Amtrak Acela window broken in Baltimore

[Guest]

Heard an Amtrak Acela train window was broken in Baltimore. Amtrak may need better policing and a security fence and cameras if this turns out to be related to Baltimore riots and the like.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Just put a couple Guards in the vestibules with 50 Cals

 

[Ziv]

I was on the Eksekutif Train from Jakarta to Surabaya in 1998 and noticed a broken window, thought nothing of it. An hour later there was a big thump and the woman in front of me just about flew out of her seat as a big rock hit her window. Only a little powder actually flew in, but it was kind of scary. She wasn't struck like we thought at first, just reacting.

 

[Triley]

From what I have been told, as consequences of FRA regulations for thickness of the windows on the trainsets, that Acelas have windows that are bulletproof to a degree. Below is a quote from a thread a while back.

I can't find anything about a window being shattered in the news, and I haven't heard anything in the gossip mill at work, so take what you heard with a grain of salt.

Locomotives and front facing car windows (such as cab cars on commuter type trains) must meet 223 Type 1 standards. Side windows of passenger trains must meet Type II standards. There are exceptions, depending on age, when built/rebuilt etc, but generally, Type 1 (forward/rearward) windows need to have glazing that will withstand a 40 grain .22 caliber bullet travelling at 960 feet per second, or a 24 lb cinderblock travelling at 44 feet per second. Type II (side windows) need to have glazing that will withstand a 40 grain .22 caliber bullet at 960 feet per second, and a 24 lb cinderblock travelling at 12 feet per second. So, bullet proof? Yes, if the caliber is small enough and/or travelling slow enough. Rifle calibers will go through. Some pistol calibers will, depending on the velocity. A 9 MM shot at short distance will, but may not, if shot from far enough away that the speed is slow. But, not really guaranteed to be bullet proof, above .22 caliber, and then only at what is generally considered to be Standard Velocity speeds by the point of impact.

 

[pennyk]

Here is a link to a Baltimore Sun article.

 

[Ziv]

The cinder block is a bit of an extreme case, but 44 fps is only 30 mph. It would be nice if they could give the engineer a bit more protection than that. Let the passengers fend for themselves, the engineer is out there day in and day out and none of us get home if the idiots "tag" him! h34r:

From what I have been told, as consequences of FRA regulations for thickness of the windows on the trainsets, that Acelas have windows that are bulletproof to a degree. Below is a quote from a thread a while back.

I can't find anything about a window being shattered in the news, and I haven't heard anything in the gossip mill at work, so take what you heard with a grain of salt.

Locomotives and front facing car windows (such as cab cars on commuter type trains) must meet 223 Type 1 standards. Side windows of passenger trains must meet Type II standards. There are exceptions, depending on age, when built/rebuilt etc, but generally, Type 1 (forward/rearward) windows need to have glazing that will withstand a 40 grain .22 caliber bullet travelling at 960 feet per second, or a 24 lb cinderblock travelling at 44 feet per second. Type II (side windows) need to have glazing that will withstand a 40 grain .22 caliber bullet at 960 feet per second, and a 24 lb cinderblock travelling at 12 feet per second. So, bullet proof? Yes, if the caliber is small enough and/or travelling slow enough. Rifle calibers will go through. Some pistol calibers will, depending on the velocity. A 9 MM shot at short distance will, but may not, if shot from far enough away that the speed is slow. But, not really guaranteed to be bullet proof, above .22 caliber, and then only at what is generally considered to be Standard Velocity speeds by the point of impact.

 

[andersone]

There are lots of ways for windows to break,,,,

be careful you throw rocks at glass houses or cast other aspersions

 

[jis]

If cinder blocks are a real prevailing problem (or bricks and rocks as the case may be) then you use this low tech way of dealing with them:

BTW, for those into coupler technology - notice the transition coupler which can mate with both AAR center coupler and with the traditional chain link coupler, whatever the train has. Also note the dual brake system pipes, that can handle either a compressed air braked train or a vacuum braked train.

 

[caravanman]

One "maybe" broken window not quite the Rail Roko seen in some parts of the world...

I was going to guess the photo was of the bridge to Rameswarum, India, but think that section is not electrified.

(Just tonight I viewed a uk tv programme on "worlds extreme railways", and that bridge was included) !

Ed

 

[Eric S]

Wasn't this a much larger problem in the 1970s in the Northeast? Seems I've seen pictures of locomotives with metal "grills" as seen in the picture Jis posted.

So far this is just a one-off thing. Hardly cause for jumping to the conclusion that Amtrak needs additional policing (along the entire right-of-way?), fencing (again, along the entire right-of-way? but then things could still be tossed over the fence), and cameras (again, along the entire right-of-way?).

 

[Big Iron]

NEC locomotives used to have grates protecting the windshields. Dont know when they came off or why, probably due to what Triley cited, higher standard for glazing.

For the stat minded folks (or those that may be remotely interested ) the link below has a ballistic chart for 22LR ammo. If 960 fps is the standard that would loosely translate to a 22 shot from approximately 100 yards, depends on the grain of the bullet and the powder charge. I'm not sure what the effect would be with a 22 being shot at a motor that was heading towards it at 125 mph.

http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.rimfire-rifles.html

 

[afigg]

Wasn't this a much larger problem in the 1970s in the Northeast? Seems I've seen pictures of locomotives with metal "grills" as seen in the picture Jis posted.

So far this is just a one-off thing. Hardly cause for jumping to the conclusion that Amtrak needs additional policing (along the entire right-of-way?), fencing (again, along the entire right-of-way? but then things could still be tossed over the fence), and cameras (again, along the entire right-of-way?).

Yes, it was a larger problem back in the 1970s and into the 80s. I saw the news report in the Baltimore Sun about the Acela window damage several days ago, but decided against posting it here because 1) there was little information about it, and 2) I didn't think t would add much to level of conversation in this forum. I stand by #2.