Automated Announcements

What is the main reason the codes are complex so that train crew can easily get confused with which one to use for the right stops? I've only been on a handful of trains (including PJ to HOB) where the announcements were all correct.

Well, however confusing they are, they sure are a good substitute for the manual announcements because of the dilapidated state of the Comet V's.

On a second note, what brought the demise of the Arrow 3 signs?

If you're referring to the PA system, all you have to do is enter the train number and the rest is up to the GPS and the computer. And they're not always flawless.

I used to like pulling into Dover going west and looking at the nine car outfit on track one in the yard. Usually C4/5 stuff and the destination boards would all say something different: Dover, Long Branch, Trenton, etc...

thebigc wrote:If you're referring to the PA system, all you have to do is enter the train number and the rest is up to the GPS and the computer. And they're not always flawless.

Sometimes they are so far off that it does not seem that it could be a GPS problem.

You're right Mark, sometimes, they get themselves stuck on a train number and thats it. You can change the number to the proper train number, and in about 10 seconds, it will change back to whatever it was. Which 99 percent of the time is NO WHERE close to what you want it to be (xpress to PJ, and instead its stuck on a Monclair Heights Local)

Also sometimes, they just get stuck - had a train the toher day when all it would keep displaying was "Next station, Linden" - the train number was right, as were the exterior boards, but the interior ones were wacko - luckilly the auto announcements didn't kick on.....

I don't think I've ever had one that worked correctly. This seems to be a favorite on east bound NEC. I get on a Princeton Jct. It announces the next stop is Hamilton (it's New Brunswick) after leaving New Brunswick it either annouces Edison or Trenton. But after Edison it will announce Metuchen correctly along with the rest of the trip.

Some of them work great! But, the majority doesn't unforunately.

But doesn't the crew need to initiate the automated announcements when the times come?

The other day I was standing on the platform at NY Penn and a NJT push pull went by with a mix of comets and according to the signs each car was going to a different location, Trenton, South Amboy, Dover, and Long Branch!

The annoucements are supposed to be automatic once the train starts. All the crew has to do is put the train number in before the train loads, and it SHOULD work and announce the stops on its own.

There are other annoucements which can be manually played, but IMO its just as easy to make the announcement than search through the listing for what you want it to say....

Jtgshu wrote:There are other annoucements which can be manually played, but IMO its just as easy to make the announcement than search through the listing for what you want it to say....

Whenever there were just too many people yapping on cell phones in any one car, I used to play the Comet IV intro spiel announcement. Sometimes, several times. You know, some passengers need a piano dropped on them three or four times before they get it.

Hahhaha, thats great!!!

Did u ever try the ICTEA one? Thats fun.

I was working with someone who did somehting similar, and in order to get everyone's attnetion (it was a late night weekend concert train, and people kept missing their stops) he played the "train is delayed due to mechanical difficulties"

Everyone shut up instantly - it was great

hahaahhah

thebigc wrote:

Jtgshu wrote:There are other annoucements which can be manually played, but IMO its just as easy to make the announcement than search through the listing for what you want it to say....

Whenever there were just too many people yapping on cell phones in any one car, I used to play the Comet IV intro spiel announcement. Sometimes, several times. You know, some passengers need a piano dropped on them three or four times before they get it.

Haha. Sounds like fun!

And engineer, that is pretty interesting. I've never seen a train with four different destinations- just two I think.