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Re: Half-a**ed-article on the errors of BART Technology
Author: fkrock
Date: 03-28-2016 - 09:56
david vartanoff Wrote:
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> about wind/guage. Chicago has higher winds than
> SF on a regular basis. No reports so far (123
> years since opening of South Side Rapid Transit)
> of trains blown off track.
> So why is the guage an issue anyway? Custom
> axles, custom truck frames, custom... Unnecessary
> for cars of the same width as pointed out by
> others.
I would like to point out that the cars used in Chicago weigh approximately twice as much as BART cars. BART pioneered use of very light weight cars. Light weight cars use much less electricity and cause less wear on track. Thus comparisons are NOT valid.
Since things like axles, truck frames, and other parts for the most part are not in stock in some manufacturers warehouse, they are all built to order. So the additional cost for material used by broad gauge is only a very tiny amount of the price. I suspect the savings in electricity used by BART trains more than compensates for the additional cost.
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> about wind/guage. Chicago has higher winds than
> SF on a regular basis. No reports so far (123
> years since opening of South Side Rapid Transit)
> of trains blown off track.
> So why is the guage an issue anyway? Custom
> axles, custom truck frames, custom... Unnecessary
> for cars of the same width as pointed out by
> others.
I would like to point out that the cars used in Chicago weigh approximately twice as much as BART cars. BART pioneered use of very light weight cars. Light weight cars use much less electricity and cause less wear on track. Thus comparisons are NOT valid.
Since things like axles, truck frames, and other parts for the most part are not in stock in some manufacturers warehouse, they are all built to order. So the additional cost for material used by broad gauge is only a very tiny amount of the price. I suspect the savings in electricity used by BART trains more than compensates for the additional cost.
