Arrow loses traction...and mess @ HOB

So the 5.38 pm Gladstone express (5 arrow cars) died after one small jerk on the west side of track 16. 15 minutes and several mechanics didn't yield any result. "We have lost traction" is all the conductor would say.

So all the passengers trooped to the 6.04 Gladstone Express due on track 14. It was almost 6 and still not train so I was very hopeful they would find something bigger than the normal 3 car set that they use for the 6.04. But no, a 3 car set showed up and pure chaos ensued. To escape this, I looked for the 6.07 local to Murray Hill only to find it (3 car arrow) trapped on the east side of track 16 behind the stricken 5.38...which was still sitting there empty and desolate. So now commuters on the 5.38, 6.04 and the 6.07 (11 cars in all) were cramming into the much delayed 3 car 6.04 sardine express....It left around 6.15....and was declared a local! Arrived in Murray Hill at 7.15. So not fun. But my questions:

- in a pinch, can they not get a diesel to haul a 5 car Arrow set all the way?
- if not, can they not at least quickly get a diesel to clear the stricken train so the train stuck behind it can go?
- don't they keep any spare train sets in HOB to cover for such situations? I.e could they not have deployed a spare 6-car multi-level as the combined 5.38 + 6.04 and then let the 6.07 run as usual by clearing the stricken 5.38 quickly?

Arrows use a different coupler than ML cars,you need a "cheater" coupler for a diesel to tow an Arrow set,
From what you describe,the set may have had a fault on the Hi-Voltage side,that's not a platform side fix,
it means a tow to the running repair shop at Hoboken or to MMC for repairs done under safe conditions
with no power from the wire(25 kv) applied to the Hi-Voltage side equipment.
As far as a "Protect set" to the platform,it's the middle of PM rush,so not that easy to do,or not have
an extra crew avaible to move the set to the platform.
Cannot speak for on site supervision.

I had the good fortune to enjoy that ride as well and will add this...

We are approaching Newark Broad Street on the delayed 6:04pm when the conductor suggests that anyone heading to Summit or beyond on the Morristown line get off and change to the MTD which was scheduled to arrive at 6:41pm.

Good idea I think along with probably 30 other passengers.

So we get off and wait on the FREEZING platform at Newark when we are informed that the MTD train is now running 6 minutes late.

Shortly thereafter, an Arrow pulls in from Hoboken and the conductor announces that this train is running express to Short Hills. (The route the 6:04 usually takes.)

So all the freezing passengers say that's good enough and jump on, only to be told a few minutes later that we are following behind the local train at this point.

And a few minutes later the MTD zooms by.

Not a good start to the cold season.

I would also be wondering why NJT's preventive maintenance measures don't prevent incidents like this.

This might explain why....

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/artic ... fund-raids

Fair use:

New Jersey Transit trains are breaking down more often as Chris Christie continues a tradition of governors diverting money for capital improvements to cover operating costs.

bleet wrote: And a few minutes later the MTD zooms by.

Not a good start to the cold season.

It's a funny story, especially since I wasn't freezing there.
I've seen it more than once, when there is a breakdown, and nobody knows when the train is going to go, passengers jump in their cars in search of other ways to travel. As soon as they leave, the dead train come to life, and takes off. It makes me leery of offering advice to passengers.
Another name for that "cheating" coupler is a "compromise" coupler. The Alp 45s and 46s carry them on the outside of their bodies. They are painted yellow, and don't look substantial enough to pull cars on a timetable schedule.
NJ Transit's look similar to this.

bleet wrote:I had the good fortune to enjoy that ride. Not a good start to the cold season

Indeed fellow traveler...let's see what the coming days & months have in store for us. This week, even after that incident has been rough (After Mon evening, 20 min delays on Tue a.m. into NY Penn and Thu morning the cancellation of my usual ride #6406). And, going by the alerts I have received, quite a few other delays & cancellations on all the lines.Though, the incident management this morning was noticeably better which made a bad situation a bit more bearable.

1. I received a text @ 5.05 intimating of the cancellation of #6406 (6.33 dep for me @ Murray Hill)
2. I boarded #408 (HOB) @ 6.52 with the intention of riding to HOB & taking PATH or changing @ Summit for the 7.14
3. As we approached Summit, the conductor of #6406 who was riding #408 also came on and asked NY Penn passengers "who were in a hurry" to stay on as they had arranged to hold a train @ Newark Broad for us.
4. A quick check on my phone told me that this would have to be the Montclair line 7.17 dep from NWK Broad. However, 408 gets to NWK Nroad only @ 7.21 so it seemed like a 4-5 min hold at least.
5. To reduce the hold, they arranged to have #408 skip Short Hills & Millburn - and got #408 to NWK Broad a bit before 7.20
6. Shortly thereafter, the 7.17 MTD from Montclair came in - and we got to NY Penn a bit after 7.45.

Questions:
- Who has the authority to arrange holds/connections/stop skips? Does a conductor call some central dispatch team to do this?
- Back to the earlier HOB incident, do they really not keep even one spare train set/crew to mitigate problems? A bit surprising given they seem to always keep a spare diesel @ Summit fired up in the a.m. to handle rescue jobs in the vicinity (and have seen it do duty on Gladstone line more frequently then I would accept). If this can be done @ Summit, is it too much to for HOB? Even if the compromise coupler can't be used to run a regular service on a timetable, can we not quickly clear a stricken train?
- How did I get an alert @ 5.05 when the train leaves its origin only @ 5.57? How much in advance of the departure do the crews come in? I appreciate the early heads up but am curious how they did it.

bharatrao wrote:

bleet wrote:I had the good fortune to enjoy that ride. Not a good start to the cold season

Indeed fellow traveler...let's see what the coming days & months have in store for us. This week, even after that incident has been rough (After Mon evening, 20 min delays on Tue a.m. into NY Penn and Thu morning the cancellation of my usual ride #6406). And, going by the alerts I have received, quite a few other delays & cancellations on all the lines.Though, the incident management this morning was noticeably better which made a bad situation a bit more bearable.

1. I received a text @ 5.05 intimating of the cancellation of #6406 (6.33 dep for me @ Murray Hill)
2. I boarded #408 (HOB) @ 6.52 with the intention of riding to HOB & taking PATH or changing @ Summit for the 7.14
3. As we approached Summit, the conductor of #6406 who was riding #408 also came on and asked NY Penn passengers "who were in a hurry" to stay on as they had arranged to hold a train @ Newark Broad for us.
4. A quick check on my phone told me that this would have to be the Montclair line 7.17 dep from NWK Broad. However, 408 gets to NWK Nroad only @ 7.21 so it seemed like a 4-5 min hold at least.
5. To reduce the hold, they arranged to have #408 skip Short Hills & Millburn - and got #408 to NWK Broad a bit before 7.20
6. Shortly thereafter, the 7.17 MTD from Montclair came in - and we got to NY Penn a bit after 7.45.

Questions:
- Who has the authority to arrange holds/connections/stop skips? Does a conductor call some central dispatch team to do this?
- Back to the earlier HOB incident, do they really not keep even one spare train set/crew to mitigate problems? A bit surprising given they seem to always keep a spare diesel @ Summit fired up in the a.m. to handle rescue jobs in the vicinity (and have seen it do duty on Gladstone line more frequently then I would accept). If this can be done @ Summit, is it too much to for HOB? Even if the compromise coupler can't be used to run a regular service on a timetable, can we not quickly clear a stricken train?
- How did I get an alert @ 5.05 when the train leaves its origin only @ 5.57? How much in advance of the departure do the crews come in? I appreciate the early heads up but am curious how they did it.

-Dispatcher has that authority
-They normally do. Perhaps that crew was tending to another train at that time.
-Someone on the crew likely called out sick, and they could not find someone else to take the train east.
-Crews normally arrive in the yard (or other place On duty) 30-45 min beforehand to get paperwork, test the train, bring it to the first station, etc...

To add insult to injury, the night after the incident above, the 6:04 from Hoboken itself died.

After waiting about ten minutes we were told to walk over to track 16 where another Arrow pulled in and we left about 25 minutes late.

Fortunately that night there was no detour at Broad Street.

philipmartin wrote: I've seen it more than once, when there is a breakdown, and nobody knows when the train is going to go, passengers jump in their cars in search of other ways to travel. As soon as they leave, the dead train come to life, and takes off.

Not merely the dead train, the whole railroad too. A few years ago, an eastbound Arrow, on which I was a captive passenger, finally hobbled into Newark Airport, the doors opened, and the conductor announced that he doesn't know when we'll get going again. Something wrong with the overhead power. Not the train -- the catenary voltage. No idea when the railroad will be moving again, was the synopsis of the announcement.

Some gentleman behind me was very scared. He's on his phone explaining, in great detail, what's going on to whoever's on the other side, that he doesn't know when the train will move again, etc, etc, etc... He's obviously very nervous, stranded in the middle of nowhere, with nowhere to go. He repeatedly complains that he doesn't know what to do.

The conductor then announces that buses from the airport to NYC will accept railroad passes, and provides the instructions for using the monorail transfer.

The gentleman, still on the phone, was obviously relieved, he passes on the news that he knows what to do now: take the bus from the airport. He leaves the train, with maybe half the other passengers. I sit and wait, and continue reading my book.

About five minutes later the doors on this, now half-full, train close and off we go to Newark and points beyond, with nothing obvious being out of order.

waldwickrailfan wrote:

bharatrao wrote: - Who has the authority to arrange holds/connections/stop skips? Does a conductor call some central dispatch team to do this?

-Dispatcher has that authority

For a Midtown Direct, does the dispatcher make that decision unilaterally or do they coordinate with Amtrak first? At certain hours I'd imagine there's a danger of losing a slot in the tunnel.

mohawkrailfan wrote:

waldwickrailfan wrote:

bharatrao wrote: - Who has the authority to arrange holds/connections/stop skips? Does a conductor call some central dispatch team to do this?

-Dispatcher has that authority

For a Midtown Direct, does the dispatcher make that decision unilaterally or do they coordinate with Amtrak first? At certain hours I'd imagine there's a danger of losing a slot in the tunnel.

I know a dispatcher has that authority. However, I am unsure which one. I think both would have a say. Although, the M&E dispatcher would probably have the ultimate say, as it is 1 less train on Amtrak's property, and less for it to worry about. They would probably call them and let them know that so and so train will not be on their property today

One of thise where things just happen. The Arrows are on their last legs. Finding a diesel set to cover the schedule is not as cut and dry as it sounds either. Hoboken yard is effectively picked clean if you will of all sets in either the Arrow pit or diesel storage areas at around that time, so a conveniently available set would have been hard to come by. I doubt the 3 car train would have been able to push the 5 car set out of the way. It sucks, but its one of those where you have to remember to remain patient, as any further tension only escalates the situation.

bleet wrote:So we get off and wait on the FREEZING platform at Newark when we are informed that the MTD train is now running 6 minutes late.

Please. There is no shortage of indoor space at Newark Broad.

ryanov wrote:

bleet wrote:So we get off and wait on the FREEZING platform at Newark when we are informed that the MTD train is now running 6 minutes late.

Please. There is no shortage of indoor space at Newark Broad.

Was remarking on the weather conditions during my commute not the availability of indoor space at the station, but thanks for pointing out the obvious.