Re: Train Accident in Blue Mountains

[david <david@nmit.vic.edu.au>]

Matthew,
I am wondering if Don was commenting not on his car, but that he knows his stopping
distance, more or less. Could he be asking specifically on the braking diatances of
the train, more or less. What a lot of us do not know is the normal stopping distances
expected by similar V sets.

As for the comparisons  you are right. Cars are not comparable to trains in stopping !

Regards,
David Head

Matthew Geier wrote:

> In article <384CC789.F66CEAE5@zeta.org.au>,
> Don Allitt  <nahgfa@zeta.org.au> wrote:
> >At say 40kph it would travel 11 Meters a second less braking time.So that
> >is at least 10 seconds to get back to warn.So how good are the brakes on
> >the trains?? I know if i jam the car brakes on i will stop in less than
> >100 meters.Don.
> >
>
>  Your car doesnt weigh around 500 tonnes. Probably less than 1.
>
>  I understand that an Interurban power car wieghs in at around 68 tonnes,
> the trailers are a little lighter, but still its considerably more
> weight than a car.
>  The 68 tonne car has 8 wheels on the ground instead of 4, but the train car
> weighs in at considerably more than 4 times your car. Also the friction
> between the 'road' and the wheels is a lot less (One of the reasons why rail
> is energy efficient, but there is a cost in stopping distance). Try 'emergency'
> braking in your car on a gravel road. That would be more the feel of it.
>
>  Car drivers just dont realise. Try speaking to a truck driver who does
> city deliveries some time. The number of car drivers who change lanes into
> their stopping distance, thinking that the large gap in front of a slowing
> truck is just that, free space for them, and NOT what the truck driver needs
> to stop!.
>
>  Ive had a scary enough experience driving a railway trike with braking distances,
> the rails were wet. Had the wheels locked up, hardly slowed at all.