Passenger Trains > Be Careful in the Vestibules

Some morning Metra commuters got an eye opener recently:
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/at-34-mph-doors-suddenly-opened-on-car-of-packed-metra-bnsf-train-naperville-watchdogs/

 

I suppose there is no door interlock with the throttle losing power when the door indicator light comes on.

Or perhaps it was a door opener?

It reminded me of this video;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_78QFM8cjjA

Obviously this problem is not as rare as one would think.  It does make me wonder why the engineer couldn't see the doors were open though, in both cases.  Shouldn't the load have dropped?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/17 12:06 by OTG.

Some NJ Transit conductors strictly enforce the rules on people standing in the end vestibules.  But it's tough to do the same in the center door area when the area around the center doors is packed full of standing passengers.

OTG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Or perhaps it was a door opener?
>
> It reminded me of this video;
>  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_78QFM8cjjA
>
> Obviously this problem is not as rare as one would
> think.  It does make me wonder why the engineer
> couldn't see the doors were open though, in both
> cases.  Shouldn't the load have dropped?


No, they are not interlocked. In fact it is not rare for the cars to be moved around with the doors open when empty in the yard etc

Posted from Android

For historic info on the SP coummute ttrains (San Francisco to San Jose CA)  
 thru mid June 1985 ,the Harriman suburban cars always ran with the trips OPEN at SPEED (70MPH).
This was done because most stops were only 1 to 2 miles apart.
ALmst every station (unified single platform serving 2 tracks) was located on the west side of the right of way.
(single-side boarding with the hold-out-rule equivelant of todays GCOR rule 6.30 protecting things )
The only 2 exceptions to this with outside boarding platforms were San Bruno and Palo Alto -University avenue.
In approx 1981 Lawrence Expressway station opened in Santa Clara, CA.
Lawrence Expressway station was built with outside platforms as only the 3rd outside-boarding SP station.
----Daniel
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/17 15:02 by daniel3197.

In 1977 I rode the rear vestibule of of a commute out of SF all the way to Palo Alto.  Shot movies out the back, open traps, open vestibule doors the whole way.

Same with the Rock Island conventional cars in service until the late 1970's

Wabash Orland Park commuter until the streamlined cars arrived in the 70's (?)

PC Valpo Dummies with P70's  until the EL cars from Cleveland arrived.
One of the PC operators (not PC in the modern sense) at South Branch told me he always went outside
the office and gave 454 a close inspection from the ground when it had the P70's. 
On hot summer days a certain office girl would put a newspaper down on the floor
of the vestibule in order to keep her short skirt clean. She would then sit on the newspaper
and put her feet on the steps to catch the breeze during the slow ride out of the terminal.
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/17 15:54 by Englewood.

Glad the doors didn't open when I shot this video of #3 passing Metra @ Clarendon Hills.
It overtakes this train at about this same location everyday on the middle track.

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Englewood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Same with the Rock Island conventional cars in
> service until the late 1970's
>
> Wabash Orland Park commuter until the streamlined
> cars arrived in the 70's (?)
>
> PC Valpo Dummies with P70's  until the EL cars
> from Cleveland arrived.
> One of the PC operators (not PC in the modern
> sense) at South Branch told me he always went
> outside
> the office and gave 454 a close inspection from
> the ground when it had the P70's. 
> On hot summer days a certain office girl would put
> a newspaper down on the floor
> of the vestibule in order to keep her short skirt
> clean. She would then sit on the newspaper
> and put her feet on the steps to catch the breeze
> during the slow ride out of the terminal.
>  

"Highball" that rollby!! 😗

cars seperate too

Un-commanded door openings on Metra trains have occured before this specific "new" event. 

On overcrowded Metra trains, usually several passengers are standing in the vestibule on the top walkway and in the stairwell areas. 

During such times, some passengers do not hold any of the safety poles or railings which are provided to aid passenger entrance and egress.

Perhaps passengers should not stand in the lower stair area of the vestibule on such cars.  I no longer do so, nor do I stand in the top walkway without clear access to one of the four safety poles.

Enough said.

 

IIRC, in its early years BART was plagued with random door openings while underway.
...Lorenzo

NYC4096 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Un-commanded door openings on Metra trains have
> occured before this specific "new" event. 

In 25+ years of commuting on Metra, I've not personally experienced this, it's usually a case of the doors not closing when train departed the station. However, coworkers have advised of unexpected door openings while in motion.
>
> On overcrowded Metra trains, usually several
> passengers are standing in the vestibule on the
> top walkway and in the stairwell areas. 

On non-crowded trains as well especially if one is getting off at the next stop. I do so all the time.
>
> During such times, some passengers do not hold any
> of the safety poles or railings which are provided
> to aid passenger entrance and egress.

If I'm on the steps, I'm holding onto a pole or railing. Usually I'm on a train that makes a stop a half mile before mine so it never gets past 25 mph before it starts braking for my station.
>
> Perhaps passengers should not stand in the lower
> stair area of the vestibule on such cars.  I no
> longer do so, nor do I stand in the top walkway
> without clear access to one of the four safety
> poles.
>

> Enough said.

It's TrainOrders, there's never enough said! 8^)
>
>  

mp51w Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Glad the doors didn't open when I shot this video
> of #3 passing Metra @ Clarendon Hills.
> It overtakes this train at about this same
> location everyday on the middle track.

Heh, that must have been a weekend as I do not see my car in the station parking lot.

I have a long standing Friday afternoon appointment that sees me riding Metra BNSF train no. 1237 departing CUS at 2:34pm. I'd say #3 passes us at or before Clarendon Hills about 75% of the time. I do occasionally manage to be able to get a shot of it after I get off the train.

Earlk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In 1977 I rode the rear vestibule of of a commute
> out of SF all the way to Palo Alto.  Shot movies
> out the back, open traps, open vestibule doors the
> whole way.

Back when I was in high school, I took a dinky (Q suburban train) to Riverside for a dentist appointment. I set out for home at the height of the rush hour. There was a train arriving, all single level coaches with traps, when I arrived at the station. I was half way back when the train stopped. The train was packed. There wasn't even standing room. I started walking back looking for a car to get on. As I got to the rear end of the last car, the train started pulling. I swung on and found that the vestibule was packed like the others, all the way down into the steps. The bottom step was open but I couldn't go any higher. Nobody wanted off at Brookfield or the Congo and I wound up riding the step to LaGrange Road. I would not put that in the repeatable experience category.

TAW

daniel3197 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For historic info on the SP coummute ttrains (San
> Francisco to San Jose CA)  
>  thru mid June 1985 ,the Harriman suburban cars
> always ran with the trips OPEN at SPEED (70MPH).
> This was done because most stops were only 1 to 2
> miles apart.
> ALmst every station (unified single platform
> serving 2 tracks) was located on the west side of
> the right of way.
> (single-side boarding with the hold-out-rule
> equivelant of todays GCOR rule 6.30 protecting
> things )
> The only 2 exceptions to this with outside
> boarding platforms were San Bruno and Palo Alto
> -University avenue.
> In approx 1981 Lawrence Expressway station opened
> in Santa Clara, CA.
> Lawrence Expressway station was built with outside
> platforms as only the 3rd outside-boarding SP
> station.
> ----Daniel
>  

Lawrence also received a third track  for expresses, that do not stop at Lawrence.