Green Line Type 9 Thread

[BandA]

They seem to want to choose plug doors instead of accordions. Are they afraid of folks leaning against the accordion doors and falling out?

The subway cars use pocket doors, right?

[diburning]

It's actually very unlikely that someone would be able to fall out of a folding door by leaning against it. "Do Not Lean Against Door" is probably on there so that people aren't startled and lose their balance if the operator opens the door while someone is leaning against it. The inside edge of the folding door (where the part of the door attaches to the track at the top, not sure if they use a track or linkages on the bottom) under the rubber strip is attached to the track. So, if one were to lean against a folding door with enough force to force it open, it would only open partially unless it's also hit with enough force to "derail" the door.

I think the MBTA will go to all plug doors in the future for the Green line (once the Type 7s and Type 8s are retired) because it would allow them to build the platforms a little closer. Right now, the raised platforms have a gap to clear the doors, as well as a reduced height (slightly lower than the floor of the car, necessitating the built-in bridge plate on the Type 8s) to ensure that the doors don't get stuck. In the summer, when the platforms heat up and expand, I have seen the doors temporarily hang on the bumps on the top of the yellow line on the platforms.

[CRail]

If the platforms have a gap to clear the doors then how do doors get stuck on them? The platform dimensions conform to the bridgeplate and have nothing to do with the doors.

Doors catching platforms has nothing to do with heat. There are platforms that became swollen after construction (notably Copley and Longwood Medical Area*) so that if the train stops at a certain spot, the tabs that prevent a loose bridge plate from sliding out when the doors are closed catch on the platform, most often on the tactile strip as mentioned.

*Youll notice at LMA Eastbound cars stop at the green sand box and never pull down to the “first car stop here” sign. This is why.

[bostontrainguy]

FYI - Most of those "First Car Stop Here" signs are for three car trains that were discontinued a couple of years ago. They should have been removed long ago, but the T just hasn't done it for some reason. They do confuse the public.

[Adams_Umass_Boston]

If that was the case, then why did they put them up in Government Center when it was renovated.

[bostontrainguy]

Government Centre is different. The mainline is all left door boarding so you pull up to the first mirror - period. It makes no difference to the operator where any boarding signs are located.

[Adams_Umass_Boston]

Sure.

[CRail]

The first "first car stop here" signs were wooden (you can still see part of one in the original Haymarket station when approaching the westbound platform), and predate any streetcar 73' in length. They have nothing to do with 3 car trains, they are simply on the far end of every platform.

[Diverging Route]

According to NETransit, the Type-9s are tenatively numbered 3900-3923, which makes sense following tradition.

But will there be a conflict? Current practice is for radio transmissions to shorten the car being called/calling to the last three digits (eliminating the "3"), as in "631 hold three minutes at Kenmore!" However, the GL dedicated station Inspectors' call signs are in the 9xx series.

So what will happen when the Type-9s are in service?
"902 to 902"
"902 answering 902"

I guess the leading "3" on the car numbers will be mandated. Any other ideas?

[Arlington]

007 would be a way cooler handle for an inspector, but i07 would solve the problem better and permanently.

[bostontrainguy]

Yes, all "portables" are in the 900 series such as the inspector at Lake Street on the BC line is "911". The Greenline has other radio numbering conflicts too. For example, operators have put trains away on the wrong track because the Yard Master at Reservoir tells an operator to store his train on "1 Rail" and somebody coming into Riverside puts their train away on "1 Rail" because that's what they heard on the radio. Yard Masters have a plan and they tend to not like it when their plan gets messed up.

I don't expect much to change with the radio identification. You are kinda expected to just know.

[BigUglyCat]

Very interesting photo (credited to the MBTA) of a type 9 pilot car at the CAF facility in Elmira, New York. It's on the bottom of page 10 of the January/February2018 Rollsign from the BSRA. Worth a look if you have access.

[typesix]

The inspectors could go back to the 400 series, which is what was used until the Boeings came and started off in the 3400 series.

[CRail]

The portable numbers were 400s until the Boeing LRVs showed up and they were changed to 900s for that exact reason. The 3 work cars, while still on property, are no longer on the roster and so there’s no reason the portable numbers can’t retun to 400s.

[OCC Retiree]

There was no OCC to train radio communication prior to the introduction of the Boeing LRV's. PCC's didn't have radios when they ran on the Green Line. They weren't installed on the Mattapan cars until 1990. The 400 call number series was used from the start of LRV operation in 1976. The portable numbers were changed to the 900 series in the mid 1990's (1994 if I recall correctly) when new management took over the Green Line and it was done for the very reason mentioned in a previous comment. Motormen usually dropped the 3 and responded with the remaining 3 digit number. Even though we as Inspectors always pronounced, for example, 411 as "four one one" as opposed to "four eleven" the potential for confusion existed. Obviously, in an emergency situation, that could cause unnecessary delays in response time. The change to the 900 series quickly solved the problem. It amazed us that it took almost 20 years for someone to address this. So yes, now that the Boeing cars are gone, reverting to the 400 series would make sense now.