dcmike wrote:Had an interesting experience over the weekend on the Penn Line.
Was riding southbound in cab car 7848 near the control stand, there was a loud bell that was intermittently but persistently ringing. A concerned passenger actually approached the control stand, opened the door, and demanded an answer from the engineer - who promptly and correctly threw the guy out. But the engineer didn't say anything except "don't worry about it, it's under control".
At the next few station stops, the train would service the station, begin to move and suddenly all the lights and HVAC went out. The train would continue rolling for a few hundred feet, the lights came back on, and the entire train started jerking (not violently but very noticeably), then continue accelerating smoothly. This happened about 3 times, then I became concerned myself and moved to the center of the train so I don't know if the bell kept ringing. Eventually completed the trip to Union Station without further problems.
What was that about?
The door cab car should be locked as passengers should not be able to access it. On VRE they lock the cab car door. In the mornings, as the train heads north to DC, the trains are driven via the cab car as the locomotive is pushing the train. Sometimes I wish I could tell the engineer to stop driving so slowly making us late and to speed up the train.