đź”· Open Thread

Ron Newman said:
Two inches of snow is not worth plowing or sanding. I biked to Kendall Square and back tonight in it without any problem.
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It's worth a once over with sand and salt, IMO. They were out for what, 12 hours last night? And now we get the real snow. Looking out the window now, it looks like 4 inches.
 
^ Where are you, if you don't mind me asking? Here in Brighton I'd say we've got an inch at best.
 
kz1000ps said:
^ Where are you, if you don't mind me asking? Here in Brighton I'd say we've got an inch at best.
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At the moment in Saugus. Maybe just in a pocket here. Melrose seemed to have the most that I've seen earlier today (last night as well), so they must have a pretty good amount over there now.

I believe there's a strong ocean melt effect going on. Even Malden wasn't seeing any stick.
 
So I rode in one of the brand new low-floor trams (Bombardier's "Flexity Berlin") on the Berlin MetroTram today. Holy-LRV orgasm. Seriously. Incredible.

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FLEXITY_Berlin_innen.JPG


www.youtube.com/watch?v=At_smPIlge4

I never want to go back to the Green Line. Ever.
 
Can someone remind me why we dont have these on the GL?
 
CSTH said:
Can someone remind me why we dont have these on the GL?
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If the government cared about infrastructure (Obama actually does but the Republicants constantly shoot his proposals down) we would have Flexity Boston trains. Germany invests so heavily in public transit and green initiatives. The government even built a PLUS (not net-zero) energy house and gave it to a family to live for 15 months in free to study green building.
 
Man, I would love to see those trains over here. I might even stop whining about the Green Line not being a proper heavy rail if we got those...

Not so sure about the low floors though. I'm the weird guy who actually likes raised platforms.
 
They're great, but they look so cheap and dainty on the outside. Don't want that running on the street, it might hit a piece of gravel and crack in half.
 
datadyne007 said:
If the government cared about infrastructure we would have Flexity Boston trains.
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Sorry but buy American, buy union (the dependable constituency is what Obama really cares about), and USDOT safety standards say no to off the shelf Eurotrams. The MBTA's unique and sometimes outright stupid sizing requirements usually require custom designs for light rail equipment anyway. Otherwise the Kinki-AmeriTram would be the new Type-9 hands down.
 
Wow, I didn't know Obama started that policy. We must be in like year 30 of the Obama presidency. Now I know who's sucking on Limbaghs other teat.
 
Bombardier created the Flexity Berlin specially for Berlin. Why wouldn't they be able to create a special design (to US standards) for Boston? Bombardier is no stranger to the T either... the RL uses their stock.
 
Buy American provisions I believe started under either Carter or Reagan. The union labor stipulations were eliminated by Bush II and reinstated by Obama. The whole problem with "special" designs is that they eliminate the savings one has from having a multi-city production model. There's less commonality of parts and no way to have joint production orders. The Kinki Ameritram is designed to meet US DOT standards and be used in several US cities. If the MBTA didn't have an issue with wanting the entire fleet to fit on their current service lifts and the pesky Boylston curve, it would be the best and cheapest solution.
 
Lurker said:
Buy American provisions I believe started under either Carter or Reagan. The union labor stipulations were eliminated by Bush II and reinstated by Obama. The whole problem with "special" designs is that they eliminate the savings one has from having a multi-city production model. There's less commonality of parts and no way to have joint production orders. The Kinki Ameritram is designed to meet US DOT standards and be used in several US cities. If the MBTA didn't have an issue with wanting the entire fleet to fit on their current service lifts and the pesky Boylston curve, it would be the best and cheapest solution.
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The service lifts are one thing, but I imagine there's a very good reason the MBTA wants their fleet to fit in the Boylston curve...
 
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