Gilbert B Norman wrote:While I'm sure that many a political hack is standing in line to be tapped, good luck finding a well qualified successor.
We the unknowing,
led by the unwilling,
have done so much,
with so little,
for so long,
that we are now qualified
to do almost anything
with absolutely nothing!
The EGE wrote:The system was designed and built where the realities of climate change - that winters like this may become common or even normal - were not yet known. It was run with equipment that lacked vulnerable electronics, but also lacked the conveniences and safety they provide. And it was built in an era when equipment was replaced more regularly as part of running a railroad rather than a political process, so that there was more workable stock for work equipment. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
jbvb wrote:Do remember that while nobody would notice a male C-level executive of a $1.8B corporation with 6,000 employees wearing the same suit on three consecutive days of meetings, there are those who will snark if a prominent woman is seen in the same garments twice in a week. Some of them worked for the Herald back when it was being given away free outside North Station every afternoon; I haven't looked at a copy this decade.
Deciding to shut service down must be viewed in the light of the emergency response required to evacuate a crowded 6-car train stuck on an exposed, isolated, fenced segment of RoW. The traditional approach of bringing up another train had failed once, conspicuously and they'd been hit pretty hard in the press. One doesn't know what might have been passed down from the Gov. Fire & police could cross adjacent property, cut fences etc. but nobody wants to make a decision that might produce that level of crisis. And if someone died, on a train or leaving it, lawsuits would certainly follow.
Regarding underground crossovers - they're expensive to build & maintain and impose extra requirements on the tunnel design. So North Station has one, but they sited the one between NEMC and Back Bay out in the open. In '78, were the Green Line shuttles were being turned by reversing through the loop track at Kenmore? I recall them running on the proper tracks.
I don't know if there were engineering reasons, or if it was to reduce catenary maintenance costs, but the Blue Line changeover used to be at the Maverick platform; it was moved above to Airport more or less when that station was rebuilt.
Return to Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests