JCGUY wrote:I am NOT going to ask:
- why a train that is 'out of service' can nonetheless continue on the single track line, presumably all the way to 33rd where it will turn around. That's an odd kind of out of service.
Given the circumstances you describe, it probably went to Hoboken and then relayed back to the yard. That's a lot fewer stops than going to 33rd.
If you're asking why a train that can still move properly is out of service, it could be a number of things - most likely a problem with the doors. If it takes an extra 2 minutes per station to get the doors shut and indication, then it'll completely mess up the morning commute w/ 10 minute delays, just getting to 33rd. I've also seen trains go OOS for things like heat/AC failure, wheel flatspots, and so forth, but those won't normally cause the crew to empty a train - it would likely have gone to 33rd, discharged passengers, and run empty back to the yard. We can probably eliminate a problem with the propulsion motors / controls as you indicate the train left at normal speed. If (for example) the controls in the first car went out, requiring operation from the 2nd or 3rd car (or even further back if #2 and #3 were both 100-series), you would have seen something more exciting. I'd call it something else, but this is a family forum...
- why these trains break down so much. I never see this on MTA trains. Heck, I never saw this on CTA trains, and they are a holy mess.
You may have noticed that the MTA replaced most of their (quite a bit larger) fleet in the last few years. According to
this RailwayAge article, the MDBF (mean distance between failures) for the newest NYC Transit cars (R-160x) is 1.2 million miles. Contrast that with the MDBF of the R-32's (delivery started in 1964, similar to the first of the PA-series PATH cars). The R-32's have been hovering around 100,000 miles for some years now - less than 8% of the newer cars that replaced them. Those cars are now almost all retired and scrapped. The actual numbers for 2008 and 2009 are 92,685 and 54,191 miles. I suspect the huge drop in 2009 was because everybody knew the cars were going to the scrappers that year and thus there was no point to either major repairs or preventative maintenance.
- why is it taking so long for the PA to turn over the fleet of cars.
Only the PA knows, and they aren't telling. Given that they have the money to pay for them, it is either a manufacturer delay in delivering cars or a PA-imposed delay on deliveries due to problems with the first ones. On any custom or semi-custom car, there are always issues with the first few cars which result in design or manufacturing changes for the rest of the order. My experience riding the new cars has generally not been positive - I've had cars which don't have working climate control and cars that mis-announce stations. One car regularly pulls into 23rd St. and announces "This..This..This is 33rd Street" (like Max Headroom). The automated announcement system also isn't set up to deal with the way PATH operates at their stub terminals (33rd and Hoboken). There isn't a "Last Stop" announcement or display, and it also doesn't announce its new destination until the crew changes ends.
I won't ask these questions because, lo and behold, an EMPTY train pulled into Newport to deliver the full trainload of commuters to Patersonville. Saved the morning commute for us, no doubt. It was a PA-5 no less. Here's my question: where did that train come from? It certainly wasn't right behind our train all the way from JSQ. Does the PA keep a train at Hoboken or WTC for this type of contingency, and if so, how was it able to get in place and so quickly?
I expect it was a Hoboken->WTC train that was run light from WTC to Newport for you. If it was sitting at WTC, it is a little less than 4:30 to Newport (3:05 to Exchange + 1:20 to Newport, assuming no door operation and no competing traffic). It could then run back to Hoboken as a 33rd-Hoboken train and then go back into Hoboken/WTC service.
lostsoul wrote:Depending on the time of day they do have trains laid up at wtc for the overnight and the weekend.I took the 1126pm out of hoboken to wtc wednesday and the conductor put everyone in the head car then they platformed the one car at newport and then the exit at exchange place because when we got to wtc they laid up behind a train on 5 track
I've also been on trains that have platformed only one door at Journal Square (diverging from track 4 at the east end of the platform for a layup).
Track 1 was the traditional long layup track at WTC, even into the daytime. One of 2 or 3 were used off-hours to lay up trains, as well as one of 4 or 5. But given that 1 has been pulled up and 2 is inaccessible, that makes things more difficult. Weekend WTC service (which is horrible, by the way) tends to use 3 only, which is now a half-width platform, while they mangle 4 and 5.
The original WTC rebuilding plan had 6 tracks, as seen on the board when it was temporarily located in the Exchange Place station:
Of course, in the old days it was a lot worse - the Hoboken elevator could only move one car at a time (you can still see the carcass off the end of Track 3). And the Henderson yard was a miracle of spatial economy - plus, the only way to get into it was to run reverse through Grove St:
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Question for the management: when did this board start enforcing an 800-pixel limit? I've inlined both of these images in previous posts on this forum.
