Adam a while back said something about inserting gifs and frowned upon it ... we dont want Uhub to become twitter.. Gif-O-Minute (and I can totally respect that).

So i tend NOT to post GIFs because of that. I suppose I could have linked to it...

The only good .gif is a

By Don't Panic on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 11:08pm.

The only good .gif is a dancing baby .gif.

For want of a bolt...

By MrZip on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 9:32am.

n/t [sigh]

Sounds like a factory worker took the Bolt Bus...

By NotfromTexas on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 9:51am.

...before their shift was over.

Shouldn't the T inspected the trains

By anon on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 10:13am.

Before they put them in service?

Sure

By brianjdamico on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 12:01pm.

But do you inspect every single nut, bolt and screw on everything you purchase?

Well...

By Div2Supt on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 12:17pm.

My mother when I was a wee lad told me to always check for the mark of Underwriters Laboratory on "anything you might put batteries in or plug in!"

I do it still to this day!

You'd think so wouldn't you?

By Don't Panic on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 11:10pm.

You'd think so wouldn't you? This pe-inspection could affect thousands of lives after all.

Cheap Chinese crap

By necturus on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 11:00am.

Why is the MBTA buying equipment from China?

Is Springfield in China now?

By Parkwayne on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 11:18am.

If we didn't tie this project to creating a new production facility out of nothing, the MBTA likely could have already sourced good stock from existing production facilities. But they didn't so they are being made in Springfield but by a Chinese company.

This is correct. The

By anon on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 1:19pm.

This is correct. The alternatives were a Kawasaki Heavy plant in upstate New York or a Bombardier plant in Ontario, I believe. Had to be in Massachusetts, and specifically in Western Mass. MBTA operating funds are part of the financial games related to paying for the Big Dig. If the MBTA was funded off ticket revenue, Springfield wouldn't have any say in how funding is spent.

And the politicos are going to be shocked when the plant closes up once they finish the order. Every other state will make the same sort of demand.

The plant is not closing any time soon

By Cleary Squared on Wed, 05/25/2022 - 10:43am.

The CRRC plant still has contracts to fulfill - one for double-decker coaches in Philadelphia and another for rail cars for Los Angeles.

Assembled in Massachusetts

By Plen-T-Pak on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 11:19am.

Assembled in Massachusetts and sounds like it was an assembly issue. Humans anywhere are capable of substandard work.

Red Line train

By adamg on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 11:03am.

Added a paragraph to the story about the new Red Line train, which remains out of service pending an investigation.

Must be a pretty important

By Tollhouse on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 11:32am.

Must be a pretty important bolt.

Bolts on brakes

By mg on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 12:30pm.

Bolts on brakes? Yes, pretty important.

Yeah

By BostonDog on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 12:43pm.

So why is a single missing bolt causing the braking system to not operate correctly?

Are you an engineer?

By perruptor on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 1:48pm.

Or a mechanic? The short answer is that the bolts are all needed, and if they are not all installed properly, stuff won't work right. If you have a car, you could take a bolt out of its brakes and see how that goes.

Failsafe

By BostonDog on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 2:18pm.

Given the T has a tendency to underreport failures, I'm wondering if it was more than a single missing bolt.

I am an engineer but not do not design subway cars.

I would hope there is redundancy

By Ron Newman on Tue, 05/24/2022 - 11:20am.

so that a single broken bolt *doesn't* prevent the brakes from working.

Alternatively, the system worked correctly?

By HenryAlan 2.0 on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 5:08pm.

My understanding is that the brakes worked, but that there was some sort of issue indicated that led them to pull the cars out of service. Might say that the system did work as intended, since the problem was identified before it could cause a crash or injury. one loose bolt out of 144 is probably not a safety issue in and of itself, but if one is loose, might be worth checking the others.

ok, I'll say it

By Username Unknown on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 3:14pm.

Loose nut behind the wheel...

High level math here

By anon on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 4:10pm.

(1). If Andrew's train has eight braking units per car, and there are 24 bolts per car, how many bolts are there in each braking unit?

(2). If Andrew installs 144 bolts per train, how does Andrew ever forget which way the bolt is installed?

(3). Who designs a braking system on a train intended for passenger service, where it is even possible to make that mistake?

(4). Which nuclear plant did the inspector in Andrew's plant work before getting the current job?

New Orange Line trains back in service; T says somebody didn't install a bolt correctly at the factory

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