SEPTA closes front seats on Silverliner V

Considering that we were just discussing this, thank goodness this wasn't the cab of a SL V : http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?secti ... id=9104673

You have to watch the video.

holy crap! talk about a fare jumper...

even as poorly made/designed as they are, i think an sV would make pretty short work of that little doe.

Deer Me!

Given the tragic events on MetroNorth in Connecticut on Friday evening, the whole debate over closing the railfan seat just took on a whole new perspective.

Did it? Is it the first time there was a collision of this nature on a commuter railroad?

scotty269 wrote:Did it? Is it the first time there was a collision of this nature on a commuter railroad?

If I was in the railfan seat of the striking train, it would certainly change MY perspective. This sitaution was somewhat unique and a couple of minutes either way could have changed the outcome tremendously but it proves the adage that "things" happen. I rode that stretch of railroad just a few days before this accident and it certainly made me sit up and take notice.

http://gothamist.com/2013/05/18/70_inju ... tro-no.php

I just spent several days in the Philadelphia/Bucks County area and did a few days of SEPTA riding on Silverliner V's. Hung out at 30th St. looking for new trains at lunch time for 3 days. I had a very lucky week. Caught round-trips on S-V's to/from Levittown, Warminster, Paoli and one-way to Langhorne. A great few days of front-window riding. And all for $11.00 a day on an Independence Pass. Best deal anywhere!

Most of those trains had the yellow tape across the aisle. In one case the engineer instead used it to strap the front seat into the upright position.

Ironically, I also watched the news from Connecticut in my hotel room. Yes these things can happen but they are few and far between. They will not deter me from enjoying the front view on those trains where it's possible. Car accidents happen too, but we don't stop driving because of it. Ditto for riding in the second row of S-V's.

Head-end View wrote:Ironically, I also watched the news from Connecticut in my hotel room. Yes these things can happen but they are few and far between. They will not deter me from enjoying the front view on those trains where it's possible. Car accidents happen too, but we don't stop driving because of it. Ditto for riding in the second row of S-V's.

I'd be interested to know how well the new FRA mandated design performed in the Connecticut collision versus the older vestibule design.

I guess it should also be noted that the most severe of the damage in the CT accident actually occurred to the car of the struck train which was hit at one of the blind ends of a married pair and peeled back like a banana. The front corner cab post on the "fireman side" of the striking train appears to have performed remarkably well.

The side of the M8 peeled open, now think if that were a SLV and it was the operating end on the engineers side, he/she is going to need to go somewhere, usually hitting the floor to the opposite side of impact, if you are in the front seat where is he/she going to go? Thing happen quickly they won't have time to tell you to move, and not everyone at the front will see it coming, the engineer is paying attention to what's happening, not just sitting there "enjoying" the view

Being in a new rail car of the newest approved design doesn't guarantee safety in a car-to-car collision.

It's just safe-r than the previous generation.

With all of the kinetic energy involved, all bets are off wherever you are in the car..

Clearfield wrote:Being in a new rail car of the newest approved design doesn't guarantee safety in a car-to-car collision.

It's just safe-r than the previous generation.

With all of the kinetic energy involved, all bets are off wherever you are in the car..

Very true but there are areas that are better than others.....the safest parts of a car (any car in the train) are generally towards the center, with the most dangerous being the corners, as shown in the MN collision, but also in major wrecks and derailments as the cars are designed to accordian, not telescope. So when that happens, the ends get damaged. Most cars have the end vestibules and stairs to take the brunt and not the passenger compartment, but the M8 doesn't have an end vestibule, and neither does the SLV.

Of course, if its a broadside impact, from say a garbage truck or tractor trailer or even another train running into the side of it, then all bets are off and its just "luck"

When I was a conductor, when I had a choice (extra closed off cars on the train) I often deadheaded the and last car of the train. I did that specifically because of the Chase Md wreck in 1987. They had deadhead cars up front, and those empty cars took the impact and saved hundreds of lives.

JT, that's a common practice on Metro-North as well, on less crowded mid-day trains. On an 8-car MU consist for instance, the middle 4 cars will be open with the pair on each end closed off. Agreed, safer for riding public, but a real pain for us railfans. (chuckle!)

I've seen a few photos of the structure under the skin on the cab ends of the silverliner 5's. I would say the safest place as far as structural strength would be forward of the longitudinal seat but behind the cab compartment.

Something i thought was interesting also... on national train day when they had the display up on the upper level, i was curious about the "railfan window", so i gave it a knock, then i knocked on the side window. The "railfan window" must be about half an inch thick, where as the front most side window was probably about a quarter inch. It definitely seemed over-constructed even for a forward facing window (comparing it to an arrow 3 cab). I personally have no problem sitting in the 2nd row, aside from how loud the horn seems.

All the front glass (not just the cab) has to be FRA type I. Side windows are FRA type II.
The technical specifications called for minimum 0.5625" laminated glass windshields at the cab end, and minimum 0.46" thick polycarbonate at the non-cab end and in the end doors. Those are all FRA type I as you'll see from the marking. Side windows are minimum 0.46" polycarbonate, FRA type II.