Multiple Antennae on M7s

Now HERE'S an esoteric question.

The radio antenna on the roofs of M7s is fairly obvious since they look just like all the other existing antennae but there seems to be TWO other antennae on M7s.

Is this so and what are they for, some kind of data links??? GPS antennae???

I'd have to look it up, but I think you hit them both on the head. There is definitely an antenna on the "A" car for GPS. The other "extra" antenna is for data link, AFAIK.

Tom

Not a bad guess! 'Course, there's only so many things that one would use an antenna for on a railroad car.

I take it a server somewhere in Jamaica or Hillside is constantly reading all this data from all the M7s running around.

Looks like the "A" car has three antennae, being radio, GPS, and CDPD.
"B" car looks like it may have either one or two. One is for the radio. The other, if it has one, would have been near where the on-board phone was. It was indeed for the on- board phone.
Lower numbered cars probably have that antenna. Higher numbered cars probably do not, since the phone idea was canned after production started.

Tom

Well we know that they all have radios, all the M7's have GPS and we know that Jamaica can monitor the mechanical aspetcs of the car from a remote location so that sounds like it's covered.

...so that sounds like it's covered

I just answered the man's question, that's all.

Tom

Was not a knock brother, just a another way to answer.

Thank you both!

I forgot about the on-board telephones. Did any of the M7s arrive on the RR with the telephones installed? Were they removed after their arrival? Do some still have them?????

Do I need to add this technical note to the M7's notes for THE roster????

None of the cars have the phones. I don't recall ever seeing an actual phone, but I could be wrong. The lower numbered cars have a blanking plate over the telephone enclosure. Higher numbered cars don't have the telephone enclosure at all.
I know you're going to ask me for car numbers...I do not have them.

Tom

well figure 7001-7010 should have something.

and i beleive most if not all C3s have/had a pay phone. at one time.

Yup, the C3's did have them, but with everybody having cell phones was hopelessly outdated right from the start. Alll gone now, I think "Dashing Dan" had them in his briefcase.

The first sets put in service *did* have phones installed. I have pics from November 2002 when (what I believe) was the first set running on Long Beach.



Nester

Thanks Nester,

Which car (A or B) was the phone installed in?