Just for kicks --- Are they going to pull all the Rohrs?

[coneyraven]

Until Monday ... the Rohrs were just the oldest cars, but still in fine working order ... now, thanks to the train at fault being all Rohr's --- that tune appears to have changed to the point that feds may be forced to replace them along with other older rolling stock in other cities sooner rather than later ... what are your thoughts?

[Sand Box John]

Based on present information it appears that the 1k cars were not at fault. It appears that ground equipment in one of the track circuits was at fault 'WEE-Z bond'.

Fix the ground equipment and the associated hardware in the line side train control rooms and keep them well maintained and all should be well.

As to the disposition of the 1k cars. Run them mid train for the remainder of the time they will be in service. Some have argued against this idea elsewhere believing they would still be susceptible to telescoping as the result of collision. I don't buy that argument. In the three previous wrecks where the impacting cars telescoped the integrity of the couplers and draw bars between the others cars in those train was no comprmised.

WMATA and the member jurisdiction should accelerate the process of getting funding to replace the cars. Most of us here know that the 1k cars are more reliable then most of the other cars in the fleet. The likely reason maybe because that they lack much of the high tech hardware found in the newer cars. Most of us here also know that the 1k cars are falling apart. A lot of the 1k cars have stress fractures in the body sides near lower corners of the doors.

[Perry]

I was thinking the same thing.  If the impact of the collision was so hard, why didn't the other cars create a domino effect of piling up or falling off the track.  Sounds like a good idea putting them in the middle.  I don't know what the fleet demands are for weekends, but perhaps the Rohrs can just be used during the week to limit their exposure and muddle through until they are finally replaced.

[Tritransit Area]

I was thinking the same thing.  If the impact of the collision was so hard, why didn't the other cars create a domino effect of piling up or falling off the track.  Sounds like a good idea putting them in the middle.  I don't know what the fleet demands are for weekends, but perhaps the Rohrs can just be used during the week to limit their exposure and muddle through until they are finally replaced.

I guess having an entire 75 foot train car act as a crush zone helped prevent the domino effect.  As awful as the situation in the first car was, it may have helped reduce serious injury and save lives in the other cars.

Also, there are so many Rohrs in the fleet (about 300 originally purchased) and there are only so many trains.  You could only have a pair of Rohrs in a 6 car train, and only 2 Rohr sets in an 8 car train (how many of those are running around these days?).  While keeping them in the middle of the train would be an interesting idea, it would mean that just about every train would have a Rohr set with some left over (I would imagine).

Since WMATA must be in the same boat as SEPTA RR, where they are in "if it runs, run it!" mode, it would be difficult to justify extra Rohr trains left over in the yard.  In fact, the way things are now, it would be diffircult to ensure that there aren't 2 Rohr sets in a 6 car train - in that case, a Rohr would surely lead.

As a matter of fact, how long has WMATA been mixing trains?  I remember seeing the first case of this happening several years ago when the CAFs came in.  I consider all Breda cars (2000s, 3000s, 4000s) to be one group of cars.  Also, have the cars always worked well together when mixed?  I never experienced any issues while riding.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

From WTOP.com:


Metro to move 1000 Series cars to train bellies
June 25, 2009 - 10:45am
AP: 41c6c755-055c-4032-a580-2419858363bb
The collision and derailment killed nine and injured dozens. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
WASHINGTON - Metro will come up with a plan to put its 1000 Series cars in the middle of its trains.

The decision made Thursday morning by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority came four days after the worst crash in the subway system's 33-year history.

Metro board members say they understand that there is a perception about these rails cars.

Most of the 1000 Series rail cars are on the Red Line. The striking train in this week's collision was made up of six Series 1000 cars.

In 2006, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended Metro upgrade or phase the Series 1000 cars.

The decision comes on the heels of another major decision -- the review of all the circuits throughout the rail system. There are between 2,500 and 3,000 sensors along the tracks.

The union representing Metro operators has said the cars should be in the middle.

The decision could mean slower trains because of the time it will take to reconfigure the trains.

Also, there is no timetable yet for when the full Red Line will be back up and running.



Sounds like they are doing this to satisfy the union and allay passenger fears, but that there is no real reason to do it otherwise.

[coneyraven]

If they pull the Rohrs, I just realized that that would make my roll-sign all the more valuable.  I'd hate to see those cars go ... but, cha ching

[C40LF_2464]

Catoe said it will cost billions to rehab them even though i think thats the way to go. BUt like the MARC train crash with 6040. They changed the route so Metro might retire them ROHR's.

[Tristan]

Um...DE42LFA...are you saying it's better to spend billions to rehab 33-yr-old railcars than it is to replace them outright?

[LandoverDivision]

Wait wait wait. If the Rohrs make up a quarter of the fleet, then how can they sandwich ALL of them? It's not possible.

[Tristan]

Obviously you're not going to get every single car but you can get most of them in.

[C40LF_2464]

When i was watching the news when they were asking him about replacing the 1000 series fleet thats what he said

[Tristan]

What?

[79MetroExtraMD]

Maybe when the 7000 series comes in, but so far I've seen they were sandwiching them. Speaking of 1000s, I did see an all Rohr train on the Red line today. 35 mph speed limit is going to be killer in rush hour.

[NewFlyer9736BCT]

Even if they do pull out the Rohrs, it's not a guarantee that an accident this bad wiill not happen again...though I would suggest pulling them out for precautions anyways just because of their age...old things tend to not work as well as new ones...of course, doing this is gonna require a large order of newer cars for replacement, so I don't think we're gonna get these cars replaced soon.

[Antozilla]

I wonder if there is going to be a mass transfer of Rohr cars from the red line to the other lines.