How Metro turns an eight-car train into six…
February 3, 2009, 7:37 PM
Both yesterday and today, I got to watch Metro separate the train I was on following the completion of its run to Glenmont. That’s kind of interesting to see. First of all, they put the train out of service and close the doors. Then two employees board. Each goes in the cab adjacent to where they’re splitting. One guy removes the ropes between the two cars, and then gets back in his cab. Then you hear a slow “fsssh” sound as the pairs release and the headlights come on at the end of the pair that’s being detached. Then that car goes back to taillights, and the other end goes back to headlights so they can open the doors for the remaining six cars. And then the split-off pair leaves to go to Glenmont Yard, and the now-shorter train goes to Shady Grove for another revenue run.
And I got photos:
Removing the intercar barriers between Rohr 1200 (left) and 1057 (right).
1200-1201 departs for the yard while 1057 (at extreme right) takes passengers.
Pretty cool, no? Meanwhile, speaking of Metro, we’re down to the final six on my list of Breda 4000-Series cars to ride. I have ridden all of the 4000s except for 4028, 4043, 4061, 4067, 4069, and 4075. This is now to the point where I’m tempted to write Metro’s customer service to find out what lines these cars are assigned to in order to make sure I ride these cars. But that would be cheating, in my opinion. I ride cars as they come through in the course of normal operations – I do not deliberately seek out certain car numbers. Now if my train just happens to contain a car I find interesting, I’ll hop on it, but like I said, I’m not going out of my way to seek out specific cars.
Speaking of specific cars, I found out what happened regarding Breda 3193 and 3218, our mismatched pair of Breda rehabs. I wrote Metro back in November, and heard back from them not long after (and my apologies for taking three months to post this). Metro had this to say:
Thank you for taking the time to write to us. The mates to these cars are still at the Contractor for heavy repairs. During a contracted rehab for all 2000 and 3000-series cars, problems were found with 3192 and 3219 which caused considerable delays. A decision was made to send their mating cars back, and we have married them and put them in to service until the mates are delivered. That should happen soon. Once accepted, they will be put back with the proper mating car.
So there you go. No idea what the problems were, but there you go. As of late, I’ve not seen any of these rail cars lately, so I don’t know if they’re back with their proper mates yet. Time will tell, I suppose.
Web site: The Schumin Web Transit Center - did I mention it's back?
Song: Rohr motor sounds
Quote: And meanwhile, 3289, the highest-numbered Breda 3000-Series as originally numbered, has made it back to Metro after a trip to Hornell. 3289 is notable for being the final non-rehabbed 3000 I ever rode, back on April 18, 2008. Rehab's almost done, I'd say...
Categories: WMATA