Re: The New and Improved W's
Michael Kurkowski
Tuesday, September 11, 2001 5:47 AM
At 02:28 pm 11-09-01, you wrote:
Rode 842 last Monday (3/9/01). Things to note:
* They are a lot slower than before (acc. 25km/h speed limiter). The
drivers (two different ones, there was a changeover at Flinders and Spencer
Streets halfway through my trip) were really taking it easy.
* The standard brakes still feel quite weak when stopping.
* It would appear that they have a different type of brake shoe now. The
shoe makes a huge amount of squealing noise when stopping.
* Can't comment on the track brake as it was not applied in the time I was
on the tram.
842 was the only W in service that day.
Yesterday the only W in service was 909. 842 and the "gold" liveried W (the
number of which escapes me right now) were out of service at Southbank depot.
The promise of safer tramming would only come down to a W class hitting
something in front, which was the reason they were withdrawn last year. The
weak brakes caused by the problematic automatic slack adjusters combined
with the lack of electromagnetic track brake like their later cousins, the
Z, A, B's would have been a contributing factor. Probably doesn't take
much to work out that if a W is too close to a Z in front, and the Z
applies track brake, then the W has no hope of stopping in time.
At the end of the day, my opinionated guess is that it would have been
cheaper to rip out the automatic slack adjuster and reinstate the pit men,
than to spend many hundreds of thousands per tram installing track brakes.
Especially where the normally slow running City Circle W's are concerned.
Michael
--
Michael Kurkowski
Customer Support
Netstra Internet Services
Mail: [email protected]
Tel: 03-9497-1477
Fax: 03-9497-4266
Mob: 0411-461-481
URL: http://www.netstra.com.au
For More Info: [email protected]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
FREE COLLEGE MONEY
CLICK HERE to search
600,000 scholarships!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/47cccB/4m7CAA/ySSFAA/DiTxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Has anyone ridden or driven a W since they have been back on the road in
Melbourne?
I am interested in knowing whether the new track brakes are living up to
their promise of safer tramming?
Rode 842 last Monday (3/9/01). Things to note:
* They are a lot slower than before (acc. 25km/h speed limiter). The
drivers (two different ones, there was a changeover at Flinders and Spencer
Streets halfway through my trip) were really taking it easy.
* The standard brakes still feel quite weak when stopping.
* It would appear that they have a different type of brake shoe now. The
shoe makes a huge amount of squealing noise when stopping.
* Can't comment on the track brake as it was not applied in the time I was
on the tram.
842 was the only W in service that day.
Yesterday the only W in service was 909. 842 and the "gold" liveried W (the
number of which escapes me right now) were out of service at Southbank depot.
The promise of safer tramming would only come down to a W class hitting
something in front, which was the reason they were withdrawn last year. The
weak brakes caused by the problematic automatic slack adjusters combined
with the lack of electromagnetic track brake like their later cousins, the
Z, A, B's would have been a contributing factor. Probably doesn't take
much to work out that if a W is too close to a Z in front, and the Z
applies track brake, then the W has no hope of stopping in time.
At the end of the day, my opinionated guess is that it would have been
cheaper to rip out the automatic slack adjuster and reinstate the pit men,
than to spend many hundreds of thousands per tram installing track brakes.
Especially where the normally slow running City Circle W's are concerned.
Michael
--
Michael Kurkowski
Customer Support
Netstra Internet Services
Mail: [email protected]
Tel: 03-9497-1477
Fax: 03-9497-4266
Mob: 0411-461-481
URL: http://www.netstra.com.au
For More Info: [email protected]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
FREE COLLEGE MONEY
CLICK HERE to search
600,000 scholarships!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/47cccB/4m7CAA/ySSFAA/DiTxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/