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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 1h

Code line failure.

Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 2h

A Euro Horn is the brown M&M that shows there was no localization. Surprise, the seats suck, the luggage space sucks, the doors are breaking already...

Enjoy the next 20 years of crap Acela trainsets and don't say you weren't warned.

Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 12h

So you vote for having no shipbuilding capacity at all.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 12h

Yes, its welded. Do you see joints?

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 12h

We make more boats than we would without it.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 13h

It was literally Bombardier lobbying. There were no major accidents in the 90's to prompt the changes.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 13h

Replacing experienced builders with regulated standards is the problem. Budd could build lightweight trains when it made sense, and then could pivot away when grade crossing accidents make Zephyr type sets impractical. Bombardier lobbied for the 1990's regulations in a move to corner the market.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 13h

Something about this photo seems apt in describing the world today on so many fronts.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 13h

In North America the horn is far more important due to unsealed rights of way. You want something that has authority, not an apology. Someone is going to get hit, sue and win because the NG sounded like a truck or something.

I don't get why you are trying to make excuses for this equipment?

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 13h

Yeah, railroad management isn't what it was. The way to win is to constrain their choices. If that has the side effect of helping US industrial policy, so much the better.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 13h

The question was how many *have* been repairable.

NJT lost a PL42 after a comparatively minor crossing accident bent the unibody. Meanwhile some MNRR Comets that flipped over at the Spuyten duyvil wreck are still in service. You can see the scuff marks.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 13h

The French horn on the Acela NG shows how little thought was given to localization. European builders will push what they have on their shelves and inflate any change costs. The only way to get proper equipment is domestic design. (This is why protectionist regulations > tarriffs.)

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 14h

And then you have no fleet because they all get written off in minor grade crossing accidents. US railcars have to be able to hit stuff and get repaired.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 14h

Those designs are garbage. The whole point of the standards was to keep Euro spec trash in Europe. Look at the Acela NG, uncomfortable seats, no luggage space and it would still shit the bed in an accident.

Build here, design here, use here.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 14h

We should be moving back to the ARR voluntary standards which resulted in some of the best North American MU designs.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 14h

That's the one with the severe weight issues. MUs only.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 15h

Advocacy for heavier MUs wasn't on my bingo card, but fine, if the NY Central structure was toast, the second best option would have been a steel rebuild like the SEPTA Market Street El, which preserved the usable space below.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 16h

GCT is Sub-plate A. One is never going to stuff full-height equipment into it. Also 178 ton P-Motors ran into GCT.

The MTA doesn't either want to rebuild with steel or use the current steel because painting stuff is a cost. If the new concrete fails in 40-80 years, they can get a new federal grant.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 16h

When SEPTA rebuilt their viaduct they kept the steel. That level of craftsmanship and durability is impossible to recreate today.

maps.app.goo.gl/ZsvXnPsSBCnZ...

maps.app.goo.gl

Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 16h

Neither of those were a problem and are a function of the fixation system, which was updated in the 80s.

Concrete takes up more usable space under the structure and lacks the elegance of early 20th century steel construction. The MTA just doesn't want to paint it.

maps.app.goo.gl/4vVMXByqaNGp...

maps.app.goo.gl

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 1d

Block

Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 1d

And the cost was at least two car lengths of capacity on most tracks.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 1d

Let me guess, another steel to concrete downgrade.

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 1d

Despite the construction of a 1000 unit transit oriented development on the old Howard County Laurel Park parking lot, there is no official pathway to the station. Just an unsecured construction zone.

The Preakness will run here in 2026, but I have a feeling we won't see any special event trains 😞

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Position Light @prrsignal.bsky.social · 1d

Laurel Racetrack averages 2 passengers per day and I talked with one of them! This guy works at the racetrack and takes MARC every Wednesday, getting a ride back home.

If a @milesintransit.com type wants to do a video, I'd suggest arriving on the 4p train, then leaving on the 548p or 644p.

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