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Methuselah beckons
By adamg on Wed, 07/06/2022 - 10:45pm
Yesterday, Handmaid got on the Orange Line:
It took over a year before I got to ride a new OL train. Today I rode Methuselah - the OG OL Car.
The 1200 cars started rolling out in 1979.
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Comments
World Class!
When the parts of the train that are visible look like this , just imagine the condition of parts that are not visible.
Per Charlie Faker, “The T is Safe”
OOH, they said "World Class" Again!!!
You got us with this original thought.
However lame that joke may be, it does bear repeating.
As do Baker's safety assurances.
I fully understand that the complexity of the Transit problem is far above my pay grade. However when those people at or above said pay grade decide to ignore the problem for decades, while fraud and mismanagement run rampant, something needs to change. It won't. But it should.
Because one day (could be tomorrow, could be 5+ years from now) one of these crumbling tunnels is going to collapse completely under a building or garage and then we stand to lose a few urban T stations for YEARS.
The T
Hi Subway Rob. Anon here. I see from your profile that you are a MBTA fanboy. I wish I could be a fanboy too.
You're right. My sarcastic use of "world class" is not as original as the reference to Methuselah. It was late and I may have been under the influence of the wacky weed.
Let me be more direct. The T sucks. I say this based on a long life of using the T, and for comparison, also using public transportation in several other cities in the USA, Canada, and Europe. I live within short walking distance of 2 T stations, and I've been using the T for so many years that I can remember subway trains with windows that could be opened, even in the tunnels.
But the T has always been an afterthought for the Massachusetts political establishment. For the most part, the politicians never use the T, except for photo ops. The fact that a 40-50 year old train is still in service is bad enough, but it is the condition of the train, both visible and not visible, that is the issue. And the stations are literally crumbling under our feet. It's like the house down the street that hasn't been painted in 50 years. In all probability the inside of the house is in bad shape too.
And for some reason, we keep electing leaders who don't care. Dukakis and Wu are notable exceptions. Baker started his term in office by blaming Beverly Scott . Things have gotten worse under his "leadership" but now he just lies and says the T is safe. The Feds disagree.
So if we want to be truly world class, we need to elect leaders who care and who will fund the T. I love that Wu has pushed the idea of fare-free public transportation. We need more of that kind of thinking. We also need to continue to expand the T while supporting the existing infrastructure. We need new rapid transit stations in Neponset, Lynn, Roslindale, among many other locations. Other states, cities, and nations find a way to support existing infrastructure while expanding their systems. We should find a way to do the same.
Anon
Hi "Anon"
I wouldn't call myself a fanboy, as I prefer to focus on my family & day to day, and not chase trains. That said, I am indeed a transit & railroad proponent who appreciates what the T tries to do under less than ideal conditions.
With that said, I appreciate the intelligent dialogue, especially in comparison to the original post.
In my opinion, phrases like that which you originally spotlighted are foolish, as 1) its constant overuse as a sarcastic dig has lost its significance, and 2) "world class" is an extremely subjective term which isn't a standard that can satisfy the criteria of maybe beyond a select few, by coincidence.
So maybe the city & its residents should stop reaching to achieve the imaginary standard that some nitwits hold to some non-quantifiable level, and face the reality that this is what the MBTA is & likely will forever be, until it's no more.
Ooh, you used the "Mocking SpongeBob" meme
You got us with this thoroughly original meme.
My response was toward 1 person...
so if I "got" you & others, whatever the hell that is supposed to mean, it sounds like a "you problem". Seriously though, your interjected sarcasm has nothing to do with the reason I responded the way I did. Moving on...
The framing of the undersides
The framing of the undersides actually is much heavier steel than the sheetmetal used for the roofs and the side skirting, but yes, things made out of Corten steel should be repainted more often than once every 20 years (all of the old Orange Line cars were repainted at least once....in the 1990s, and then they stopped repainting them).
World class, indeed
I was in New York City recently. I did a lot of riding on a A line. They run the R46 rolling stock on that line. It was proudly made in the USA by Pullman between 1975 and 1978, and the age shows. Heck, we were delayed by a track fire on the elevated section in Queens one day. My son's takeaway of the trip is that we spent too much time waiting for trains, and that was the truth.
So yeah, if New York is "World Class" we are "World Class" as well.
They don't make them like
They don't make them like they used to. In fact, that goes for everything. Clothing, shoes, tech hardware, friendly and knowledgeable human customer service, etc.
Hey you kids
Get off my lawn!
It's particularly amusing
when the cranky old man is being cranky about how much friendlier people used to be.
Thank you for applying a
Thank you for applying a gender to "anon" and GET OFF MY PORCH! I MEAN LAWN. I MEAN U-HIB COMMENTS SECTION!
yup
Yeah maybe this is 'get off my lawn' sorta
but things have gotten more cheaply made. So tired of buying something and in a few years have it break cuz something broke off, or a circuit board died or something silly.
I'm even noticing silly small detail changes... like the plastic some things use now is thinner and just more flimsy. Gotta squeeze every penny out as possible.
I bought a plastic sheet to cover a piece of furniture while I paint. I've bought this brand before and it was nice N thick. I bought it again thinking I would get the same again. Nope. Its just a little bit thinner. I checked the package multiple times to make sure I grabbed the heavy duty one.
Not even like that, I bought the same window fan to replace a less than 3 year old one that died... well same that it looked the same. But comparatively to the dead one, the plastic all around was thinner and less durable. AND it didnt come with extenders on both sides, just one.
And this fan was 10 bucks more than I remember paying for the other one.
Things just have gotten more cheaply made.
Irony is for many items.. the stuff you used to get is now "Premium". Uh what happened to just having a quality product?
Smaller, too
You might also notice that some food makers have ever so slightly cut back on package sizes. E.g., “pints” of ice cream from some manufacturers are now 14 oz.
Small potatoes? Perhaps…but frustrating if you think you’re paying for the the old, larger potatoes.
This practice is also pernicious because it’s less about manufacturers saving money on inputs than it is about forcing you to buy more often as you now more frequently run out.
It's been going on for a long time
In the 80s and 90s , I was involved with some government contracts for janitorial paper products, specifically paper towels and toilet paper. Specifications are very important.
Manufacturers, in this case, paper mills, would reduce the overall size and/or sheet count of a "roll" in order to make more profit, or make the same profit, as manufacturing costs went up. Often the manufacturers would win a bid for one size, and substitute a smaller size, basically daring the government bureaucrats to discover the deception, which was often a winning strategy.
A reduction of 1/8 inch on the size of a sheet of toilet paper, or reducing the sheet count from 500 to 480, times millions of sheets of paper, can be the difference between winning or losing a contract or making more profit or maintaining profit.
Ongoing
2 or 3 years ago, all of the toilet paper makers decided to make the stuff narrower by about 1/2 inch, all at the same time. Of course, they charge the same for the smaller product. You can still get wide TP, but not from the name brands.
We have met the enemy
JCPenney thought the customer would appreciate honesty in pricing instead of bogus contant discounts. Guess what? We didn't. We would rather be lied to.
food packaging
dont even get me started on food packaging and sizes.
Best is example is coffee.
Remember when coffee came in a metal can? (ok some still do but major brands do not). That was 1lb of coffee. Then at some point they switched to plastic and that vacpack stuff. Initially it was still 1lb (because metal cans were still being sold).. but slowly but surely as cans were phased out, its now 10-12oz depending on the brand.
And of course cost has gone up in price. That's why its very hard for me to take this 'inflation' crap and prices just being jacked up at the grocery store. You might have a marginal argument if the packaging was the same size/weight, but its not. You've already squeezed a few pennies more out of me, now you want an excuse to do it again.
Not only that
but the rotation of the Earth is slowing down, and the moon is getting farther away. The Universe is expanding, and getting older and colder and feebler in the process. This shabby, second-rate modern Universe is nothing like the one we had when I was a kid, which was much brighter and more energetic. It was Premium! Now it’s just a cheap, off-brand Universe that belongs in a dollar store.
Shrinkflation and skimpflation
are the terms I've heard for this effect.
(On the other hand, for durability, there's survivorship bias: Only the most durable products last for decades, so all that's left from 50 years ago is the good stuff. The cheap shit was long ago thrown out. So it's easy to forget that quality wasn't uniformly high Back In The Day...)
Great post!
*
Yes, it is yelling at clouds: planned
obsolescence is a feature, not a bug, of late-stage capitalism, alas. I see it most dramatically in clothes and shoes: try finding someone still making a living as a skilled tailor or cobbler in an age of cheap, disposable apparel. I rely on a couple of those and dread their inevitable retirement.
I have some vintage pieces, like a tux from the 1940s, that will outlast me, but few clothes that I've bought new in my lifetime that I expect to do the same. I avoid buying cheap clothes and shoes, but that's now the way of the world, and it's a huge environmental issue. Despite the industry's sustainability claims, 75% of it ends up burned or in landfills.
A shame humans ended up such a trash species.
The market provides what people want
Few people want to spend 2-3x for the same item on the hope it last much longer. They are too price sensitive and/or they don’t trust that the more expensive item would actually last.
How much do you think a custom tux made by a local tailor would cost? It’s the same amount of work as a 100% custom wedding dress. (As in, something few people can afford.)
Clothing aside, Most products designed for a commercial or industrial settings really are much more durable but they are expensive and not stylish. So take your pick.
These cars are two years younger than my brother
OK, seriously though, what
OK, seriously though, what are we going to do? We need a public transit system in this area, so we can't just give up and liquidate the T, but at the same time, it's getting to the point where it's literally crumbling before our eyes.
It looks more like poor
It looks more like poor maintenance by the MBTA than some design or quality issue. With our weather in 40 plus years metal is going to rust and paint is going to peel and chip if it's not taken care of and probably repainted.
I like it. From the Vista
I like it. From the Vista Cruiser exterior paneling to the interior woodprint contact paper. If this was brought out in '79 it was already ten years behind :-)
The shrapnel damage
and the alien spore infestations along the roofline are also nice touches.
Good observation, but...
It is old, but don't think that's the OG OL car. Wouldn't the OG be car No. 01200? This is the OG OL car + 20.
The decay on that car has
The decay on that car has nothing on some of the green line, where you could see through the bits of rust and the red line.
Crazy thing is
These aren't the oldest trains on the subway. The 1500- and 1600-series Red Line trains all entered service when we were still putting men on the moon. They got a refurb in the 1980s, but they're still all over 50 years old. They don't look as derelict as the Orange Line cars though.