Old Door Chimes

SchuminWeb wrote:Yep - I had 3147 recently, and it's still got the old Sandy Carroll chime. I find that odd, though, that Metro would give themselves extra work in having to change the chimes on new arrivals/rehabs, rather than get Alstom to put the new chime on there up front.

If they want to do it like that, I say let them. If the cars still have the Sandy Carroll announcements, it gives me that ever so slight sliver of hope that WMATA might one day change the announcements back from the wretched Randi Miller nags.

Great news that they're still around! I'm going on the Red Line tomorrow several times during the day, is there any way of finding out when these cars will make an appearance where?

Mirai Zikasu wrote:

SchuminWeb wrote:Yep - I had 3147 recently, and it's still got the old Sandy Carroll chime. I find that odd, though, that Metro would give themselves extra work in having to change the chimes on new arrivals/rehabs, rather than get Alstom to put the new chime on there up front.

If they want to do it like that, I say let them. If the cars still have the Sandy Carroll announcements, it gives me that ever so slight sliver of hope that WMATA might one day change the announcements back from the wretched Randi Miller nags.

You said it! The Metro "judges" who selected the new "angry lady" announcements and the "circus chimes" for the doors must be tone deaf.

Matt_S wrote:Great news that they're still around! I'm going on the Red Line tomorrow several times during the day, is there any way of finding out when these cars will make an appearance where?

3146-7 were on the Yellow Line at last sight.

realtype wrote:You said it! The Metro "judges" who selected the new "angry lady" announcements and the "circus chimes" for the doors must be tone deaf.

If I remember correctly, it wasn't that they were tone-deaf inasmuch as they deliberately wanted the new recordings to be as obnoxious as possible to "get people's attention." They certainly get mine, but rather than get me to STEP BACK like their intended nag, they make me want to muffle the speakers with duct tape.

I boarded 3146 at College Park yesterday, the lighting was really "different." Even if you weren't paying attention, you would definitely notice it. In the tunnels its especially obvious. The car still looked brand new, the lighting was very bright and had an almmost bluish tint. At first I thought they were LEDs, but they used the same housings, and it would have cost a fortune to fit the entire car with LED's.

I wasn't really paying attention to the door announcement, plus I was listening to music, but if it was the old one I definitely would have noticed.

realtype wrote:I boarded 3146 at College Park yesterday, the lighting was really "different." Even if you weren't paying attention, you would definitely notice it. In the tunnels its especially obvious. The car still looked brand new, the lighting was very bright and had an almmost bluish tint. At first I thought they were LEDs, but they used the same housings, and it would have cost a fortune to fit the entire car with LED's.

I wasn't really paying attention to the door announcement, plus I was listening to music, but if it was the old one I definitely would have noticed.

3146 is a test for LED lighting according to Dr. Gridlock's blog, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthe ... overi.html

WMATAGMOAGH wrote:

realtype wrote:I boarded 3146 at College Park yesterday, the lighting was really "different." Even if you weren't paying attention, you would definitely notice it. In the tunnels its especially obvious. The car still looked brand new, the lighting was very bright and had an almmost bluish tint. At first I thought they were LEDs, but they used the same housings, and it would have cost a fortune to fit the entire car with LED's.

I wasn't really paying attention to the door announcement, plus I was listening to music, but if it was the old one I definitely would have noticed.

3146 is a test for LED lighting according to Dr. Gridlock's blog, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthe ... overi.html

So I was right. I don't think I've ever seen a building or rail car that uses LED's for main lighting, since white LED's are extremely expensive. I don't see what sense it makes, fluorescent lights last a long time also, but are much, much cheaper. Metro couldn't even afford to put white LED's in the station platform, but put those ugly red ones instead. But, at least there they were replacing incandesent bulbs, and the change would have been more cost effective. Personally I like LED's a lot, it's part of the reason I prefer the Breda rehabs to the CAF's, but I agree with Dr. Grodlock's opinion that they're "creepy," when used in that manner.

realtype wrote:

WMATAGMOAGH wrote:

realtype wrote:I boarded 3146 at College Park yesterday, the lighting was really "different." Even if you weren't paying attention, you would definitely notice it. In the tunnels its especially obvious. The car still looked brand new, the lighting was very bright and had an almmost bluish tint. At first I thought they were LEDs, but they used the same housings, and it would have cost a fortune to fit the entire car with LED's.

I wasn't really paying attention to the door announcement, plus I was listening to music, but if it was the old one I definitely would have noticed.

3146 is a test for LED lighting according to Dr. Gridlock's blog, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthe ... overi.html

So I was right. I don't think I've ever seen a building or rail car that uses LED's for main lighting, since white LED's are extremely expensive. I don't see what sense it makes, fluorescent lights last a long time also, but are much, much cheaper. Metro couldn't even afford to put white LED's in the station platform, but put those ugly red ones instead. But, at least there they were replacing incandesent bulbs, and the change would have been more cost effective. Personally I like LED's a lot, it's part of the reason I prefer the Breda rehabs to the CAF's, but I agree with Dr. Grodlock's opinion that they're "creepy," when used in that manner.

The newest Metrobuses have LED lights on the interiors, as do some other bus agencies across the US. It isn't unheard of.

I was recently on a 5000 series car with the old door chimes.

On VRE when the doors close a man's voice says "Caution, the doors are about to close"

davinp wrote:On VRE when the doors close a man's voice says "Caution, the doors are about to close"

Yeah, the few crappy gallery cars MARC has have the same thing, even though the doors often don't work and the conductor has to shove them open...

realtype wrote:

WMATAGMOAGH wrote:

realtype wrote:I boarded 3146 at College Park yesterday, the lighting was really "different." Even if you weren't paying attention, you would definitely notice it. In the tunnels its especially obvious. The car still looked brand new, the lighting was very bright and had an almmost bluish tint. At first I thought they were LEDs, but they used the same housings, and it would have cost a fortune to fit the entire car with LED's.

I wasn't really paying attention to the door announcement, plus I was listening to music, but if it was the old one I definitely would have noticed.

3146 is a test for LED lighting according to Dr. Gridlock's blog, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthe ... overi.html

So I was right. I don't think I've ever seen a building or rail car that uses LED's for main lighting, since white LED's are extremely expensive. I don't see what sense it makes, fluorescent lights last a long time also, but are much, much cheaper. Metro couldn't even afford to put white LED's in the station platform, but put those ugly red ones instead. But, at least there they were replacing incandesent bulbs, and the change would have been more cost effective. Personally I like LED's a lot, it's part of the reason I prefer the Breda rehabs to the CAF's, but I agree with Dr. Grodlock's opinion that they're "creepy," when used in that manner.

I think that they may have switched this car over to the Red Line - I was leaving Union Station on the MARC and had a Silver Spring - bound train pass us (then we passed it when it stopped @ NY Ave) - the second car in the consist had an almost out of this world blueish glowing light coming from all the windows - very different than the other 5 cars. Too dark to get a gar number, but it sounds like this car.

HokieNav wrote:I think that they may have switched this car over to the Red Line - I was leaving Union Station on the MARC and had a Silver Spring - bound train pass us (then we passed it when it stopped @ NY Ave) - the second car in the consist had an almost out of this world blueish glowing light coming from all the windows - very different than the other 5 cars. Too dark to get a gar number, but it sounds like this car.

Yeah, I saw it on the Red Line, at NY Ave coincidentally, also from a departing MARC train, a couple days ago as well. I was looking at the passengers' reaction (particularly those getting on), and they seemed either totally oblivious or were paying more attention to the MARC train.

realtype wrote:

davinp wrote:On VRE when the doors close a man's voice says "Caution, the doors are about to close"

Yeah, the few crappy gallery cars MARC has have the same thing, even though the doors often don't work and the conductor has to shove them open...

And thay also have that same exact message on the MBTA's Old Colony Commuter Train sets South of Boston, with the automatic power doors, since all Old Colony Commuter Stations Southeast of Boston are all full length high platforms like the WMATA System.

realtype wrote:Metro couldn't even afford to put white LED's in the station platform, but put those ugly red ones instead. But, at least there they were replacing incandesent bulbs, and the change would have been more cost effective.

Now if only they could get the red LEDs to flash more boldly than they do now. Currently, the red LEDs are not that noticeable when they're blinking compared to the old incandescents. WMATA must have been testing in places, because at L'Enfant Plaza about a year ago, the red LEDs on the upper level were dark except when a train was arriving, and then when they flashed, they went from all the way on to black and back on. I've also seen, I think at Metro Center on the lower level, where the lights were always on, but when they flashed, they went completely to black.