[Scan-DC] Does metrorail have anti-collision equipment?

[Sean Hoyden]

I actually talked to an operator last year about the controls for the METRO
cars, because of my interest in trains, and I was trying to understand if
METRO used what are commonly called "cab signals".

On cab signals, if the engineer doesn't acknowledge the signals every so
often, I think 3 minutes, the cab signals initiate what is known as a
"penalty application" of the brakes on the train.  Ultimately, if left
unchallenged by the engineer the train would eventually come to a stop.

I asked the operator if the METRO cars had the same thing, and the only
thing she told me was that they didn't have any sort of auto-braking feature
like that.  "We have to bring the train to a controlled stop if instructed
by the control center or a stop message shows up on our console."

I didn't press the conversation, since she was getting ready to go off duty
at the time.

Interestingly, I notice that the METRO cars don't have "anti-climbers"
either, which are more commonly found on freight locomotives.  Effectively
they are nothing more than extended steel reinforced walkways on either end
of the locomotive about a foot or so above of the couplers that are supposed
to help keep freight cars from "climbing" over top of the engines in a
derailment and instead force the physics of the derailment to just basically
deflect the cars off of the tracks to either side of the engines.

In this particular crash, I don't believe the anti-climbers would have made
a difference, because it appears as though the frame/base of the car
remained on the ground and it's simply the "cabin" that tore free of the
frame and went up and over the top of the other train.  But just the same,
makes for interesting discussion.




On Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 8:46 PM, W4NNG <w4nng at soalex.us> wrote:

> Anyone know what type of, if any, automated anti-collision equipment
> metrorail trains have?
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Scan-DC mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/scan-dc
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>



-- 
Sean Hoyden
703.899.8893

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety,
deserve neither liberty nor safety."  -- Benjamin Franklin