Transit Fantasies

[deasine]

JordanBendt, are you sure you posted this in the correct thread?

[JordanBerndt]

No?

I thought this was a transit fantasy thread. Is there a more appropriate place to post this?

[deasine]

Originally Posted by JordanBerndt

No?

I thought this was a transit fantasy thread. Is there a more appropriate place to post this?

This is, but for Vancouver. I mean it's a great idea but I think you will receive much more appropriate attention in the Calgary forum.

[Beedok]

There was also one I made in the Canada section that just sort of died...

[MIPS]

What if instead of closing the downtown post office we bought purpose built cars for the Canada Line and built a transfer depot so we could load/unload trains with mail, run them to and from waterfront, then use the old Waterfront Station mail tunnel to move everything to and form the sorting facility?

Same goes for nightly freight service on the SkyTrain. Cars would look like MK I's but the both sides would be two or three vertical shutter doors so palleted freight could be loaded and unloaded.

[dpogue]

Originally Posted by MIPS

What if instead of closing the downtown post office we bought purpose built cars for the Canada Line and built a transfer depot so we could load/unload trains with mail, run them to and from waterfront, then use the old Waterfront Station mail tunnel to move everything to and form the sorting facility?

Same goes for nightly freight service on the SkyTrain. Cars would look like MK I's but the both sides would be two or three vertical shutter doors so palleted freight could be loaded and unloaded.

Sadly nothing longer than about a meter could run in the post office tunnel due to 90 degree corners. More sadly, they're going to (if they haven't already) fill in the tunnel due to safety concerns

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by dpogue

Sadly nothing longer than about a meter could run in the post office tunnel due to 90 degree corners. More sadly, they're going to (if they haven't already) fill in the tunnel due to safety concerns

They should just make it a tourist operation/filming location. If they fill it in, that's one less location to film. Actually according to the date of the news item, it should have already been filled in.

Like BC lacks "castle" type of buildings (Only Royal Roads University in Victoria resembles one) and lacks "dark tunnels", with most "tunnel" type of filming taking place in the steam tunnels at one of the universities.

[JordanBerndt]

My apologies, I've made an appropiate thread in the Calgary forum.

[Express691]

I imagine we separate some of the MK1s into 1 car sets. Would this be efficient? Would we even see 7 car trains?

[dpogue]

Originally Posted by Express691

I imagine we separate some of the MK1s into 1 car sets. Would this be efficient? Would we even see 7 car trains?

I don't believe the Mk I consists can operate as single cars. Each car of the married pair only has half of the electronic components, and cannot be uncoupled.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by dpogue

I don't believe the Mk I consists can operate as single cars. Each car of the married pair only has half of the electronic components, and cannot be uncoupled.

Single car MK I's exist. Detroit has a few of them. Ours require modifications as mentioned above to operate single car.


Image courtesy of WXYZ Detroit

Quite frankly the single car trains are adorably dinky.


Courtesy of The Provice Report - Episode 10: "Getting Around Transportation"

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by MIPS

What if instead of closing the downtown post office we bought purpose built cars for the Canada Line and built a transfer depot so we could load/unload trains with mail, run them to and from waterfront, then use the old Waterfront Station mail tunnel to move everything to and form the sorting facility?

Same goes for nightly freight service on the SkyTrain. Cars would look like MK I's but the both sides would be two or three vertical shutter doors so palleted freight could be loaded and unloaded.

Skytrain MkI cars are roughly the dimensions of a 20 foot TEU shipping container. When the MkI cars are finally retired, their bodies can be removed, the electronics relocated in the frame, and the frame modified to hold a 20 foot TEU container.

Translink (aka "FreightLink"?) could grab the Scarborough RT cars & modify them after TTC scraps that line after the new subway is finished in 10-20 years.

Just need to modify the Skytrain guideways to have new switches to allow these "SkyFreighTrain" to be delivered into the proper sub-basement loading docks.

I wonder how many trucks on the street can be replaced by these "SkyFreighTrain" deliveries.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by dpogue

I don't believe the Mk I consists can operate as single cars. Each car of the married pair only has half of the electronic components, and cannot be uncoupled.

It was my understanding that each car in the pair has the full set of electronics to operate the train, but only one of the electronic sets is "Active" to run the train. The "passive" electronics are constantly validating the operation of the "active" electronics as an extra safety mechanism. If the "active" and "passive" electronics fail to agree on an issue, the train will "fail safe" until the technicians sort out the problem.

At each terminal, they change status - the "passive" electronics becomes "Active" and the "Active" electronics becomes "passive". They also perform a "sanity check" against each other before starting the next trip.

[Large Cat]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

Skytrain MkI cars are roughly the dimensions of a 20 foot TEU shipping container. When the MkI cars are finally retired, their bodies can be removed, the electronics relocated in the frame, and the frame modified to hold a 20 foot TEU container.

Translink (aka "FreightLink"?) could grab the Scarborough RT cars & modify them after TTC scraps that line after the new subway is finished in 10-20 years.

Just need to modify the Skytrain guideways to have new switches to allow these "SkyFreighTrain" to be delivered into the proper sub-basement loading docks.

I wonder how many trucks on the street can be replaced by these "SkyFreighTrain" deliveries.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha excellent

This will provide a good incentive to create a Gastown station above the rail tracks, as well as a Railtown Station at Main closer to the cranes. They would just have to move one of the cranes closer and create a relay. Then we can build the Hastings line from there

As far as the passenger stations, we can punch out walkways onto Water St.

[officedweller]

Side note - I've always thought a station near Gassy Jack Square could easily provide access across the railway tracks to Crab Park.

[Express691]

I wish we had 3 tracks of skytrain; 1 for an express and 2 for local service.

[Klazu]

Freight trams actually exist. Volkswagen operated once such out of their factory on the normal Dresden, Germany tram network. So Freight SkyTrain is not completely unthinkable. Unpractical maybe.


http://ericforfriends.deviantart.com...Tram-180558331

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Large Cat

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha excellent

This will provide a good incentive to create a Gastown station above the rail tracks, as well as a Railtown Station at Main closer to the cranes. They would just have to move one of the cranes closer and create a relay. Then we can build the Hastings line from there

As far as the passenger stations, we can punch out walkways onto Water St.

yesssssss !!!

Originally Posted by Express691

I wish we had 3 tracks of skytrain; 1 for an express and 2 for local service.

In Japan they have a lot of that, even 4 tracks as I recall. Express-trains, omnibus trains, and limited-stop trains all run side by side in many places.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

In Japan they have a lot of that, even 4 tracks as I recall. Express-trains, omnibus trains, and limited-stop trains all run side by side in many places.

New York has things that are similar to that as well. the express trains running down the middle between the outside tracks through stations. it would make sense once a city is big enough that it becomes a necessity.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

New York has things that are similar to that as well. the express trains running down the middle between the outside tracks through stations. it would make sense once a city is big enough that it becomes a necessity.

Yes, I saw that in NYC as well. It somehow seems that for stuff like that, you need to be in a dense, very large, metropolis/megalopolis type city.
I rather doubt that Vancouver would reach that stage for many, many decades.