HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: johnm@hpmcaa (John Mosbarger)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: SD70, Railfans & Spies
Date: 13 Aug 92 19:31:39 GMT
Organization: HP Cardiology Business Unit - McMinnville, OR
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

schumann@msus1.msus.edu wrote:
> There's an interesting article in _The Wall Street Journal_ for 
> Wednesday, August 12, 1992, on page B6.  Its title is:

[.....deleted.....]

> The article went on to explain that the new locomotive model has new 
> computers, electronic brakes, and other features that GM doesn't want 
> GE to know about yet.

     The electronic brake system was described in some detail by George
Cockle in the latest Diesel Era issue, and was installed on later SD60's
and DASH8-40CW's delivered to UP.

> When the person was spotted trespassing in the CP Rail yard, he was 
> escorted off the property and his license plate number was noted.  It 
> was subsequently traced back to the GE engineer.  GE is claiming that 
> the man is an avid rail enthusiast who was pursuing his hobby.  The GE 
> engineer, who works in GE's Erie, PA locomotive division, also claims 
> that he was doing it on his own and not "acting on GE's behalf."

     As previously mentioned, since this new brake system is already on
some delivered locomotives, and the "secret" features are generally not
visible, I think I'd have to give the engineer the benefit of the doubt,
since what could he find out by just taking pictures of the exterior?

> engineer is quoted as saying "Usually your average rail buffs stand by 
> the track and take pictures.  They don't trespass on railroad 
> property."
> 
> (Aside:  At least some members of the railroad community recognize 
> that most railfans are responsible people who do not trespass.)

     It's nice to see railfans described in a positive light, especially
in a non-railfan-oriented publication.

> --
>    Paul L. Schumann, Ph.D.           |  VAX:  IN%"schumann@MSUS1.MSUS.EDU"
>    Professor of Management           |  Office Phone:       (507) 389-5349
>    Mankato State University          |  Secretary's Phone:  (507) 389-2966
>    Mankato, MN   56002-8400          |  Fax Number:         (507) 389-5497

--
John Mosbarger
HP McMinnville, OR
johnm@hpmcaa.mcm.hp.com
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: R.Todd.Minsk@dartmouth.edu (R. Todd Minsk)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: NEC detectors, B&O Baltimore division (Second Posting)
Date: 12 Aug 92 23:10:33 GMT
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

In article <14178@mindlink.bc.ca>
Steve_Hooper@mindlink.bc.ca (Steve Hooper) writes:

> > 3. I need the names of the train dispatchers controlling the above named
> >       subdivisions.
> > 
> 
> 
> Why?
> 
> (Just check the front of an employee timetable...the dispatchers are listed
> there)

I think the intent of the question was to ask the names of the
dispatching territories, not the individuals.  Besides, if Mr Chary had
access to the employee timetables, he could answer most of his
questions without querying the net.

Todd Minsk, ferro-bibliographer
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: orc@usite-next.uchicago.edu (David Parsons)
Subject: Re: Cost of transit systems vs highways
Followup-To: alt.flame
Organization: Ministry of Skritching
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 21:14:48 GMT

In article <57495@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin) writes:
|In article <71475@apple.Apple.COM> ehouse@Apple.COM (Eric House) writes:
|>Propaganda?  You bet.  The stupid game won't let you build a city without
|>some cars!  Or so I've heard.
|
|[pro-automobile rant deleted]

   I really hate to have to point this out, but the original post was
asking about propaganda in the _game_ SimCity.   Your pro-auto ravings
might be taken a bit more seriously if you, for example, didn't make them
complete non-sequiturs.

   (followups to alt.flame)
                 __
   david parsons \/ orc@vpnet.chi.il.us
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: jacobs@ipf.bau-verm.uni-karlsruhe.de (Heiko Jacobs  Tel 0721 608 4131)
Subject: Re: Swiss Railroad Questions
Reply-To: jacobs@ipf.bau-verm.uni-karlsruhe.de
Organization: IPF, University of Karlsruhe
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 08:06:03 GMT

>>From St.Moritz the Bernina line should also not be missed - great
>views of Glaciers and Mountain tops.
>If you don't want to go the whole Bernina line, disembark at
>Alp Gruem station. This station is only accessible by rail and
>has a spectacular view (and a Restaurant with a nice balcony).
I crossed Bernina on a sunny day in an OPEN car, added at the end of a normal train,
famous!

>Rothorn cog railway is a definite MUST (the only steam operated cog
>railway in Switzerland, they bought a brand new steam engine this year,
I have heard, that parts of the old "Furka-Bergstrecke" is open again with
steam engines ( Partially reimported from Vietnam )
( The Glacier Express takes the tunnel under Furka )

Heiko Jacobs
jacobs@ipf.bau-verm.uni-karlsruhe.de
Dep. of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, University of Karlsruhe, Germany
From: vaughnw@asia.fai.com (Vaughn Wolffe)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: to the anti-maglev flamers
Date: 12 Aug 92 15:13:07 GMT


>From: dfl@panix.com (Danny O'Bedlam)
>will pollute us to death.  But I dont wanna keep harping on rail vs
>car.  exploring new tech is important, and useful.  realize this,
>tho:  if it doesnt FLY in orlando, it won't be viable.



You are missing the point. We do not need a new technology to 
pull people out of their car. The French TGV has already proven
it and is already available. Automobile passenger mile growth in
the area served by the TGV has not increased since it was 
introduced. There is no real advantage in waiting for a new 
technology when we already have a tool available. Heck if
we wait long enough, fossil fuel will be all used up.



   Vaughn Wolffe        vaughnw@hadar.fai.com




Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Rail Access to Airports
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 16:49:04 GMT

> 	The large majority of the European cities mentioned (London,
> Birmingham, Amsterdam, Brussels, Du"sseldorf, Paris, Barcelona), as
> well as Tokyo, have rail lines going right inside or or next door to
> their major airports ...

Also Zurich, Geneva, Malaga, and I believe Munich.
-- 
Mark Brader			"Never re-invent the wheel unnecessarily;
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto		 yours may have corners."
utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com				-- Henry Spencer
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: johnm@hpmcaa (John Mosbarger)
Subject: Re: Driver clunk
Organization: HP Cardiology Business Unit - McMinnville, OR
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 19:19:13 GMT

Chris Langston (casey@bradley.bradley.edu) wrote:
> In <1992Aug18.113122.89790@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au> che238n@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au writes:
> 
> >I would be interested yo know how long it is since 4449 and 2472 were
> >overhauled.
> 
>  If my memory serves me correct. 4449 had some running gear work done in 1990,
> But I don't think that was on the side rod bearings. The 2472 is a fresh   
> rebuild, I think it was first steamed last fall or early this spring.

     It was either '89 or '90, when 4449's main driver was shipped off to
Vancouver, BC to have new bearings cast and the axle turned.  The left side
connecting rod bearing was replaced last summer.

     I don't believe that the 4449 has any roller bearings.  Only 2 GS- series
locomotives had roller bearings, the GS5's (numbers forgotten).

     8444 (as it was known then) made quite a bit of noise when it was in
Portland after the 50th anniversary bash at LAUPT.  It really racked up the
miles, and I heard that it was not in the best of shape when it finally re-
turned to Cheyenne.

> -- 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unknown Indian Chief "Iron Horse bad medicine"                              -
> - Unknown Army Scout   "What do you think is good medicine?"                  -
> - Unknown Indian Chief "Milk of Magnesia"                                     -
> - Chris Langston  casey@bradley.bradley.edu                                   -
--
John Mosbarger
HP McMinnville, OR
johnm@hpmcaa.mcm.hp.com
From: Steve_Hooper@mindlink.bc.ca (Steve Hooper)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: VIA's excellent, Amtrak sticks bigtime
Date: 17 Aug 92 21:33:26 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada

> 31ochs@gw.wmich.edu writes:
> 
> Just out of curiosity, but does VIA still use the LRC engines?
> I remember seeing them a couple years ago on the International
> (Amtrak's joint train with VIA from Chicago to Toronto. The have a "train
> set" of VIA and a set of Amtrak)
> Usually, the train was late, and when it arrived, it had a GT engine on
> the front, because the LRC had died. Did they sound like an Alco, since
> they have a 251 prime mover?


When I was back in TO, I went and toured the Mimico maintenance facility.  I
asked one of the shop foremen that exact question and his reply was simple.  A
few (3 or 4) are still in service and are used on the TO-Montreal line.  All
other trains are hauled by F40's (with the exception of a couple of small
branchlines that still use FP9's.)  Aparently the LRC locos were very
unreliable and difficult to maintain so when Ottawa approved the purchase of
more F40;s, the shops celebrated :)

Where are they now?  A good number are sitting in dead lines at Mimico along
with strings of RDC's and FP9's (A & B units).  Believe it or not, they also
use them for shop switching!  The day I was there, one of the four switchers
VIA owns was sitting near the shop door, but the switch crew was using an LRC
unit for their switching!


--

 steve_hooper@mindlink.bc.ca   []  Conductor on the High Iron of
 OR      a777@mindlink.bc.ca   []     CP Rail - Cascade Sub
 The Great White North in      []
 Vancouver, BC CANADA          []   Opinions are mine, NOT CP's
From: jordan@IMSI.COM (Jordan Hayes)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Train from SF to Chicago
Date: 12 Aug 92 13:54:20 GMT
Organization: Investment Management Services Inc., NYC

Nick Leverton <leveret@warren.demon.co.uk> writes:

	do you have a *real* telephone number for Amtrak, please ?

I have a few:

	Boston:		(617) 482-3660
	Chicago:	(312) 558-1075
	Los Angeles:	(213) 624-0171
	New York:	(212) 582-6875
	Philadelphia:	(215) 824-1600
	Washington, DC:	(202) 484-7540

I would think that any of these numbers would work for you.

/jordan
Newsgroups: rec.railroad,rec.models.railroad
From: jtthorp@hubcap.clemson.edu (J. T. Thorpe)
Subject: Data requested for a programming project
Organization: Clemson University
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 17:40:19 GMT

The school year has just started up, and I've already been assigned a
programming project in one of my graduate courses.  The plan is to write
a program to schedule trains on mainline routes.  In order to do this,
I need some information on the factors involved in selecting trains for
scheduling (i.e., cost to run the train between a given set of
destinations, capacity of the engine(s), availablity of engines and
crews, revenue from a given train, etc.)  This project is intended to be
used as the focus of a scholarly paper, and hopefully submitted to a
journal or conference.

Could someone please direct me to appropriate people to contact for this
information.  ``Real-world'' data would make the use of this scheduler
far more attractive in presentation as well as demonstrate a practical
use for it.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Please respond by email to:  jtthorpe@cs.clemson.edu

Thanks!

JT Thorpe
-- 
JT Thorpe____________________________________  	      ===+==___()__o_][ c
Clemson	   |[][][][][][]|    |[][][] |[]| |   _/-----| |=|=|   |    |  ]}
 Univ. 	 [_|____________|_][_|_______|__|_|_]|_______|=|___|-----------___
 x2841	   oVo        oVo    oVo        oVo  oVo   oVo   (o) (o) (o)  oo \\
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: paull@kingdom.co.uk (Paul Lee)
Subject: Re: Any Britrail experts out there?
Reply-To: paull@kingdom.co.uk
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 11:13:08 GMT

 Some of the IC-225 services from Kings X to Leeds/Bradford do indeed stop at
 Stevenage, but not all of them. Frankly I wouldn't bother catching a bus because
you'll have to go from Heathrow to London anyway, and you might as well catch a
IC-225 there. The way from Heathrow would be to use the tube to Kings X and then
catch a IC-225 service from there. I don't believe many ICs go direct to Bradford,
so on most services you'll have to change at Leeds. Bradford is not electrified, so
only IC-125 services will go there --> All IC-225 (Class 91 25kV electrics) are
forced to terminate at Leeds. Hence most services terminate at Leeds.

---


		Cheers,
			Paul Lee (Hoppy)


			Meiko Scientific Ltd.

			Email: paull@meiko.com

		      #                         #      
                      #                         #      
                      #                         #      
                #############             #############
                      #                         #      
                      #                         #      
                      #                         #      
		                                       
                                 #####
                                 #   #
                                 #   #
                                 #####                    _________
                                                         /        /
                                                        /  HIC!  / 
                                                       /________/     
                                                      /      

		#######################################

       HEINEKEN REFRESHES THE COMPUTERS OTHER BEERS CANNOT REACH

Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: VIA's excellent, Amtrak sticks bigtime
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 16:43:54 GMT

> > As I understand it, there are special excursions that travel between
> > Vancouver and Banff.  Initially this was to be a pricy luxury train,
> > but I no longer know what happened with this.
> 
> There is a private firm that operates an excursion from Vancouver
> to Banf, unfortunately the name escapes me at the moment. 
> I understand that the trip involves an overnight stay in an hotel,
> as there are no sleeping facilities on the train.  This is not too
> bad as it results in viewing the scenery in daylight for the whole
> trip.

The company is Great Canadian Railtours.  I posted a query here just a
couple of months ago describing their 1991 season service (which was
in the VIA Rail timetable) and asking if they were still around and
operating the same service in 1992 (though no longer in VIA's timetable).
The answer was that they are.

The service pattern is:

	Day 1:	Vancouver-Kamloops
	Day 2:	Kamloops-Banff-Calgary  and  Kamloops-Jasper
	Day 3:  Calgary-Banff-Kamloops  and  Jasper-Kamloops
	Day 4:  Kamloops-Vancouver

repeated 3 times every 2 weeks through the summer.  And yes, it's expensive
compared to VIA.
-- 
Mark Brader				"Pleasant dreams!"
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto			"I'll dream of Canada."
utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com				-- THE SUSPECT

This article is in the public domain.
Xref: sparky rec.railroad:6569 ba.transportation:2022 talk.politics.misc:40189 talk.environment:3276
From: mpolen@gelato.mips.com (Michael Polen)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad,ba.transportation,talk.politics.misc,talk.environment
Subject: Re: Cost of transit systems vs highways
Date: 17 Aug 1992 19:03:58 GMT
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.
Distribution: na
NNTP-Posting-Host: gelato.mips.com

In article <Bt4w40.4x5@teleride.on.ca>, stevew@teleride.on.ca (Stephen M. Webb) writes:
|> In article <FP8DPB2w165w@1776.COM> bob@1776.COM (Robert Coe) writes:
|> >[....]  There's certainly no reason
|> >in principle why transit systems can't go where the people want to go.  But
|> >beyond that, Boston (the city with whose situation I'm most familiar) has
|> >found that the opening of a new subway station invariably results in an in-
|> >crease in pedestrian traffic and land values in the vicinity of the station.
|> >"Where people want to go" is to some extent driven by where the transit sys-
|> >tem goes.
|> 
|> It is in fact a well-documented phenomenon.  Many cities take advantage of the
|> increase in property values around rapid transit stations (and modal 
|> interchanges) by either imposing a development surtax or increasing development
|> levies in the immediate vicinity.  These increased revenues help offset the
|> cost of building the transit infrastructure.  In addition, the leasing of
|> air rights above the transit corridor bring in additional revenues.
|> 
|> Freeways generaly do not contribute to such development because of the
|> nature of freeway driving and personal vehicle commuting.
|> 
Not true in much of Texas.  There, each freeway is built with an access road
running one each side of it.  The access roads (one-way on each side) become
major retail and industrial access.  This turns the area alongside the freeways
into big profits for the land-owners (some of whom have inside info and
buy when they find out a freeway is comming) and into a business
tax base.

Of course there is a price.  1) These are the ugliest freeways. 2) The
freeway traffic has to fight with the local retail traffic to get off
the freeways.  Many of the jams in Houston, for example, are long backups
at the offramps.  I have seen this at very few exit ramps in Cal, Ore, Wa.
Xref: sparky rec.railroad:6701 ba.transportation:2067
From: jis@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (jishnu.mukerji)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad,ba.transportation
Subject: Re: Speed of Portland LRVs
Date: 19 Aug 92 18:25:31 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: UNIX System Laboratories Inc.

In article <1992Aug18.074410.5530@panix.com> tls@panix.com (Thor Lancelot Simon) writes:
>In article <5okoPB3w165w@1776.COM> bob@1776.COM (Robert Coe) writes:
>>gnn@wsl.dec.com (George Neville-Neil) writes:
>>> Most current LRVs can travel at 55mph, which they do on private rights of 
>>> way.  MAX (Portland) is very speedy once out of downtown, ...
>>
>>Shortly after the Portland system opened, their LRVs were restricted to 55 
>>mph so that cars "racing" them on a parallel freeway wouldn't be tempted to 
>>speed.  Does anyone know whether that preposterous policy is still in effect?
>
>Isn't this the cause for lower speed limits on some sections of Metro North
>track that parallel I-95?  A question in re that -- I recall being on an
>extremely late Night Owl about a year ago, at least an hour late into Stamford,
>which made Penn about 3 minutes late.  Are some of these kind of limits relaxed
>after normal driving hours?

No, there are no adjacent road related speed limits anywhere on the
North East Corridor. Metro North has all sorts of speed limits because
of sharp curvatures, among them on certain sections that parallel I95,
but these restrictions do not depend on the time of the day, nor on
the presence of I95.

The Night Owl schedule schedule has almost "infinite" loose time in
it, i.e. the time it is allowed for its run is much longer than what
it actually takes for the journey with the equipment that is typically
used for the train. So it is not surprising that a Night Owl that is
very late at Stamford would make it into Penn Station almost on time.

Jishnu Mukerji
jis@usl.com
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: DC fare collection method (was: Others vs BART)
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 23:41:28 GMT

> > Can you elaborate?  I've always found the DC fare collection system
> > to be pleasant and efficient, and would like to know more about
> > its `mistakes'.
>
> One is the fact that if your ticket doesn't have enough value left to get
> you out at your destination, you have to bring it up to *exactly* the right
> amount, using a special "Addfare" vending machine.  I think it would have
> been far better if they just let you add arbitrary value to the ticket ...

If that suggestion was followed, then it would be possible to keep using
the same ticket indefinitely.  Two things would then go wrong.  It would
wear out, and it would run out of spaces to print the "remaining value".

Of course, it *could* be arranged that the *entry* gates would reject a
ticket if there were no more "remaining value" spaces, and that you could
turn in such a ticket for credit at the regular ticket purchase machines.
In that case, the "add arbitrary value" idea becomes reasonable.

On a visit to Washington a few years ago, I bought a ticket for a value
suitable for some exact number of trips within the city; I think such trips
were 65 cents (probably higher at rush hours, but that wasn't applicable).
Supposing it was 7 trips, then after the 6th one my ticket should have
had a "remaining value" column like this:

	4 55
	3 90
	3 25
	2 60
	1 95
	1 30
	0 65

and at the end of the 7th trip the exit gate should have eaten it.  Well,
what it *actually* looked like after 6 trips was something like this:

	4 55
	3 90
	3  5
	2 75
	2 10
	1 45

However, the printed value turned out not to reflect the actual value,
and the latter was correct.  At the end of the 7th trip, the exit gate
happily ate the ticket and that was that.

That was quite a few years ago, though, and there was no recurrence on my
one visit since then.
-- 
Mark Brader	      "Perhaps their software was written by a Byzan-tine-ager"
utzoo!sq!msb, msb@sq.com				      -- Peter Neumann

This article is in the public domain.
From: R.Todd.Minsk@dartmouth.edu (R. Todd Minsk)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Note on Newport News Wreck
Date: 17 Aug 92 23:22:02 GMT
 <15AUG199222302479@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov>  
 <1992Aug16.212024.13839@usenet.ins.cwru.edu>
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

In article <1992Aug16.212024.13839@usenet.ins.cwru.edu>
ag900@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (David Burris) writes:

> 
> In a previous article, RMCCU@CUNYVM.BITNET (Robert Chambers) says:
> 
> >Not only that, they also fudged a signal a mile or so away that would
> >have given indications of the switch..
> >
> >Sounds like disgruntled ex-employee to me
> >
> 
> OR a deranged railfan wanting a closer look at the Amtrak power!
> 
> -- 
I realize this was intended to be a humorous statement, but having been
spoken to on more station platforms (not to mention engine terminals)
than I care to think about, I wonder just what Amtrak and certain other
railroads think is so dangerous about being in proximity to stationary
locomotives.

Todd Minsk, ferro-bibliographer
From: dawdy@tellabs.com (Dan Dawdy)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: Restroom Closings on Amtrak (Was: My Amtrak Vacation)
Date: 19 Aug 92 13:15:43 GMT
Article-I.D.: tellab5.1992Aug19.131543.2288
Distribution: usa
Organization: Tellabs, Inc., Lisle, IL

In article <1992Aug18.122644.727@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> ggg9y@poe.acc.Virginia.EDU (Garth G. Groff) writes:
>John:
>It is rather 
>surprising in these days of supposed ecological consciousness
>that they would have accepted such a design, and even more
>surprising that they haven't bebuilt the systems.

I don't want to start an ecological fight but it takes money,
something which Amtrak does not have a surplus of, to make
these changes.  If a city wants to stop "dumping" in their
limits, that's fine.  Requireing holding tanks on long haul
trains I don't think is a high priority.  If you look at
the number of trains plus people you can see it's hardly
a big problem.  We are still talking human waste which does
decompose rather quickly.  Next we will have forest rangers
running around with "pooper scoopers" picking up after
Bambi and Yogi :-) (Note the simley)  I think we have to 
get our priorities in order in many places in the country
and this is one of them.  Just my .02

Dan
dawdy@tellabs.com
Newsgroups: rec.railroad