Inspection Train Status

I think its a great deal of money to spend so some VIP's can ride the rails. Why not have them ride regularly scheduled trains and see what the passengers have to deal with? Like dirty cars, toilets not serviced and poor riding equipment?

I don't see too many dirty cars but the toilets sometimes I can be at the far end and smell it all the way down at the other end.

Maybe they should try doing a commuter report card sort of like what they did for the NYC subway if they have not already done so.

The report cards are frequently passed out by MNCR and feedback is being acted upon.
It is however impossible to dump every toilet every day, and specialy if a train is stored in a location without dump manifolds for weekend it will sometimes smell a bit sweet till it gets to next yard for servicing.

now lets get back to inspection train or move on.

Yes lets get back to that inspection train!

Would that train have traveled over to the Beacon line?

no , as has been stated before the Beacon line is out of service due to bad bridge near Brewster.

All joking aside, what does the inspection train do? Wouldn't track conditions like too much growth or potential obstructions be reported by train crews?

Track issues by the geometry car? Not being a wisea**, I just don't know what it does.

It's a way for a group of senior managers and invited guests (usually politicians) to look over the railroad, check out capital improvement projects, and discuss operating and maintenance issues in a setting where they wouldn't necessarily be able or disposed to do otherwise.

One of the more productive things about these trips is that they allow the politicians and others who control the funding to get out and see exactly what it is they're paying for. They see the operating bottlenecks. They see the full to overflowing parking lots. And they see the fruits of their earlier largesse, as it were.

While it's easy to say "let 'em ride the local with the paying passengers so they can smell the toilets and swim in the filth," the truth is, you won't get most politicians on board if you tell them to meet you on the 9:07 to New Haven. Tell 'em you're running a special train for them, and they're there - they like the "joyride" too. And in the end, it results in more money to get more things done. I have no problem with the expense of running the trip. Others may feel differently; fortunately they're not in charge. ;-)

Jim

It is used for many things, like taking the brass to see projects, both in progress and in planning or completed.
It takes study trips for dispatchers (not done lately) or takes politicians to show potential rail growth.
It does not inspect track but im sure if a bad spot is hit the vp of track and structures get to hear it.
The trip this time was to show completed work in Danbury yard and the ongoing work on bridges from Stamford to Norwalk.

So politicians and other VIPs who ride this train get to see a clean and sanitized view of the railroad? Something that no passenger who pays thousands of dollars every year to ride the trains ever sees? That hardly seems fair to me. But that's just my opinion and I know all too well that nothing will change. I've ridden on and operated these types of trains and I know they serve a puropse. My problem I always try to think along the same lines as a passenger. Impressing politicians of course gets them to give railroads the funds and resources they need and to that end train like this are a good and worthwhile. But are all such imspection trains being used for such productive projects?

If they arranged for the politicians or other big wheels to ride a regularly scheduled train instead of the inspection train equipment, you can bet that the cars on the regularly scheduled train that these people rode would be clean, nice smelling and in tip top shape. This has occurred in the industry in the past and it was the case in the past.
Noel Weaver

I think we're being a little silly here. The inspection train serves a purpose to conduct business as a railroad. It's a railroad tradition. If you don't like it, there's still nothing you can do about it. Well, you can complain about it... but that's about it. Oh no! They better not ENJOY themselves while they ride that train! They better not ENTERTAIN anyone either! BUSINESS! ONLY! NO SMILING!

Please.

-otto-

Erie-Lackawanna wrote:One of the more productive things about these trips is that they allow the politicians and others who control the funding to get out and see exactly what it is they're paying for. They see the operating bottlenecks. They see the full to overflowing parking lots. And they see the fruits of their earlier largesse, as it were.

Small point of order - what we're paying for. Politician's are more than happy to spend OUR money(they may think it's their money LOL). But I know what you meant. LOL.

Erie-Lackawanna wrote:Others may feel differently; fortunately they're not in charge.

Jim

Thank God for that, or I'd be spending everyone else's money on fan trips, restoring service to Pittsfield, and extending service to Hopewell Junction and P'Keepsie on the Maybrook. Don't get me foaming! (See below signature).

Ok, back to reality.

Jeff

Didn't NJT stop running their heavyweight observation for the brass for this very reason, because they didn't feel it was right for the brass to ride in the cadillac while the masses rode the comets with the drunks and working people?

1) I don't care what NJT does or doesn't do because this is the MN forum.

2) The former Comet obs was sidelined because structural problems were developing and they no longer wished to spend money to maintain it. That's the story I know. The kind folks at the NJT Forum can probably help you out.

-otto-