Subway Delay Reports and Discussion (2011-2017)

According to WCVB the side doors did not open, that is why people kicked out windows. If I'm remembering correct, the red line doors are pneumatic. With pneumatic doors on buses you have to close the air valve to open the door in an emergency. The people said that even when they tried prying the doors open the would not open. What I'm guessing happened was they never set the door into emergency mode, so there was still pressure in the door system (on buses it is around 50 psi , and I'm guessing the red line car doors have more than that), so when they pushed on the door it tried to return into the closed position. I'd guess they didn't waste much time and panicked , kicking the windows open. There should be emergency windows ndows on those cars that can be reset back into a normal position after allowing people to escape, but it does not look like they tried using them and went straight to kicking the windows out.

ck4049 wrote:https://www.facebook.com/fox25news/phot ... =1&fref=nf
Here's the Fox News story. I'm really beginning to wonder why it was necessary to smash the windows since the MBTA says there was no real emergency. In fact, the passengers could have very well been able to exit the car through the end doors.

I believe the end doors are self-locking from the inside. Someone can correct me on this.

deathtopumpkins wrote:In addition to the emergency door release, aren't some of the windows emergency exits that can be removed?
That would have been much safer than smashing them

There are no designated emergency windows on these cars.

Finch wrote: I believe the end doors are self-locking from the inside. Someone can correct me on this.

There is an emergency release bar for the cab and B-end doors, I believe upper right hand of the door.

As for the panic I believe the DC Metro incident is in the minds of some people.

JoeD

jmar896 wrote:According to WCVB the side doors did not open, that is why people kicked out windows. If I'm remembering correct, the red line doors are pneumatic. With pneumatic doors on buses you have to close the air valve to open the door in an emergency. The people said that even when they tried prying the doors open the would not open. What I'm guessing happened was they never set the door into emergency mode, so there was still pressure in the door system (on buses it is around 50 psi , and I'm guessing the red line car doors have more than that), so when they pushed on the door it tried to return into the closed position. I'd guess they didn't waste much time and panicked , kicking the windows open. There should be emergency windows ndows on those cars that can be reset back into a normal position after allowing people to escape, but it does not look like they tried using them and went straight to kicking the windows out.

Gravity locks the side doors. On the 01700s and 01800s there is an opening in the side of the car, which allows the doors to be unlocked from outside. I don't know if these were retrofitted to the older cars. Inside, there is a cut-out valve under a seat at every door. It is operated by a wrench on the reverser handle, which is not commonly circulated. End doors are unlocked by a plain skeleton key, which is in common circulation. They are not locked from the outside. The idea is that people are usually safer in the car, than on the right-of-way. The emergency levers near the end doors do not unlock the side doors, they unlock the adjacent door mechanically and dump the emergency pipe, setting the brakes, and cutting propulsion power. The side doors are not affected. Opening a side door when not on a platform exposes anyone trying to climb down to the third rail, especially on the outside of a curve.

One question is, were people inside the car choking on smoke or having their eyes irritated. If the lights had gone off inside the car then people outside could not see if the car was filled with smoke.

Unlocking the side doors on the Orange Line cars manually is a two step process. First the air pressure to the door motor is cut as described previously. Dumping the train's air pressure may also accomplish this. Secondly there is a procedure to lift the door motor arm which also acts as a locking bar. Then the door can be slid open. Repeat for each door leaf. (The Red Line cars are probably similar.)

Should the door not close properly en route, it is necessary to cut the air to the door motor. Then the door motor arm needs to pushed down all the way, requiring unlatching and lifting off the seat. A few months ago someone reported a door opening while the train was in motion. It is possible that the door had to be taken out of service but they forgot to push the door motor arm down. It takes some effort to start opening the door but someone inside may have manually opened the door as a prank and then walked away.

Smoke reported on Orange Line train: http://www.wcvb.com/news/smoke-reported ... olute=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
No kicked out windows this time, but I'm guessing it created delays.

Boston Herald article on the Quincy incident:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinio ... f_the_hook

typesix wrote:Boston Herald article on the Quincy incident:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinio ... f_the_hook

This makes sense. The train might have had one or more dead cars (not uncommon). This would overload the others causing wheel slip. With all four motors in series (assuming 01500-01600-01700) one pair will slip while the others don't turn. This will overload the resistors and draw some 'smoke' into the carbody. Smell of heat from spinning wheels combined with overheated resistance is nasty, I can understand the panic. 01800s are a different animal, can't comment.

So Kenmore is being bypassed since 9:15pm or so because of party preps.

There's apparently quite the backup on the B line right now between Allston St and Warren St. A pair couldn't make it up the hill, so two (possibly three?) more pairs coupled on to shove, and now all six cars are stuck...

Fox News is reporting a major Red Line failure. Loss of power in Quincy. Also 3rd rail problems on Longfellow Bridge.

Scattered reports on Universal Hub include a train stuck on the hill up to MGH and a powerless train outside Braintree with no heat. MBTA site says they're busing between JFK and Braintree and strongly suggests using alternative transportation if possible.

WCVB reports that part of the green line is closed

Broken rail at Copley westbound. Busing Arlington to Kenmore and Prudential (may have been busing from Haymarket earlier). All the subway lines are in bad shape, with the aboveground portion of the Blue Line and the Braintree Branch in the worst shape.

The Red Line uses a different third rail with a wider contact surface that the other lines. Heaters are spaced at intervals, but if the service stops, it is possible that ice buildup will isolate several cars of a train. Six car trains are longer than the interval between heaters, but dead cars can still screw things up. Consequently, the Red Line can take a severe hit, as happened yesterday. One live car will not move a six-car train, and will eventually fail.