[Rescue Muni] Key System

haletky@juno.com
Sat, 24 Oct 1998 23:16:53 -0700

Andrew wrote:
-----
>They ran on the bridge's lower deck and were guided safely at
>intervals as
>close as 63 seconds by an automatic control system. In 1945, the Key
System
>set a record when it carried 34.9 million passengers, 26.5 million by
rail
>and about 8.5 million by bus.

An automatic train control system that runs trains every 63 seconds.
That's 57 trains an hour - more than Muni's ATCS runs per hour today!
-----
Unfortunately the Key System (and for two years, the Southern Pacific and
Sacramento Northern) never ran enough trains to test the signal system's
capacity on the bridge. They did operate on schedules timed to the
quarter-minute, e.g. the F-Berkeley train leaving at 5:05:15 pm. But the
signal system didn't operate the trains. While it did stop the train if
an operator ignored a signal, it didn't have an absolute stop indication:
a red signal meant a top speed of 11 mph, so it was possible to have slow
speed collisions. Another fault was a low top speed of 35 mph.

And I agree with Andrew - Yes on I...
--------------------------
Charles Haletky
haletky@juno.com
415-602-9789