Passenger Trains > .

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/20 19:52 by F40PHR231.

Don't know how many commuters the SP carried in its day, but CalTrain is carrying 50,000 per day now - I know that is not NYC or Chicago numbers, but think of the number of cars off of I280 and US101....nice photos! B

The roll sign on Muni 1063 (The Baltimore Bullet) tells us that it's on the "pull in" run. The motorman will advise passengers that the car will not be going to Castro. Sometimes it takes a bit of talking, but usually I can convince the operator that I really WANT to go to the carbarn.

Are they still using the sound-activated crossing signal system on the peninsula? I recall that there were high-mounted microphones at some of the stations to activate the gates after a stop. It's been quite a few years since I was in the area, so they may be long gone.

I bought the same lens last year and have really liked it. I haven't shot Caltrain with it yet but, I probably will considering I live on the peninsula. The price difference between the Tamron and the Nikon and the great reviews and rebate I got on the Tamron sold me on it. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine.

Nice shots.

AL Bayer

althewelder Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I bought the same lens last year and have really
> liked it. I haven't shot Caltrain with it yet but,
> I probably will considering I live on the
> peninsula. The price difference between the
> Tamron and the Nikon and the great reviews and
> rebate I got on the Tamron sold me on it. Hope you
> enjoy yours as much as I have mine.
>
> Nice shots.
>
> AL Bayer

i just bought a Tamron 18-270 with a $100 rebate ... i hate switching lenses so this lens is real convenient

Nice coverage. Would be interesting to have photos at these locations from the 1960's to compare.

Regards, Jim Evans

We were in SF in late Dec. The passenger loads carried by the F Line cars are staggering. Bay Area has got to be the most interesting place in the country for diversity of rail and transit equipment. In SF we never had long waits for buses or light rail. Operators were friendly and helpful. Three day pass is not cheap but we got our monies worth. Cleanliness of all vehicles seems to have improved. New Lands End visitor center (Golden Gate NRA) is nice, and easy to get to by bus. Lots of good trails to hike in vicinity.Proud to see my hometown doing well. Construction of new terminal at former Trans bay is impressive. Did not see construction along 3rd street subway route.

Image stabilization aside, I like the second "spot" photo!

Nice shots. Looks like a nice piece of glass. I considered the Tamron 70-300 but haven't bought one yet.

Z

colehour Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are they still using the sound-activated crossing
> signal system on the peninsula? I recall that
> there were high-mounted microphones at some of the
> stations to activate the gates after a stop. It's
> been quite a few years since I was in the area, so
> they may be long gone.


In Redwood City (& perhaps other locations) they're still in use. I got a nice show while working just across the tracks at the Fox theater during New Years Eve. The SB train approaches the station, the gates for the ped crossing activate, train stops, gates go up, a toot or two on the anemic air horn & the ped crossing gates re-activate & the train is off to points south.

Desmond Praetzel, "4451 Puff"

I got sidetracked and forgot to say thanks for the fine photos!

4451Puff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> colehour Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Are they still using the sound-activated
> crossing
> > signal system on the peninsula? I recall that
> > there were high-mounted microphones at some of
> the
> > stations to activate the gates after a stop.
> It's
> > been quite a few years since I was in the area,
> so
> > they may be long gone.
>
>
> In Redwood City (& perhaps other locations)
> they're still in use. I got a nice show while
> working just across the tracks at the Fox theater
> during New Years Eve. The SB train approaches the
> station, the gates for the ped crossing activate,
> train stops, gates go up, a toot or two on the
> anemic air horn & the ped crossing gates
> re-activate & the train is off to points south.
>
> Desmond Praetzel, "4451 Puff"

Great shots! Looks like you got your monies worth with that new lens.

The horn activated crossings will be going away relatively soon with the dawn of the new positive train control system that Caltrain is installing right now. Grade crossing signal detection will be tied to the trains somehow, so the detectors will "know" if a train is stopping just short of a crossing or proceeding without stopping. If the train is stopping before the crossing, the gates won't go down like they do now, so traffic flow should improve a bit. Of course, Caltrain also wants to electrify by the end of the decade with lightweight/non FRA compliant EMU's, so the face of the railroad will soon change in a significant way.

Alright, that's a lot of information. Back to the great pictures.

Jarrett

colehour Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are they still using the sound-activated crossing
> signal system on the peninsula? I recall that
> there were high-mounted microphones at some of the
> stations to activate the gates after a stop. It's
> been quite a few years since I was in the area, so
> they may be long gone.


Yes, they do.

Thanks for the information on the sound-activated grade crossing signals.

korotaj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We were in SF in late Dec. The passenger loads
> carried by the F Line cars are staggering. Bay
> Area has got to be the most interesting place in
> the country for diversity of rail and transit
> equipment. In SF we never had long waits for buses
> or light rail. Operators were friendly and
> helpful. Three day pass is not cheap but we got
> our monies worth. Cleanliness of all vehicles
> seems to have improved. New Lands End visitor
> center (Golden Gate NRA) is nice, and easy to get
> to by bus. Lots of good trails to hike in
> vicinity.Proud to see my hometown doing well.
> Construction of new terminal at former Trans bay
> is impressive. Did not see construction along 3rd
> street subway route.

Although I do not live in San Francisco, it is very nice to read some positive commentary about the City and its transit system. During a number of visits to the City, I've enjoyed riding the many types of public transportation in the Bay Area. I look forward to my next visit.

colehour Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are they still using the sound-activated crossing
> signal system on the peninsula? I recall that
> there were high-mounted microphones at some of the
> stations to activate the gates after a stop. It's
> been quite a few years since I was in the area, so
> they may be long gone.

Yes! Mountain View, for example. Both directions, since there are gated ped crossings at each end of the platform.
The hog has to give a toot (or two, the standard forward-motion signal) and let the gates deploy.