Passenger Trains > Newest (SMART) DMU'son the planet have arrived in the Bay Area!

The cars will be interchanged tomorrow with the CFNR and NWP will handle them Tuesday on the Lombard turn.  Here are some shots. BTW, the cars have a SMART employee watching them and said I couldn't take pictures.

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A few close-ups.  Mike Pechner images.

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weather Wrote:
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> BTW, the cars
> have a SMART employee watching them and said I
> couldn't take pictures.

Well he or she couldn't have been that smart then :-)   Thanks for taking them and posting anyway!

Dave

Ah...     Passed this (these?) in Suisun today on 732.  I wondered what it (they?) was (were?).
SR

Can these be MUed? ( hope I got that right)

Posted from iPhone

CPRR Wrote:
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> Can these be MUed? ( hope I got that right)
>
> Posted from iPhone

Yes, they can be MU'ed into 3 sets. I believe the station only allows for 2 combined sets though.

These cars when first proposed and designed had light rain transit type couplers similar to what is on SF Muni's Breada cars. In this way, MU, air, communication and coupling are done simultaneously.  This was because of the light rail mentally from former Gen. Mngr. Lillian Hammes.  NWP officials told SMART, not only could the NWP not tow a disable car but couldn't move it out of the way on single track there by tying up both freight and commute. ooops!  They changed the plans to include a standard E type  coupler and standard glad hands air hoses.  Guess either the conductor or engineer will become a glorified brakeman.

Are freight trains prohibited from operating on the line when these DMUs are running in scheduled service?

No, the vehicles are fully FRA compliant under part 49.

Do the stations have gantlet tracks?
A friend told me he saw what looked like narrow gauge track In the Santa Rosa area during construction there.

--Jim Baker

weather Wrote:
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> No, the vehicles are fully FRA compliant under
> part 49.

Thanks, weather.

JimBaker Wrote:
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> Do the stations have gantlet tracks?
> A friend told me he saw what looked like narrow
> gauge track In the Santa Rosa area during
> construction there.


That's "GAUNTLET."

Necessary for sufficient clearance from high platforms for employees
on the side of freight trains, per CPUC regulation (though bridge plates
that could be swung out of the way when no passenger trains are
running would also comply).

Photo in prior thread:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,2988443



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/15 21:00 by GenePoon.

Yes they do have guantlet tracks thru the stations with the freight taking the slow outside rain.

Thank you for sharing these photos.  The delivery of these cars is a historic event in many ways. 

Regarding the question of automatic couplers, EMUs using automatic couplers in the Northeast carry coupler adapters so they can be rescued by a locomotive with an AAR coupler if need be. 

This link has a good photo of a coupler adapter:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_coupling#Dual_couplings_and_match_wagons

Artists conceptions for these cars showed an AAR coupler with two automatic couplers flanking it - presumably for HEP and ECP brakes.  That would have been a novel development in the US. 

Automatic couplers do help control operating costs by adjusting consist sizes across the service day.  However, the bigger challenge to their operating costs that I see is that SMART only ordered cars with streamlined cabs. (Nippon Sharyo did offer a design with an end door).  As I recall, FRA regulations require one train crew member in each isolated portion of a revenue consist.

weather Wrote:
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> ............................................................................................
> ............................................................................................
>  BTW, the cars have a SMART employee watching them and said I
> couldn't take pictures.


It's nice to know that paranoia is alive and well at SMART.  Thanks for the photos.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/15 08:42 by warren49.