5 Mar
2002
5 Mar
'02
4:04 a.m.
Where has rail been ripped up? I've never heard
of that
happening. Is it a national trend?
Of course, I'm aware of it primarily through local examples,
but the local newspapers have run articles about how this is
happening throughout the nation.... the midwest probably has
more miles ot track to rip up, though...
Recently, efforts have been underway to try to reclaim some
abandoned right-of-way and use it to create light rail (i.e.
trolley) lines...
Once upon a time, there was a B&O spur that ran in front of the
home I lived in as a child (not far from here)... Dad and I would
walk one direction as far as the floodwall, and the other direction
usually only as far as a small drug store that sold hot mixed nuts.
Remember hot mixed nuts, hot peanuts, etc?
Just a short walk further (which we never did) you'd find the
coal company who used to deliver the coal by which we used to
heat that house (did a natural gas conversion in '64 just before
we moved out).
But all that line is not greeway, replete with joggers...
:(
-dq
5 Mar
5 Mar
4:44 a.m.
On Tue, 5 Mar 2002, Douglas Quebbeman wrote:
But all that line is [now greenway], replete with
joggers...
Better greenway than highway. I do wish more light rail would be put
into use here in the US. Having spent a few years in Los Angeles, I'm
very much convinced that our cities would benefit from improved public
transportation systems.
Also, to keep things on topic, does BART still use any PDP-8 systems?
I read someplace, probably a few years ago now, that they used PDP-8s
for their control systems.
-brian.
4 Mar
4 Mar
10:21 p.m.
On Tue, 5 Mar 2002, Brian Chase wrote:
Also, to keep things on topic, does BART still use any
PDP-8 systems? I
read someplace, probably a few years ago now, that they used PDP-8s for
their control systems.
They were supposedly all replaced in the early 1990s. My guess is that
they may have some systems still warehoused. I used to see this one guy
at the local hamfests who was the scruffiest, grungiest, most unpleasant
looking throwback from the early 1970s you'd ever laid eyes on, who I
was told supposedly was a computer technician for BART. So one day I
asked him about the PDP-8s and he said they were long gone (this was
probably in 1999 or thereabouts). I related this story to a fellow
collector who speculated that this guy may not want people to know there
are still PDP-8s somewhere in BART storage, which is a good point.
I knew the guy who re-designed the software for the marquees at the
stations in the early 1990s, and he said he they were driven by PDP-8
systems.
So who knows :)
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
5 Mar
5 Mar
5:01 a.m.
Brian Chase wrote:
Also, to keep things on topic, does BART still use any
PDP-8 systems?
I read someplace, probably a few years ago now, that they used PDP-8s
for their control systems.
BART never used PDP-8's as part of the _train_ control system. That
task was originally delegated to a set of Westinghouse machines, with
separate control processors for the maintenance yard. That proved to be
unworkable almost immediately, which resulted in a new architecture
from the LBL RTSG that stuck trackside block-control
processors into the
system and then restricted headways such that only one train
could
occupy a block at a time. This had a _major_ impact on system capacity,
since BART was designed to be "semi-blockless", in the sense that
multiple trains were supposed to be able to occupy each block since the
system was going to have absolute knowledge of where each train was at
any given moment.
Logica was contracted sometime in the late 80's to create a new
centralized control system which was rumored to be based on DG MV series
machines. I have no idea where that effort ever went (other than
grossly overbudget).
Oh, and the PDP-8's? They were rumored to have run the annuciator
system and, in some cases, station environmental controls.
--
Chris Kennedy
chris(a)mainecoon.com
http://www.mainecoon.com
PGP fingerprint: 4E99 10B6 7253 B048 6685 6CBC 55E1 20A3 108D AB97
7 Mar
7 Mar
3:57 a.m.
Lots of old rail has been ripped-up in the chicago area...now the
'Illinos Prairie Path'.
bbrown(a)harper.cc.il.us #### #### Bob Brown - KB9LFR
Harper Community College ## ## ## Systems Administrator
Palatine IL USA #### #### Saved by grace
Where has rail
been ripped up? I've never heard of that
happening. Is it a national trend?
Of course, I'm aware of it primarily through local examples,
but the local newspapers have run articles about how this is
happening throughout the nation.... the midwest probably has
more miles ot track to rip up, though...
Recently, efforts have been underway to try to reclaim some
abandoned right-of-way and use it to create light rail (i.e.
trolley) lines...
Once upon a time, there was a B&O spur that ran in front of the
home I lived in as a child (not far from here)... Dad and I would
walk one direction as far as the floodwall, and the other direction
usually only as far as a small drug store that sold hot mixed nuts.
Remember hot mixed nuts, hot peanuts, etc?
Just a short walk further (which we never did) you'd find the
coal company who used to deliver the coal by which we used to
heat that house (did a natural gas conversion in '64 just before
we moved out).
But all that line is not greeway, replete with joggers...
:(
-dq
8174
days inactive
8176
days old
4 comments
5 participants
participants (5)
-
bbrown＠harper.cc.il.us -
chris＠mainecoon.com -
dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com -
foo＠siconic.com -
vaxzilla＠jarai.org