tobias b koehler
2013-09-27 12:26:28 UTC
It's because our freight crews don't encounter passenger equipment
enough to really know that much about them, nor do the freight companies
teach them that much about how to handle them.
Museum trains typically come with their own crew.enough to really know that much about them, nor do the freight companies
teach them that much about how to handle them.
Here is a museum train on a mainline in Austria:
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The locomotive is 150 years old (it was overhauled and rebuilt several
times, the boiler is only a few years old), pulling two axle coaches
with open platforms ("Spantenwagen" built in the 1950s with new steel
bodies on the underframes of outdated rolling stock). Unfortunately
almost no passenger coaches much older than this are available in
operational state in Austria; the ÖBB does not think it's responsible
for maintaining a historic fleet and the capacity of private societies
seems to be filled out with the maintenance of steam locomotives.
Passengers are leaning out of the train. Nothing bad happened.
And that train didn't even need an "angst locomotive" as it is required
between Mürzzuschlag and Gloggnitz (Semmering mountain line). It did
however have a much slower timetable, the locomotive was manned with
four specialists who maintain and repair the locomotive regularly; at
each stop they got out on both sides to check the temperature of side
rod bearings and lubricate where necessary. At each stop it was
overtaken by regular trains, passenger or freight. No problem, if you
decide to take the historic train you are not in a hurry to reach your
destination quickly.