Hey, there! Log in / Register
As usual, MIT ahead of curve on exotic, wicked fast trains
By adamg on Wed, 08/14/2013 - 2:52pm
In the 1990s, an MIT team experimented with large tubes with the air sucked out as a potential way to speed trains between here, there and everywhere. Last year, the BBC talked to now retired professor Ernst G. Frankel about the proposed "vactrains," which could cut travel from Boston to New York down to 40 minutes:
"We built a half mile long tube at the playing fields of MIT, evacuated it, and then shot things through it in order to measure what sort of velocities we could obtain," says Frankel. "We started with ping pong balls, and then went to mechanical models."
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
High Speed Rail In Massachusetts
Don't forget, we've had high-speed rail in Massachusetts for decades. The section of the Red Line from Ashmont to Mattapan was shown as "high-speed" on that map from the 1940's.
I'm not really sure how fast it actually goes today, but the MBTA still calls it the "High Speed Line", so I imagine it must run two or three times faster than the regular Red Line; probably over 150 miles per hour at least.
You're kidding me right?
You're kidding me right? Even the Acela express can only travel at 150mph, with speeds reduced to 60-80mph when going through "slow zones" such as through cities. There's no way the "high-speed" red line train goes any faster than a regular red line train because it's not a fully-dedicated track. Maybe 5-10mph faster at most, definitely not 2-3x faster.
I think you missed the joke
n/t
It's so fast
that it can't run in the snow. Otherwise it may not be able to apply the brakes and fly right off the track. So they replace it with buses. Every. Single. Time. It. Snows.
They shut the line down if
They shut the line down if snow accumulates to about 8 inches or more. At that level, it starts to get in the traction motors and the accelerator resistor drum and can cause shorts. Better to replace the line with buses for one day as a preventative measure than to go through a year's supply of PCC traction motors and resistor ribbons in one day.
Hairnets?
n/t
Hairnet wouldn't do much good
Hairnet wouldn't do much good on an accelerator ribbon. Orange Line cars use a GE cam control, Mattapan PCCs are Westinghouse. There is a cover plate that goes under the accelerator drum to keep debris out and protect the ribbons, but it becomes less effective in heavy snow.
Not much into the mechanics
I don't understand much about the mechanical aspect of it (over my head), but I do appreciate the input. You seem to know your stuff, so I'll take your word on it that it is for the best.
But I'm still skeptical about the "8+ inches" rule of thumb. I thought I could recall the MBTA shuttering the Mattappan line for mere dustings in comparison.
When PCCs Ran Everywhere
What did they do years ago when PCCs ran everywhere during the winter?
When the PCC cars were newer,
When the PCC cars were newer, parts were more plentiful. They could sacrifice some propulsion equipment for the sake of maintaining service if they had enough parts available. By the mid-1970s though, parts had become more of an issue. There were several winter storms in the 1974-76 period (the last few years that the Green Line was 100% PCC operated) that resulted in severe equipment shortages. There was one storm in December 1975 that they could only muster about 45 cars for the evening rush-hour, when the peak requirement was 210 cars at the time. Single cars were the rule for about a week. That was also one of the first times the E Line was replaced by buses for multiple days, in order to free up enough PCCs to maintain service on the other three lines.
Love for Red Line Trolly
The Mattapan High Speed Trolley Line has my affection. Its frequency alone lets it spit on the other Boston lines. On either Ashmont or Mattapan end, you're likely to wait fewer than five minutes. Then when it's moving, it hauls and don't even stop at a station if no one requests it and no one's waiting.
It's by far the zippiest part of a mass transit trip in Boston.
Now the recent change in the Fairmount line (more weekday trains at subway prices), the 20 minute trip from Fairmount to South Station is pretty nifty too. (I won't carp again about no weekend or late night service; not here and now at least.)
Reading the history of these electric trains makes their frequency, reliability and low cost seem very attractive. All medium and big cities and many smaller ones had them.
Ding. Ding.
Since the 2012 service cuts,
Since the 2012 service cuts, the Mattapan Trolley runs every 26 minutes on weekends before 10 am and after 8:30 pm, which is the *worst* frequency in the entire subway system.
Well it's all relative.
High speed is relative. It seems fair that a light rail line which runs for 2.5 miles can be able to call itself "high speed" without being able to meet the standards of "high speed rail" proper.
Although yeah the Mattapan isn't really all that fast even by those modest standards.
Its called the high-speed
Its called the high-speed line, in part because at the time it opened in 1929, there was still a local streetcar line from Mattapan to Ashmont via River St. (today's Route 27 bus). The then new line on its own right-of-way was high-speed compared to the local line on River St.
Like
the hyperloop? Half an hour to go 500 miles, yeah!