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  • Myth Busters

  • Discussion related to railroads/trains that show up in TV shows, commercials, movies, literature (books, poems and more), songs, the Internet, and more... Also includes discussion of well-known figures in the railroad industry or the rail enthusiast hobby.
Discussion related to railroads/trains that show up in TV shows, commercials, movies, literature (books, poems and more), songs, the Internet, and more... Also includes discussion of well-known figures in the railroad industry or the rail enthusiast hobby.

Moderator: Aa3rt

 #228609  by Long Island 7285
 
I know this may belong in the RR's in the media thread, but did anyone here see "Myth Busters" on the descovery channel?

They were testing if Pissing on the 3rd rail will kill you.
they did it at the golden state RR meuseum with jury rigged 3rd rail. I thought the show was cool but results would have been better had they done in on the real deal. though it took them 3 trys to kill the dummy.

 #228611  by Nova55
 
Golden Gate Railroad Museum.

 #228636  by Long Island 7285
 
Thanks for the correction. They could have came west and did it w/ true 3rd rail.

 #228645  by DutchRailnut
 
700 volt is 700 volt no need to come to east coast.

 #228662  by 9C1LT1
 
hey guys,

I've had some car inspectors tell me stories... Like the back of his shoe touched the 3rd rail, and no problems... Some guys though in the hot summer claim they feel tingles from a distence of several feet away, its alot of juice..

-Barry

 #228664  by badneighbor
 
saw that show... there was something disturbing about the clear plastic dummy with fake yellow urine in it... looked pretty foul...

 #228687  by RussNelson
 
My father worked for the MTA after the war for a year or so. He told me "Never piss on the third rail." which is exactly what the interviewed MTA employee said they told workers.

 #228784  by Clem
 
Those of us on the Railroad who know better wear safety shoes with special insulated soles.

Lots of cheap guys buy the $15 Chinese work shoes which, in addition to screwing up their backs, may kill them one day if they slip onto or under the Rail. I'm sure my good shoes saved my hide at lease a few times.

It's all about insulation. If your good quality leather shoe and your socks are dry, they might insulate the 700 Volts.

But no one wants to play this game of change. Far too many variables. The stakes are too high.

Clem

 #228955  by Carmine
 
Shows like that are just silly. It may tempt people to play around with the electrified rail. Unless you work on the railway, stay off the tracks!

 #229554  by RailBus63
 
'Mythbusters' is actually pretty good - they are not reckless and they heavily stress the safety aspect on the show and repeatedly warn viewers 'don't try this at home'. Plus, it's not as if they went to an actual subway or railway line - they recreated a third-rail setup at a train museum.

If anyone is stupid enough to copy this show and try this, well, let's hope they do so before they procreate so we can remove them from the gene pool.

JD

 #230151  by benltrain
 
i love mythbusters... sounds like one of their really whacky ones

 #282129  by Sir Ray
 
(Sort of bump this one, as I ended up in RR In Media because of the 'Trains on TV tonight' thread)
Anyway, Mythbusters often returns to the former Alameda Naval Air Station to perform tests which require a lot of open space (such as crashing two semis together) - although apparently that area will become a wildlife perserve eventually (Wonder if they will leave the Freeway movie set from the Matrix Reloaded).
Anyway, Jamie and Adam finally found a use for the spur trackage weaving around the former base - they choose a long straight section of track, got the Build Team to dig out the flangeways and make sure the track was clear and even, and mounted a large airplane engine on a work track car, and let it rip down the tracks (so that the prop on the work car could slice into a plane's tail section mounted next to the track, and produce neat slices like in a web photo of a runaway plane in a small airport - short answer, this part was true, but the plane running away not so much).
Wonder if the Mythbusters will try another rail-related myth eventually...

 #305250  by Sir Ray
 
Yeah, bumping this again, as the Mythbusters are at it again...
According to the previews of next week's show (18 Oct 2006), there is to be another railroad 'myth', in that a train passing a station at speed will suck passengers along in it's wake (vortex). It's a new episode, and the previews centered on the build team testing with a baby carriage (and I suppose a Caltrans commuter train, although I am not certain).

 #305422  by Steve F45
 
i did see it. I love these guys. They love destruction :-)

 #305455  by benltrain
 
Can somebody fill me in on what happened/s?