News from Patrick Flynn

I happened to have occasion to travel overseas recently and, serendipitously, my sons found seats directly behind the engineer’s cab on an ICE train.  So, for my railfan friends, here are a few observations:

• These guys use serious PTC – the engineer was primarily in place to provide safety redundancy rather than drive the train.
• It probably wasn’t safe for the engineer to allow his friend into the cab with him for part of the run, but he did.  Otherwise it was a one person cab.
• The upper speed limit allowed on any given stretch of track adjusted automatically as, generally, did the actual speed.  Top speed limit: 300 km/hr.  Top speed: ~260 km/hr.
• CTC signals were similar, but not identical, to what we use domestically.  Unsurprisingly, green lights predominated this run.
• I had a cup of coffee during the trip.  It sat on a ledge in front of my seat.  Unless I picked it up, it never moved.
• Particularly impressive (to me) was how smoothly the train navigated switches at crossovers, sidings and the like.  Unless I was looking, I doubt I’d have noticed when we traversed them.

As most people who know me know, I’m not one to leave Alaska during the summer.  Circumstances dictated that I do so this year, and it was quite pleasant.  I suppose changing gears every once in a while isn’t such a bad thing.

Regards,

Patrick