chicagopcclcar Posted October 12, 2012 Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 I was appreciating the lesson on terminology yesterday, and then while riding the Yellow line yesterday around 9:40pm, our train got stuck on the Main Street crossing going towards Dempster-Skokie sometime after leaving Oakton-Skokie. First, I was glad that we hadn't hit anyone/anything, because the operator came back to our car(2nd of 2) rather quickly, explained while walking that we would be moving in reverse briefly, and then moved the train forward from the 2nd car(reverse from our previous direction on that track). Afterward, he walked back to the first car when we should have moved forward. And again he came back quickly to the second car, with a certain look on his face, then quickly back to the first car with what I thought was a (rather large) key in his left hand. Upon his going back to the first car the second time, my wife and I burst out laughing, wondering if he had forgotten the key to get back into the operator's compartment up front the first time. I'm glad that "school car" lesson was helpful. And by the way, "school car" is the nickname for the training given NYC subway personnel. The large key is called a "Cineston key". It unlocks and locks the control handle in the motor cab and sets the direction of operation. And yes, it can put the train in "reverse" but that feature is used only in special-special circumstances like when coupling or uncoupling. The switchman will reverse one cut of cars to separate, but no further movement. In coupling, the switchman will reverse one cut of cars to make sure the couplers have caught and locked. This is called "stretching." DH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 I know that you need to use Spaulding as the alternate entrance to the Kedzie station due to the construction, but this bit of conversation was unexpected. A disembarking passenger from a Kimball-bound train asked a construction worker if he can walk on the tracks to exit at the main station house... Seriously??? One trip on a live set of tracks and you'd be toast!!! There's 600 volts in those third rails!!! What was he thinking??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 I know that you need to use Spaulding as the alternate entrance to the Kedzie station due to the construction, but this bit of conversation was unexpected. A disembarking passenger from a Kimball-bound train asked a construction worker if he can walk on the tracks to exit at the main station house... Seriously??? One trip on a live set of tracks and you'd be toast!!! There's 600 volts in those third rails!!! What was he thinking??? Sounds (and is) the same location as reported in Lee v. CTA. "On his way home, Lee entered a CTA right-of-way at the intersection of Kedzie Avenue and the Ravenswood railway line in Chicago, apparently, in order to urinate. ... Lee, whose blood-alcohol level of 0.341 placed him in the "stupor" classification of intoxication, made contact with the third rail and suffered fatal injuries." So, maybe your rider was wanting to leave a financially lucrative wrongful death claim to his heirs. In any event, is this "construction" due to another grade crossing collision? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 In any event, is this "construction" due to another grade crossing collision? No, they are replacing the wooden platform at Kedzie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 12/7/12 10:54p ***Multi-Line Rail Alert*** Rail Line(s) Affected: Brown, Green, Orange, Pink Service Interruption Severity: Loop-Bound trains may have delays and reroutes in the area of Tower 12 thru Saturday afternoon, 12/8/12 due to switching issues and emergency repairs in the area. (Story) One wonders if all the signal work over the past 2 years, which definitely resulted in rebuilding the Tower 18 area also was done in the Tower 12 area. In any event, if they had built the Franklin or Wells subway, this wouldn't have happened. At least not here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkohut Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 I'm going to be curious on what they are going to blame that cause the switching problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 One wonders if all the signal work over the past 2 years, which definitely resulted in rebuilding the Tower 18 area also was done in the Tower 12 area. In any event, if they had built the Franklin or Wells subway, this wouldn't have happened. At least not here. It would've happened in the subway instead. There was work done in the Tower 12 area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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