Article in college magazine

So tonight I was soaked with rain and waiting on the elevator in my building. I noticed a stack of Gauge magazines (put out by my college--Emerson). On the cover was a blurb about walking through the T tunnels so I grabbed a copy.

I noticed the name of the author immediately and became suspicious of its validity.

Well I'm halfway through and I just came across something that I'm unsure of. The author writes that she's been following the D-Line tracks above ground and enters the tunnel Fenway where she becomes "immediately aware of the sudden-death third rail, which can have upwards of 1000 volts pulsating through it at any time [...]" She goes on to say: "When I was above ground, the electricity that propels the trains is flowing through an overhead wire. It's the same underground at different points, but the MBTA is known for alternating between an overhead wire electricity source and a third rail."

There aren't any third rails anywhere on the Green Line are there? I know the Blue Line switches between electrical sources, but I've never heard anything about third rails anywhere on the Green Line (and don't they only power up to 600 volts?).

I am fairly certian that the Green Line does not use a 3rd rail, but if its printed on paper, it must be true

CJ wrote:I am fairly certian that the Green Line does not use a 3rd rail, but if its printed on paper, it must be true

I was just checking with some experts before I jumped to conclusions and called this girl an idiot... but thanks for the green light!

Thanks, I wouldnt consider myself an expert, nowhere near that infact, but yeah, 3rd rail on the Green Line, that just does not make any sense!

She might have seen a guard rail which are used along curves and mistaken that for a third rail.

By the way, 3rd rails as used on the Red. Orange, and underground portions of the Blue lines are 600V and do not "Pulsate" as they carry DC current.

The only 1000 volt third rail is BART.

Most likely she saw the inner rails on a curve, assuming that the article wasn't totally falsified. If there was a third rail on the green line, you would see the pickup shoes along both sides of the car like on any other line.

If you are interested in a good read about the tunnels, check out http://groups.google.com/group/alt.folk ... db9fef3a1/# which is a re-post of a Boston Globe article from some time ago.

Lastly as the editor of a newspaper for a college in Boston, I'm appalled that they would even publish something like this. Third rail or not, entering any rail property like that is not only trespassing but extremely dangerous.

JS

Yeah, it may have been all BS anywho, just alot of junk to make people read about a venture that didnt exist.

I bet anyone here could make one greatly, just from memory, as they know all the facts, but you need to know the facts to do it from memory, not make them up as you go along!

sabourinj wrote:Lastly as the editor of a newspaper for a college in Boston, I'm appalled that they would even publish something like this. Third rail or not, entering any rail property like that is not only trespassing but extremely dangerous.

Well it's not our newspaper, but I believe the college funds it. I got the impression that it would give people an idea of something to do because the author doesn't really make a point to warn anyone against trying it.

mattster wrote: Well it's not our newspaper, but I believe the college funds it. I got the impression that it would give people an idea of something to do because the author doesn't really make a point to warn anyone against trying it.

I know it's not a newspaper, but feature or news story it still should be accurate, especially from a school that prides itself in journalism and communications.

Does Gauge have a website? I looked online but it didn't seem to.

JS

sabourinj wrote:

mattster wrote: Well it's not our newspaper, but I believe the college funds it. I got the impression that it would give people an idea of something to do because the author doesn't really make a point to warn anyone against trying it.

I know it's not a newspaper, but feature or news story it still should be accurate, especially from a school that prides itself in journalism and communications.

Does Gauge have a website? I looked online but it didn't seem to.

JS

http://www.gaugemagazine.net/

You can actually read the article online in PDF format.

I just read that article, and i think the class must have been creative writing.

It was 6 pages, seemed atleast one and a bit more were of a party, and then the 3rd rail with 1k volts (where did they get 1k?), and then the 'hoisting myself up onto the platform' and the 'dropping back into the tracks' , makes it sound like a RAPID transit line.

Then the fact that the author was not hit by a train (which could have been VERY easy).

It sounds like a whole lotta fiction, and a ton of slander onto the T. And people want to know whats wrong with this country, its the media, professional or amatur, they cant even get there facts right. Research must be done! No 3rd rail or high platforms.

Must love the editor, clearing this too!

CJ wrote:I just read that article, and i think the class must have been creative writing.

It was 6 pages, seemed atleast one and a bit more were of a party, and then the 3rd rail with 1k volts (where did they get 1k?), and then the 'hoisting myself up onto the platform' and the 'dropping back into the tracks' , makes it sound like a RAPID transit line.

Then the fact that the author was not hit by a train (which could have been VERY easy).

It sounds like a whole lotta fiction, and a ton of slander onto the T. And people want to know whats wrong with this country, its the media, professional or amatur, they cant even get there facts right. Research must be done! No 3rd rail or high platforms.

Must love the editor, clearing this too!

I mentioned this article to a friend today who had a nonfiction writing class with the author. She told me that the girl who wrote it turned it in to be workshopped in class, but my friend didn't bother reading it. Didn't even pick up on the "hoisting up to platform."