no necessity to shoot for 125?

You're right, and that's why the MP40s are geared for a maximum of 93mph. The MP54s will be geared for the same.

Since the dual QSK60 was mentioned, is 647 in service or near to being so?

It's been in service for the past 2 days, running on train 470 (6.16am from West Harbour) and train 481 (16.47 to West Harbour). If its testing and break-in is anything like 602's was, it will be on this cycle for the next week and a half or so.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
Memo to self: Ride this train on one of my morning or evening commutes.

And also running my GPS speedometer and find out what the is acceleration like.
Does that have much meaning while they are still running two engines on that train?
 
Does that have much meaning while they are still running two engines on that train?
Faster acceleration when both engines are running simultaneously, as I am interested on a benchmarking perspective.

I noticed a GO train accelerating unusually fast recently (looked accelerating as fast as a dual locomotive at full throttle, when it happens, I definitely feel roughly twice the G-force) but I didn't see the front of the train. So I would like to confirm. Two locomotives are able to accelerate a 12 coach BiLevel at about 2kph/s/s at the bottom end of the speed scale, from my GPS speedometer app. I want to know how the new two-engined locomotive compares. There is fewer traction axles but could maybe still be almost 1.5x better performing at full throttle.

(Smallspy/vegata, do they keep it easy on the throttle during the break-in?)
 
Last edited:
It's been in service for the past 2 days, running on train 470 (6.16am from West Harbour) and train 481 (16.47 to West Harbour). If its testing and break-in is anything like 602's was, it will be on this cycle for the next week and a half or so.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
Thanks Dan. I'll probably be spending some time in Monarch Park this weekend with the rugrat and will keep an ear out for a new engine note :)

EDIT: re-read your post. Do 470/481 turn at Union and head back? I guess it makes sense not to let it get too far from Willowbrook. Won't see it for a while then, if so.
 
I took the 33 bus from Guelph to Mount Pleasant yesterday, connecting with a train to Toronto. I have no idea why, but I wanted to show you guys our route through Georgetown, which was batshit insane.

GpEtHjk.png


We went really far south, past Queen Street which normally takes us into Georgetown GO on the south side of the tracks. We ended up going through some suburb in the far south part of town back tracking north to River Drive, picking up people at the station on the north side of the tracks, and then going back down to Guelph St to continue to Mount Pleasant.

According to Google, this took 18 minutes vs 7 minutes (without stops or traffic). Did the driver miss the turn? I doubt it, we arrived with 15 minutes before the train at Mount Pleasant, so it seems it was scheduled in. It drove me crazy though, how could we back track so much? Where were we? Why did we have to spend 11 extra minutes doing this?
 
we arrived with 15 minutes before the train at Mount Pleasant, so it seems it was scheduled in. It drove me crazy though, how could we back track so much? Where were we? Why did we have to spend 11 extra minutes doing this?

I don't doubt that a long winding road on a bus is frustrating....but if you arrived 15 minutes before the train you were connecting to....does it really matter that you spent 11 minutes extra on the bus? Would you rather have spent 26 minutes at a train station that has no services/conveniences?
 
I took the 33 bus from Guelph to Mount Pleasant yesterday, connecting with a train to Toronto. I have no idea why, but I wanted to show you guys our route through Georgetown, which was batshit insane.



We went really far south, past Queen Street which normally takes us into Georgetown GO on the south side of the tracks. We ended up going through some suburb in the far south part of town back tracking north to River Drive, picking up people at the station on the north side of the tracks, and then going back down to Guelph St to continue to Mount Pleasant.

According to Google, this took 18 minutes vs 7 minutes (without stops or traffic). Did the driver miss the turn? I doubt it, we arrived with 15 minutes before the train at Mount Pleasant, so it seems it was scheduled in. It drove me crazy though, how could we back track so much? Where were we? Why did we have to spend 11 extra minutes doing this?

That routeing is the bane of my existence when I miss the last Greyhound/the buses are full. The route feels long enough as is taking 7 rather than the 401 but the Georgetown part feels like you're crawling and makes an already long trip feel even longer.

As for the reason behind it, just a guess but maybe it has to do with the lack of a transit service provider in Georgetown? No local or Brampton Transit at least. So maybe GO is trying to provide some bare bones transit for those who can't afford to take a taxi/get a ride from the train station?
 
I took the 33 bus from Guelph to Mount Pleasant yesterday, connecting with a train to Toronto. I have no idea why, but I wanted to show you guys our route through Georgetown, which was batshit insane.

GpEtHjk.png


We went really far south, past Queen Street which normally takes us into Georgetown GO on the south side of the tracks. We ended up going through some suburb in the far south part of town back tracking north to River Drive, picking up people at the station on the north side of the tracks, and then going back down to Guelph St to continue to Mount Pleasant.

According to Google, this took 18 minutes vs 7 minutes (without stops or traffic). Did the driver miss the turn? I doubt it, we arrived with 15 minutes before the train at Mount Pleasant, so it seems it was scheduled in. It drove me crazy though, how could we back track so much? Where were we? Why did we have to spend 11 extra minutes doing this?


The bus stop in Georgetown moved to the north side of the tracks last year. I don't know why - I thought it might have something to do with construction, though. It adds 2-3 minutes over the old route.

The route all the way south makes absolutely no sense, and it was either due to a collision or an emergency closure at Maple and Guelph Streets (Highway 7), or the driver made a really bad mistake.
 
I don't doubt that a long winding road on a bus is frustrating....but if you arrived 15 minutes before the train you were connecting to....does it really matter that you spent 11 minutes extra on the bus? Would you rather have spent 26 minutes at a train station that has no services/conveniences?

Yes it does. I'm sorry, 11 minutes is a long amount of additional time that could be saved.

I guess this is also couched in with the fact that they gave Guelph riders this route to connect with mid-day trains vs. expanding the 39, which used to stop in Aberfoyle before going express along the 401/407 to Bramalea. That could save a total of 25 minutes.

Does Guelph deserve its own express bus? Probably not. That's why you could expand it to Kitchener-Waterloo too via Highway 7, and provide a reasonable KW/Guelph transit service. Status quo is either waiting for an infrequent Greyhound, or taking the 29 to transfer to the 25 in Aberfoyle (which takes 2 hours). For two cities that have GO bus service and are 30 minutes apart, it's ridiculous.

Metrolinx / the province needs to take intercity transit in the Golden Triangle more seriously.
 
Yes it does. I'm sorry, 11 minutes is a long amount of additional time that could be saved.
Unless I missed the point of your first post (quite possible) it would not be 11 minutes saved...it would be 11 more minutes spent waiting for the train at Mt Pleasant (on top of the 15 you already waited).
 

Back
Top