What a great visit!
3 minute read
April 5, 2008, 11:42 PM
Mom came up for a teachers’ convention during the latter part of this week, and she stayed at my house. And we had a great time. She arrived on Wednesday, and we met up at Wheaton Plaza and then went to my house. Then while I went to work on Thursday and Friday, Mom was at her convention for the Virginia Writing Project. On Thursday, Mom actually lobbied a few Virginia representatives and senators, and then on Friday they had some workshops.
And Mom got to be a DC commuter for two days. She took the 51 and the Red Line just like I do. She left the house ahead of me in the mornings, but we rode back together in the evenings. Thursday, Mom got to see her first big Metro delay, as there was a train having a problem at Van Ness-UDC in the direction of Glenmont (of course). An out-of-service train whizzed by Dupont Circle station, and then I took the next (very crowded) train, to meet Mom at Union Station. Then from there, we rode to Glenmont and took the Y5 back home.
Then on Friday, Mom and I got Breda 3062, which had advertisements on the ceiling. Take a look…
Continue reading…This is why we’re glad Metro’s a transit agency and not a movie producer…
< 1 minute read
March 20, 2008, 7:20 AM
Need I say more:
Don’t quit your day job, Metro.
I pay four bucks each way for the privilege of waiting on a stationary rail car?
2 minute read
March 11, 2008, 2:33 PM
I have had it – I hate Metro’s tiered fare system, where you’re charged by time of day (higher fares during rush hour) and distance. I like some other systems’ fare structures better, where it’s a flat fee regardless of when or how far you ride. Kind of like the buses, where you pay the same whether it’s from my house to Glenmont, my house to Silver Spring, or my house all the way to work down on P Street.
It’s annoying today because I had to sit through two delays, and nearly got offloaded. Let’s just say that the Red Line did not have a good morning, as I woke up to messages on my cell phone about a “minor” delay on the Red Line. Then after I got on Breda 4005 this morning, we were stopped directly behind a train that was experiencing mechanical problems at Takoma. Thus we’re sitting, with the electric “chopper” (which produces the Bredas’ signature buzzing sound) completely silent. No good. Then they announce that they’re offloading the train, and we should be moving “shortly”, and “Metro apologizes for this inconvenience.” Sure. Then they mention to us that we might have to be offloaded as well if they can’t get the problem train moving on its own, because they would need to use our train to push the problem train to the yard (probably Brentwood, considering the location and the direction of travel). Finally, we got to the station. I’m waiting to hear the phrase “Red Line to Shady Grove” to know that we weren’t getting offloaded ourselves. The doors opened. “Red Line to Shady Grove!” Thank you, Mr. Train Operator. I don’t have to lose my seat.
Categories: WMATA
iMac takes Metro?
2 minute read
February 10, 2008, 11:51 AM
This past week, I had two things that were worth a shot or two, and so I thought I’d share…
First of all, Katie and her mother went up to Leesburg in northern Virginia to see her brother and his family. And while she was up there, we also got together. The surprise of the evening was that prior to my arrival, her brother’s wife styled her hair. So here’s a photo of the one and only time she’ll be all curly, taken here at Chili’s, where we had dinner:
And the morning wasn’t the only new and different ride today…
3 minute read
January 28, 2008, 10:43 PM
My morning commute certainly wasn’t the only thing new and different about my commute today. My evening commute brought me on board Rohr 1133, where Metro was presumably testing a few things. Unlike on Breda 3283, where the changes were designed for passengers, the changes on 1133 appear to be designed more for Metro’s internal use than for the passengers, though passengers certainly benefit from some of the changes as well.
First of all, on Rohr 1132 and 1133, Metro is using different interior lighting. I don’t know if it’s a change in the light bulbs, a change in the covers over the light bulbs, or a little bit of both, but the light was much whiter – significantly different from the way Rohrs normally look. I got a photo with my cell phone that hopefully demonstrates what I mean:
Categories: WMATA
And now my opinion that the lean rests are a bad idea is also based on actual experience.
4 minute read
January 28, 2008, 9:38 PM
It seems that January is the month for the Red Line to get all of Metro’s test cars. You may remember that I got Alstom 6105 on the 17th. Well, this morning, I got Breda 3283, which, you may recall from an earlier Journal entry, was being used to test a new seating pattern.
Let me quickly refresh you: All of the side seats next to the center doors, as well as the two rows beyond those on both sides of the center doors, were eliminated in favor of sets of six side-facing “cloth-based” bus seats. Metro also removed eight seats from the blind end of the car and installed leaning rests for standees, ran a ceiling grab bar back into the blind end (which normally has no grab bar, making it a no-man’s land for standees), installed spring-loaded metal “straps”, removed all the windscreens except for those around the center doors, removed the railfan window seat near the cab, and added two three-handled grab bars at the cab end of the car. They also recarpeted the car in the same style used on the newer rail cars, and changed all the seat cushions to the “colonial burgundy” color. Because of that color change, doing away with all the orange that Metro loved so much during the 70s and 80s, it’s somewhat ironic that the new bus seats that were installed were what color? That’s right – orange. Then Metro also slightly refurbished Breda 3282, which is 3283’s mate, as well. All of 3282’s seat cushions were replaced with the “Potomac blue” color, and it was also recarpeted. However, 3282’s floorplan was unchanged, as it is likely a control car in Metro’s experiments. 3282 has been refurbished at least since late September, as Katie and I saw it on the Green Line at Fort Totten with the blue seats on that weekend that she was in town.
Categories: WMATA
Of all the cars in Metro’s fleet, I was surprised to get…
4 minute read
January 17, 2008, 9:34 PM
First of all, let me say I had my first Alstom ride on the Red Line this morning. The Red Line is still mostly Rohrs, though as of late, it’s had quite a bit of Alstom-manufactured cars coming in. However, up until today, I’d never gotten an Alstom for my regular Glenmont-to-Dupont-Circle-and-back commute.
So this morning, I’m at Glenmont, waiting for my train on the platform. Alstom! And not just any Alstom, either – I got Alstom 6105, which is part of the first pair of cars to have “resilient” flooring rather than carpet. I first discussed these cars back in the early part of December. Recall back then that my reaction was neutral to slightly positive. Now that I’ve ridden the non-carpeted pair, I’m confident that Metro can shed its carpet and still do just fine.
First of all, this particular color doesn’t show dirt very well. There was some crud on the floor, but the gray color with little flecks in it didn’t make it too obvious, therefore I had to actually look for it. It’s just about at that happy medium to where dirt gets hidden, it seems. Then of course to clean this you just have to run a mop over it. Additionally, it harmonizes well with the remainder of the decor, which didn’t change. These Alstoms still have the white walls, white ceiling, white seat frames, gray armrests, and “Colonial Burgundy”, “Potomac Blue”, and “Chesapeake Sand” colored cushions. One thing I was concerned about was sound, and I was pleased to say that I noticed no major differences in noise levels with the non-carpeted floor vs. the carpeted floor. So I think that this “resilient” flooring thing is in the end probably a good thing, as long as Metro decides to go with a color that doesn’t show dirt, and also works with all the various color schemes they have come up with or might come up with in the future, especially since this flooring is supposed to last a long time. Thus that gray color they picked here is probably a good choice.
Categories: WMATA
Looks like Metro’s going to take a BIG leap forward when it comes to rail car design with this next set of cars…
8 minute read
January 12, 2008, 8:13 AM
When Metro next orders rail cars, signs are pointing to this being a very different kind of rail car from the Rohrs, Bredas, CAFs, Breda Rehabs, and Alstoms that we know on today’s Metro, according to WMATA and The Washington Post. I read in Friday’s issue of the Express about Metro’s unveiling of the new design. Take a look…
Image: WMATA
Images: WMATA
Categories: WMATA
Metro’s trying some new arrangements again, and…
5 minute read
December 8, 2007, 6:49 PM
Metro is once again trying some new designs with its railcars. On Alstom 6104 and 6105, they’re testing some new “resilient” flooring. On Breda 3283, Metro is testing a new seating arrangement, involving more bench-style seating near the center doors. Then Metro tested metal “straps” on all three cars.
First of all, the flooring. Here it is:
Photo: WMATA
Categories: WMATA
“I’ll be home a little before 7:00.”
3 minute read
October 22, 2007, 8:06 PM
Famous last words.
I got home at 8:00, and we can say there’s never a dull moment when riding Metro. First of all, my morning commute went swimmingly, and I had a good day at work. However, the evening commute was another story. Normally, going home, I walk to Dupont Circle, I take a Red Line train to Glenmont, and then Ride-On’s 51 bus. But today, due to a fire at Union Station, it took three trains, a bus, and a two-block walk to get home.
So I walked to Dupont Circle, talking to Mom on the phone as I walked. Then I got my Red Line train to Glenmont at Dupont Circle. CAF 5140. So we’re off. Farragut North. Metro Center. Gallery Pl-Chinatown. Judiciary Square. Stop in the tunnel. Sit. Hold. Meanwhile, I was somewhat absorbed in the game of Scrabble that I was playing on my phone, while listening to Randi Rhodes (with Lionel sitting in), so it took me a while to even realize we were stopped. I realized, wait a second, we’re not moving. Then the operator came on the PA. “Due to a fire at Union Station, I have been instructed to bring this train back to Judiciary Square.” So then the little interior LED, which until now said “RED” on it, went blank. The operator gets out, and walks through the train to the other end. Then the interior LED comes on again, and it says “RED” on it, which means the operator is on the Shady Grove end of the train, and he’s turned the train back on. Which means we’ve gone from this:
And the new colors reach the 4000s…
< 1 minute read
September 28, 2007, 3:44 PM
Metro has done something I didn’t think they’d do before at least 2011. They’ve started changing the color scheme on the 4000-series cars, which were built by Breda in 1991. Take a look at Breda 4063, shown here…
Categories: WMATA
Which leaves you more winded?
2 minute read
September 17, 2007, 2:23 PM
Which leaves you more winded? An anti-war protest, or the Dupont Circle escalator? The escalator. This morning, coming out of the Metro on my way to work, the “up” escalator was not running at Dupont Circle. So I had to climb up rather than ride it up. And for those not familiar, Dupont Circle is a DEEP station. So that’s a lot of steps. And stopping is not an option, either, as you have a whole bunch of my fellow morning commuters right behind me, already cranky for having to climb the equivalent of several stories’ worth of stairs to get to work, before the day’s first cup of coffee. So that was no fun.
And out of three escalators, the only working escalator was going down. But hey, I got my cardio workout for the day.
Meanwhile, since I mention it, I did go to the September 15 protest, and what a great time I had. I went with Maddy, Olga, and Jeff, and went with the Radical Cheerleading DC group. What an awesome time. I also ran into Isis, whom I’d first met in June. And I also spent some time with SDS. It was awesome!
I told you that our infrastructure would do us in, and I was right…
< 1 minute read
August 29, 2007, 2:46 PM
Remember how I said in the previous entry that our own aging infrastructure would kill us before any wannabe terrorist would? Well, I told you so. According to Metro, the problems on Sunday and Monday were caused by a lightning-induced power surge that knocked out the Potomac Yard power substation (that small brick building next to the tracks between Braddock Road and National Airport stations), causing other substations that were already at reduced capacity due to maintenance work in progress to work over to take up the slack. Thus the fires across the system.
And to fix the problem, Metro is replacing the Potomac Yard transformer, reconfiguring one at National Airport, and will be running trains at reduced speed between Pentagon City and Braddock Road. On that last one, here’s what you need to take out of it: “minor” delay.
Meanwhile, the fire at U Street-Cardozo was unrelated, having been caused by a problem with a “stud bolt”. I believe it relates to grounding the third rail, but don’t hold me to that.
So it’s not foul play. No surprises there.
And I still don’t know the number of the car with the brake problem. I want to know if it’s an older car like a Rohr or a Breda, or a newer car like a CAF, a Breda rehab, or an Alstom.
Categories: WMATA
More Metro problems?
2 minute read
August 28, 2007, 3:06 PM
Metro, Metro, Metro, what’s going on? As if five smoke and fire incidents on Sunday evening weren’t enough, the problems continued yesterday evening, according to Metro and The Washington Post. This time, there was a power failure from Pentagon to Braddock Road on the Blue and Yellow Lines, smoke in the tunnels near Pentagon City, and smoke at U Street-Cardozo caused by an overheated insulator.
It’s like Randi Rhodes said. Terrorists aren’t going to kill us, because our own aging infrastructure will do us in first. Now in Metro’s case, let’s see… we’ve so far had six stationary problems, and one train problem. I’ve not gotten wind of the car number that had the brake problem, so I can’t make a judgement about age, since it could have been a 30-year-old Rohr car, or a fresh-off-the-line Alstom, for all we know. Then for the others, we’ve had incidents at Mt. Vernon Square, U Street-Cardozo, Farragut North, Huntington, National Airport, and a large chunk of the C Route. Of these, Farragut North is 31 years old, National Airport is 30 years old, Huntington is 24 years old, and Mt. Vernon Square and U Street-Cardozo are both 16 years old. The section of the C Route that was affected was two different ages – from National Airport and on north is 30 years old, and south of National Airport is 24 years old. So this infrastructure is definitely no spring chicken anymore. Metro is also now considered a “mature” system, so one must be mindful of these things. Still, this is not good to have this many incidents happen so close together.
As if it couldn’t get any worse…
2 minute read
August 27, 2007, 2:37 PM
The things that happen on Metro sometimes verge on comical. And boy, am I glad I didn’t have to take Metro anywhere yesterday, opting to drive instead. Why? How about five different smoke/fire incidents through various parts of the system, affecting five lines?
Seriously. And all within about three hours’ time. First there was a smoke condition at Mt. Vernon Square at 5:46 PM Sunday due to an insulator problem. Then a fire in an equipment room at National Airport six minutes later. Then another 38 minutes later, a fire on the tail tracks at Huntington (i.e. the dead-end tunnels south of the station), causing the station to be temporarily closed. Then 38 minutes after that, there’s a cable fire at Farragut North, causing that station to be closed, and a bustitution was set up between Dupont Circle and Metro Center. And then at 8:12 PM, a train at Foggy Bottom had brake problems, causing the temporary closure of Farragut West station due to heavy smoke down the tunnel.
What makes it (somewhat) comical, though, is that while Metro was doing its darndest with the bustitution during the fire, the bus then caught fire! As if things couldn’t get any worse.
Meanwhile, I’d be interested in learning what the fleet numbers were for the train that had the brake problems, and the bus that caught fire, mainly to see if it’s an older vehicle (think a Rohr rail car or a Flxible bus), or a newer vehicle (say, a CAF rail car or an Orion VII bus).
Like I said, I’m glad that yesterday, I drove where I was going rather than taking Metro. But at least my commute today to work was uneventful, even if longer than usual. We were stop-and-go all the way from New York Avenue to Dupont Circle. No fun. But no fires, either, thankfully.
Categories: WMATA