Seaport District to Back Bay DMU Plan

I found this info catalog for the N-S DMU.

http://www.nipponsharyousa.com/nisshadmucatalog.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for sharing that. Why is it that every picture I see of new DMU's has a full front cab? That just seems so impractical. If you need to link two sets together, there is no ability for the crew or passengars to pass between cars where the cabs meet. It seems the good old RDC's with traditional vestibules and passing doors and diaphragms made much more sense.

I suspect that it's equal parts:

A) "Wow - that looks futuristic and spiffy!" Not surprising that that's what the marketing departments put together.

and

B) For "non-traditional" commuter rail operators, there's probably not a great need for passage through from car to car. New systems which use all-level boarding, all doors opening and proof-of-payment ticketing can really work like overgrown rapid transit equipment, so the full end cab and nose might not impact them that much.

Most rapid transit equipment allows car to car passage. I think it was in the other thread in which DMUs came up, but I said that ours should be control cars with the ability of being fired up and cut off a push-pull set at the end of a given rush hour. By having diesel light rail cars that ate one of Mario's mushrooms you're giving up a TON of potential flexibility.

ohalloranchris wrote:Thanks for sharing that. Why is it that every picture I see of new DMU's has a full front cab? That just seems so impractical. If you need to link two sets together, there is no ability for the crew or passengars to pass between cars where the cabs meet. It seems the good old RDC's with traditional vestibules and passing doors and diaphragms made much more sense.

I forget where but I DO recall seeing a graphic from N-S once that had the pointy-nosed DMU alongside one with a traditional "cab and diaphragm" ended one. I'd imagine that it's an option that they've offered, but so far SMART didn't bite because they really just want freight-compatible diesel LRV's and all the publicity materials have been based off that one US order.

IIRC, metrolinx HAS ordered a set of B-ended DMU's to turn their married pairs into 3-car sets, but they haven't been delivered yet.

I imagine a full width cab makes some difference to the guy who has to sit in it

dowlingm wrote:I imagine a full width cab makes some difference to the guy who has to sit in it

I also think the rules changed after 9-11 requiring all operators to be separated by a physical partition from all passengers. I know that new greyhound/peterpan busses put up a little swing gate in the isle of intercity busses. All the CR trains running push I have been on recently have had front doors closed I think locked while the engineer is in the front car. It is to prevent hijacking/ injuring the driver/engineer while the vehicle is in motion.

Vestibules such as the ones in the present day cab cars accomplish this.

BerndinMA wrote:

dowlingm wrote:I imagine a full width cab makes some difference to the guy who has to sit in it

I also think the rules changed after 9-11 requiring all operators to be separated by a physical partition from all passengers. I know that new greyhound/peterpan busses put up a little swing gate in the isle of intercity busses. All the CR trains running push I have been on recently have had front doors closed I think locked while the engineer is in the front car. It is to prevent hijacking/ injuring the driver/engineer while the vehicle is in motion.

We don't run with the cab doors locked on the CR, most engineers keep the door closed for privacy or to keep the passengers from hearing the noises in the cab.

If this service ever sees the light of day, what is the plan for changing ends at Back Bay? Surely they don't want to tie up an NEC track. Would a new stub be built? Not much space for that.

ohalloranchris wrote:If this service ever sees the light of day, what is the plan for changing ends at Back Bay? Surely they don't want to tie up an NEC track. Would a new stub be built? Not much space for that.

They could use the Worcester line, which is less crowded.

Would it be more cost effective to buy smaller diesel engines (capable of pulling 1-4 coaches at speed) and single-level coaches vs. custom DMUs?

Supposedly they would foul the eastbound Worcester main track instead. That's not really any better if you plan to run proper DMU headways on the line, never mind increased Worcester frequencies, Inland Route regionals, the possibility of Northborough/Clinton service...

Here's a list I posted elsewhere of all the seriously proposed additional service (never mind existing service) that the BBY-BCEC DMU would interfere with:

Agricultural Branch (Framingham-Northborough-Clinton) commuter service
Increased Worcester frequencies
Inland Route/Springfield service
Montreal service
Riverside DMU
Increased NEC Amtrak service
Increased Providence Line service
South Coast Rail
Widett Circle layover
Fairmount/Indigo DMU
Foxboro service
Franklin Line extensions to Milford or Woonsocket
CapeFLYER
Buzzards Bay commuter service
Any hope of additional Old Colony slots

The EGE wrote:Here's a list I posted elsewhere of all the seriously proposed additional service (never mind existing service) that the BBY-BCEC DMU would interfere with...

Ok, so how about it eliminates all those crossing movements by inclining up to street level near the Ink Block and uses streets & bridges we already have (Albany/New Broadway Bridge/West 2nd) to thread its way above all those conflicting rail lines (and under I-93 overhead) get to the Haul Road. '

DMUs can run in the street like a street car, can't they? (Austin TX's do) (and likely faster than the crazy Widett loop stuff). You'd even get a Red Line connection at Broadway out of it. At West 2nd you have a lightly traveled street and and a big wide RR ROW beneath where an incline'd fit easily.

Well at that point, you might as well just use a conventional streetcar or cheaper non-compliant DMU. Run on a deck over the NEC tracks from Columbus to Arlington, and then run down Herald, Albany, Broadway, and hop on Track 61 from there. (Time separation with freight would likely not be an issue, considering there's no freight right now.)