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| Commuter Rail - Help a Fiction Writer Get the Technical Facts Right (1286638) | |||
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Commuter Rail - Help a Fiction Writer Get the Technical Facts Right |
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Posted by Green over Green on Sun Apr 20 14:34:52 2014 I'm writing a short story that involves a diesel push-pull commuter train of the type used on south Florida's Tri-Rail or perhaps one of the non-electric NJT lines. I want to avoid making annoying technical errors in my descriptions. Therefore, the following questions:The train has just departed a suburban station. There is a grade crossing ahead. A foolish driver makes a made dash across the tracks as the gates begin to lower. Q1- How far beyond the station does the crossing have to be in order that the gates are open while the train is dwelling at the station? Q2 - What speed might the train have achieved at this point? Q3 - At this speed, how far in advance would the operator have to throw the train into emergency in order to stop in time should the car stall on the tracks? I know this sounds like an SAT question but I just want to write accurately. Exact numbers are unimportant, as long as the scene I write is plausible. Assume a 10 car, heavily loaded morning rush train. Any help will be greatly appreciated. |
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