Silverliner Vs Out of Service - Technical Topics

They've known for a month now what part failed. If they were smart they started working on contingencies during the first week of July. If they started work on this before the failure then there is something Rotem in Denmark.

SCOTT: Even if we were under a full-scale attack I couldn't move any faster, not and maintain a safety factor.
SPOCK: At the rate you're proceeding, calculations show that you'll take a minute and a half more than we have left. You can't afford a safety factor.

Backshophoss wrote:It's possible Canton Drop Forge has a license from GSC as well.

Canton Drop Forge was listed as one of two possible suppliers for the equalizers in the original bidding spec for Silverliner V, but they lost to the Columbus Castings (formerly Buckeye). So I assume they at least had a license at that time. JS

Note to BikeNtransit: they (whoever the supplier is) certainly aren't supplying all the equalizers by Labor Day, which it sounded you might have had the impression of. The plan was 10 cars /week (40 equalizers I presume!) through some time in November. Don't know if that sounds more reasonable to someone in the industry.

That does sound more reasonable. Lead times on custom forgings usually run 4-6 weeks. Then there's machining time. Maybe the shop doing the machining will run 24 hours shifts. Maybe the forging company will do the machining. My only point was these are not off the shelf parts, and there's considerable time to forge the metal, machine it, inspect it, fit it to the car, then test. I'm sure there will be loads of overtime for the companies making these parts, so that may help shave days off delivery time.

Well, whatever the fix is, it sure ain't coming from Columbus:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories ... roval.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Columbus Castings is done,it was sold off at auction, to the US unit of a German Company,in a year or so the
factory will be demo'ed and removed,to become vacant land sold off to a developer.
They were a supplier to Amtrak and other RR/Transit operations to boot!!

Any news on all this out of SEPTA lately? it's been a few weeks...

the replacement equalizers are being supplied by : http://cantondropforge.com/markets/transportation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DutchRailnut wrote:the replacement equalizers are being supplied by : http://cantondropforge.com/markets/transportation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is that on-line somewhere, or through the grapevine? In any case, that means the new ones will be forged, not plate steel with the infamous weld to the bearing plates on the end to worry about.
Thanks, JS

pumpers wrote:Any news on all this out of SEPTA lately? it's been a few weeks...

Heard yesterday may be delay in meeting schedule for returning cars to service. Apparently questions regarding inspections and apparently something does not match drawings. I will try to find out more.

One of the issues is that each pin was supposed to have 2 ring clips installed. They came with one. I was told to properly fatigue test them they have to be supplied in accordance with the drawings.

I keep seeing mentions of forged equalizer bars in the latter part of this thread, but Knueppel clearly stated in the last news conference that they were going with plate steel. At that time there were two designs under consideration: one with pinned shoes, instead of welds, and another with welded shoes, but of a different design than the failed beams. Anyone know which of those two plate steel designs they decided on?

jayfar wrote:I keep seeing mentions of forged equalizer bars in the latter part of this thread, but Knueppel clearly stated in the last news conference that they were going with plate steel. At that time there were two designs under consideration: one with pinned shoes, instead of welds, and another with welded shoes, but of a different design than the failed beams. Anyone know which of those two plate steel designs they decided on?

I'll take part of the blame. The original bidding specs for the Silverliner V's had the following lines (in section 13.5.3)

The equalizer beams shall either be plate steel as provided by the Buckeye Steel Castings Company, or steel forgings as provided by the Canton Drop Forge Company.

So when it was posted the Canton Drop Forge got the job for the replacements, and given all the trouble with the welds, and given that CDFC has a picture of a forged equalizer on its web site, it seemed only natural to me that the equalizers would have been forgings, not plate steel. Not the first mistake I have made and certainly not the last!
EDIT: SEPTA said this week there will be an update this coming week - they said they are behind schedule now but expect to get ahead and finish in October.

Saw a set of 2 singles (716 and 738) out for testing at 30th Street. Obviously someone in the shop was trying to be funny by putting electrical tape on 716 to resemble stitches.

Are they doing with/without sandbags as ballast testing?

Don't know. Just seen them leaving 30th Street eastbound on track 5.