Hardest Quiz Ever?

[whole diary]

[stuving]

6. Bahnhof Bern level 0. For want of an entirely convincing candidate.

[Western Pathfinder]

Someone got No1 before the crash had something to do with a parrot that prefers kipping on its back.

[grahame]

Someone got No1 before the crash had something to do with a parrot that prefers kipping on its back.

I'm going to fill in the remainder tomorrow ...

[stuving]

6. Bahnhof Bern level 0. For want of an entirely convincing candidate.

Well, I remember that was Thun - and it was posted not long after. I was thinking that tells you the effective time of the backup, but on reflection it might not be that simple.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Sorry, but No.  Opposite direction. 

Weston-Super-Mare?

Yes, it is Weston super Mare.  My original, more detailed, post has apparently been lost in the forum server crash.  No problem: the point still goes to SandTEngineer. 

[grahame]

Here are the missing ones

1. Norway - Aldesnes
2. Denmark - Aalborg
3. USA - California - Los Angeles - Mariposa
4. USA - California - San Juan Capistrano
5. Spain - between Barecelona and French Border
6. Switzerland - Thun
12. France - Paris - Montparnasse

[stuving]

I still can't make sense of 12.

There are plenty of clues in it, which together say "northern France": the train is classic Corail (old but still in use), the platform edge and signage fits, the string over the track (if it's main line OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE")) could be 1500V, and black stanchions seen elsewhere in France. The building next door would be at home in the north, though styles do propagate, and the general look is small town not big city.

But platform 21? Now platform (strictly track or face) numbers are not necessarily monotonic or successive, but in big stations I'd expect that. However, even Lille has fewer than that, so you have to look at Paris, specifically Montparnasse or gare de Lyon (for 1500V). But platform 21 is not at the edge of either - at Montparnasse P20/21 is next to P22/23, and in any case it's under a big office on a concrete raft, and even the Vaugirard annex is under a car park. And none of that is new, either.

[grahame]

I still can't make sense of 12.

There are plenty of clues in it, which together say "northern France": the train is classic Corail (old but still in use), the platform edge and signage fits, the string over the track (if it's main line OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE")) could be 1500V, and black stanchions seen elsewhere in France. The building next door would be at home in the north, though styles do propagate, and the general look is small town not big city.

But platform 21? Now platform (strictly track or face) numbers are not necessarily monotonic or successive, but in big stations I'd expect that. However, even Lille has fewer than that, so you have to look at Paris, specifically Montparnasse or gare de Lyon (for 1500V). But platform 21 is not at the edge of either - at Montparnasse P20/21 is next to P22/23, and in any case it's under a big office on a concrete raft, and even the Vaugirard annex is under a car park. And none of that is new, either.

Extreme left hand side on arrival, on a sleeper train a couple of years ago. Very brief visit / part of our 28 hops north Atlantic public transport adventure.   Lots of luggage, and Lisa hadn't slept well on the train.

[grahame]

Extreme left hand side on arrival, on a sleeper train a couple of years ago. Very brief vist / part of our 28 hops north Atlantic public transport adventure.   Lots of luggage, and Lisa hadn't slept well on the train.

Oops - my bad. Austerlitz?

[stuving]

Extreme left hand side on arrival, on a sleeper train a couple of years ago. Very brief vist / part of our 28 hops north Atlantic public transport adventure.   Lots of luggage, and Lisa hadn't slept well on the train.

Oops - my bad. Austerlitz?

Right, I see. I've never even been there, and had no idea it is (still) that big. But as they seem intent on revamping it to take over some TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse) services, we'll presumably get more used to it as a proper mainline terminus. Incidentally, I have seen some comments saying it is getting four new tracks - but I suspect that's really just a reference to making the existing RER C station part of the main one (it's not listed as as interchange at the moment).

[Phantom]

3

I'm intrigued what use those yellow poles would have?

[Phantom]

You could tell from the brickwork it was WSM (sadly seem to spend the majority of my life passing through here) but can't picture where about this is on the station. Is it still there? It looks really intriguing

[stuving]

3

I'm intrigued what use those yellow poles would have?

For once my initial guess was right! Their official name is "Station Platform Between Car Barriers", which is pretty self-explanatory. If not, this is more explicit:

Between 2000 and 2010, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) did not have a “Between Car Barrier” (BCB) system fully compliant with the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq. – an enforceable standard provided with Congressional authority) and the Federal Transit Administration regulations (49 CFR Parts 38.63 & 38.85 – the agency with responsibility for enforcing ADA compliance); for LACMTA’s entire rail vehicle fleet. The context of the ADA requirements is intended to provide equal, safe, unimpaired access to public transit, including intercity train operations, to all riders.

ADA regulations were introduced July 26, 1990, with an implementation period of 1 year. In essence, the regulations require carborne BCBs to prevent, deter, or warn the visually impaired from potentially falling from an elevated platform to the trackway below in the space between the train’s coupled vehicles.

Those regulation were written around fitting a protective barrier between cars to prevent people mistaking the gap for a doorway. However, that turned out not to really work, so at LA (and elsewhere) an equivalent protection has been installed at the platform edge, both between cars and at the ends of the train. This relies on the use of CBTC^▸ (Communications-based train control), or at least automatic driving, to always stop the train at the right place.

And yes, that is a railway track - the perspective does make it look more like a narrow gap bounded by a girder, but it's not.

[trainer]

...

Those regulation were written around fitting a protective barrier between cars to prevent people mistaking the gap for a doorway. However, that turned out not to really work, so at LA (and elsewhere) an equivalent protection has been installed at the platform edge, both between cars and at the ends of the train. This relies on the use of CBTC^▸ (Communications-based train control), or at least automatic driving, to always stop the train at the right place.

And yes, that is a railway track - the perspective does make it look more like a narrow gap bounded by a girder, but it's not.

Another enlightening piece of information from stuving and I'm glad the picture perspective was clarified as I hadn't understood it.  Thank you.   Because of the images of the cars (automobiles) below, it took me a while to realise that the term 'cars' was being used in the USA meaning and my imagination was struggling to to work out how the bollards and the cars (in the car park) related. Silly me. 

[stuving]

...

Those regulation were written around fitting a protective barrier between cars to prevent people mistaking the gap for a doorway. However, that turned out not to really work, so at LA (and elsewhere) an equivalent protection has been installed at the platform edge, both between cars and at the ends of the train. This relies on the use of CBTC^▸ (Communications-based train control), or at least automatic driving, to always stop the train at the right place.

And yes, that is a railway track - the perspective does make it look more like a narrow gap bounded by a girder, but it's not.

Another enlightening piece of information from stuving and I'm glad the picture perspective was clarified as I hadn't understood it.  Thank you.   Because of the images of the cars (automobiles) below, it took me a while to realise that the term 'cars' was being used in the USA meaning and my imagination was struggling to to work out how the bollards and the cars (in the car park) related. Silly me. 

There is a detailed explanation of the evolution of these barriers - with more pictures - from their suppliers here (the source of my quote). It does seem odd, does it not, that this particular safety issue should have become so important in the USA that it called for federal regulation, while here I have never heard it mentioned, and can't find it in the latest RSSB^▸ (Rail Safety and Standards Board) research plan for PTI.