[dowlingm]

I don't think anyone except for railfans actually cares.

Count me among those who don’t understand the fascination with different liveries or with feeling the need to change them (as if my post re that yellow horror of VIA’s didn’t say it all)

That said, faded paint does look shabby particularly given that trainsets are not fixed and thus faded units are often cheek by jowl with newly painted ones.

Coming from Ireland and being of an age when railways still had a headcount sufficient to address paint upkeep, at least to a level where fade was relatively evenly distributed, it is still jarring to watch a GO consist go by and a faded coach or coaches among them. This is also true in particular of VIA’s LRC fleet which is now in a variety of faded schemes beside their more recent (and quite attractive) business class repaint.

For less engaged riders it might raise a question of what else has been left go on that coach. We live in a climate which is aggressive in both winter and summer to exterior finishes and upkeep should be part of the cost of doing business, and I daresay while not cheap is probably cheaper than some Metrolinx ideas for keeping customers happy but which because they come from a marketing budget and not a maintenance one (like that Leafs wrap) are nodded through.

 

[PL1]

While I get that it's wasteful to paint cars before it's necessary, it seems they could try to put together consists with cars with the same liveries – or at least blocks of adjacent cars with the same livery. Honestly, it doesn't really matter.

I do find having different era cars in a consist a bit awkward when travelling from car to car. The other night, I took the 23:36 LSW GO from Exhibition to Danforth and I got on a car with old livery. The car had a manual mechanism to open the door, and the next car (new livery) had an electric/automatic mechanism. The next was manual, and then electric. As an infrequent rider of GO, I found that somewhat awkward, and I could imagine it to be problematic for new riders. Having consistent door mechanisms between cars would be better; grouping cars (by era/type) might make this less of an issue.

Probably not an issue to most riders, though

 

[lenaitch]

While I get that it's wasteful to paint cars before it's necessary, it seems they could try to put together consists with cars with the same liveries – or at least blocks of adjacent cars with the same livery. Honestly, it doesn't really matter.

I do find having different era cars in a consist a bit awkward when travelling from car to car. The other night, I took the 23:36 LSW GO from Exhibition to Danforth and I got on a car with old livery. The car had a manual mechanism to open the door, and the next car (new livery) had an electric/automatic mechanism. The next was manual, and then electric. As an infrequent rider of GO, I found that somewhat awkward, and I could imagine it to be problematic for new riders. Having consistent door mechanisms between cars would be better; grouping cars (by era/type) might make this less of an issue.

Probably not an issue to most riders, though

Although they are possibly parallel, in that they happened simultaneously, this issue of upgrade version may not be directly linked to the version of livery.

Having to marshal cars with only those of similar legacy probably adds and unnecessary complication to fleet management.

 

[Bojaxs]

MARC's diesel trains seem to travel faster than GO's trains. I was pretty amazed at how fast their MP36 locomotive was travelling. I'm assuming this has to do with the track. We could get so much more out of our existing fleet if we just laid down better track.

 

[crs1026]

MARC's diesel trains seem to travel faster than GO's trains. I was pretty amazed at how fast their MP36 locomotive was travelling. I'm assuming this has to do with the track. We could get so much more out of our existing fleet if we just laid down better track.

You do realise that's the Northeast Corridor, right? ie a line that is built to the standard needed by intercity trains, which MARC can take advantage of but isn't justifying itself ?
And those are not stopping trains.... GO express trains do move along pretty nicely also.
There are certainly spots where ML ought to upgrade turnouts for higher speed, and PSO's that ought to be rectified, but higher track speeds will not improve a system where distances between stations is decreasing. GO benefits from acceleration far more than high top speed. Speed can be a waste of fuel.

- Paul

 

[Bojaxs]

You do realise that's the Northeast Corridor, right? ie a line that is built to the standard needed by intercity trains, which MARC can take advantage of but isn't justifying itself ?

Yes, I do realise it's the NE corridor. I saw the Acela train in the video. I think trains travelling at such a speed probably isn't justifiable for you, but I'm sure there's plenty people in the GTA who would love to see our trains travel faster.

And those are not stopping trains.... GO express trains do move along pretty nicely also.

I've watched videos of the Clarkson express travelling through Mimico, and it doesn't seem to travel as fast as these trains do. I could be wrong.

but higher track speeds will not improve a system where distances between stations is decreasing.

Which is exactly why I've never been a fan of packing more stations/ stops on existing lines.

Speed can be a waste of fuel.

Please... you sound like my coworker explaining to me why he never drives 120km/h in the left lane. Time is money.

 

[cplchanb]

I've watched videos of the Clarkson express travelling through Mimico, and it doesn't seem to travel as fast as these trains do. I could be wrong.


Which is exactly why I've never been a fan of packing more stations/ stops on existing lines.

I guess one thing to note is that GO consists are twice the length to you would need a lot more power to propel the trains at those speeds.
or it could just be limited to speed limits due to poor track suitability.

 

[Bojaxs]

I guess one thing to note is that GO consists are twice the length to you would need a lot more power to propel the trains at those speeds.
or it could just be limited to speed limits due to poor track suitability.

MARC runs MP36's, which yes, would travel slower if they were pulling a 12 car consist. But back in the Dalton McGuinty days, GO transit specifically asked the manufacturer for locomotives with more powerful engines to help move the 12 car consist. They got MP40's. The newest locomotives they have are the MP54's which are even more powerful. 12 car consists should be no issue for the newest locomotives.

Yeah, my guess is the tracks are not suitable for trains to travel 125mp/h. The clip I posted, that's the track the Acela runs on.

 

[drum118]

I guess one thing to note is that GO consists are twice the length to you would need a lot more power to propel the trains at those speeds.
or it could just be limited to speed limits due to poor track suitability.

I have yet to see a commuter train longer than 8 cars using diesel power and haven't been to the west coast in decades.. MARC trains are 3 cars up with max being 5 and can't recall what Chicago max lengths were. Nashville are 2 cars long. Boston is 3-8 coaches

In my travel this summer, saw no system that could use any GO coaches and if so, very small numbers.

 

[cplchanb]

MARC runs MP36's, which yes, would travel slower if they were pulling a 12 car consist. But Metrolinx specifically asked the manufacturer for locomotives with more powerful engines to help move the 12 car consist. They got MP40's. The newest locomotives they have are the MP54's which are even more powerful. 12 car consists should be no issue for the newest locomotives.

Yeah, my guess is the tracks are not suitable for trains to travel 125mp/h. The clip I posted, that's the track the Acela runs on.

yea but most of the trains are still MP40s and they only have 400 more HP for double the weight...
i guess even for MP54s can 50% more power overcome 100% more mass to pull?

 

[crs1026]

Yes, I do realise it's the NE corridor. I saw the Acela train in the video. I think trains travelling at such a speed probably isn't justifiable for you, but I'm sure there's plenty people in the GTA who would love to see our trains travel faster.

Because they need a thrill? Or because it gets them somewhere faster? You need to calculate how much time a GO train would save if it did accelerate further before beginning to brake. The math is not supportive of your argument. Big dollars in track and fuel costs, versus a few seconds shaved off the timings.

For balance, I am a bit surprised at how low the track speed limit is on some GO lines.... but I have seen the grid that tells engineers what speed to coast from after leaving each stop. The grid is more conservative than the track construction, and that's a deliberate calculation based on time versus fuel expense. the track isn't the limiting factor.

Please... you sound like my coworker explaining to me why he never drives 120km/h in the left lane. Time is money.

Not a good comparison. You are asking why we don't engineer and build highways to a higher standard. The answer - it costs a lot of money, and you can already do 120 fairly safely, if you choose to. And if your gas consumption were in the same range as a MP40, you might reconsider the choice.

- Paul

 

[smallspy]

Yes, I do realise it's the NE corridor. I saw the Acela train in the video. I think trains travelling at such a speed probably isn't justifiable for you, but I'm sure there's plenty people in the GTA who would love to see our trains travel faster.

GO regularly runs trains at 93mph - the maximum speed possible of the MP40s.

I believe that MARC is only allowed to operate at 100mph with their diesels.

I don't think that 7mph is of any major importance.

Dan

 

[emphurent]

As a Kei truck enjoyer, I love that GO uses baby trucks in their yards. Even has a little GO logo.

Yes, I know it's a Might-E-Truck, so not really the same thing as a Kei truck, but the front really looks like one. It's electric too.

 

[Garuda]

As a Kei truck enjoyer, I love that GO uses baby trucks in their yards. Even has a little GO logo.

Yes, I know it's a Might-E-Truck, so not really the same thing as a Kei truck, but the front really looks like one. It's electric too.

View attachment 592472

Hello fellow Kei truck enthusiast! After living in Vancouver where they are almost normalized it's cool to see the popularity growing in the east. People I know who use them personally are so frustrated with get insurance due to RHD. Only after 25 years do they become easier to insurance.

Kei trucks with enclosed boxes would be prefect for urban deliveries but sadly I haven't seen any.

 

[WB62]

I’m pretty sure painting is being done down here for the series 7 coaches, many of them are already in the new livery