Fourth of July Monorail Incident

[Teddykeiko86]

My prayers go out to the family of the operator and all of his coworkers.

[Monorail_Red]

OMG! This people have no morals! What the hell is wrong with them?

I'm sayin'

You know, they did that demonstration with the toys twice. :mad: (that I saw, I'm sure there were other stations that did it too)

On top of that, they were talking about the "MAPO button" as they described it, and "the MAPO button had to be held in at the same time as the dead man's button":

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/200037 ... html#video

1st of all, no such think as the deadman's button. They were pointing to the radio button.

On top of that, they were talking about the deadman. For thoes who don't know, the deadman is the MCU (throttle lever) at an angle when it is not being held, and it has to be held straight in order for the Monorail to go...like on a lawnmower, you have to be sitting on the seat for it to operate, or be holding the bar down on a walk-behind.

What bothered me is when they were talking about what would happen if the deadman was released. They could simply have left it with just "the train would stop", but no, they had to go on to say "if the driver were to become unconscious, or (they REALLY emphasized this one) die"

Makes my blood boil.

[Syndrome]

I'm still reeling over the idiot newscaster who said that just prior to the accident, a guest who is also an EMT was riding in the front cab of another monorail, along with seven other guests, so if it had happened to that train there would have be much more loss of life. Let me get this straight...the driver was riding in the cab with eight guests. Yeah, that happens all the time. Jackasses.

[joanna71985]

I got an email this morning from a CM about a tasteless re-creation of the crash on two Orlando TV stations using children's monorail toys! I didn't see it myself, but he said many CMs are writing to the stations to protest. I posted a piece about it with a couple paragraphs from one of the letters in case anyone wants to write something similar: http://bit.ly/iYUem

Oh my goodness, that is so WRONG! :mad:

[SandrA9810]

If the e-stop is hit in the cab by the driver, wouldn't that kill only his monorail?? Wouldn't the kill switch by tower or a cast on the platform have to be hit them to kill the power to the ENTIRE line rather than the power by just one train??

If that's the case, that's probably why Austin backed up rather than hitting his E-stop, because him hitting it wouldn't have stopped the pink from coming backwards.

[February]

You know, last night when I came across that thing with the models, I was so upset I couldn't even speak. I could only point to the screen to show March.

It was absolutely unreal that they could ever do such a thing and you're saying they showed it on two stations? I only saw a still shot of the video I didn't play it, I was so floored that anyone could be so insensitive and heartless.

Insanity. This is journalism?

No it's not.

But then again, I just saw more of journalism's finest right here not five minutes ago. if you hear a story on the news about five teens killed this afternoon in a wreck with an Amtrak passenger train (no passengers on the train were injured thank heaven) that happened ten minutes from my house.

We just saw the local NBC affiliate stopping the poor passengers who were finally getting off the train after being stuck on it since 11 this morning when the accident happened. So these people are not known for their tact and sensitivity. But using the monorail toys is a new low.

They say the driver in the local wreck ignored the signal...the youngest in the car was fourteen (a girl) and four boys between that age and eighteen...I bet it'll be on the national news it's just so sad.

We mailed the cards today, folks, straight from the post office and it's a good one so hopefully they'll get there soon. Everyone who pm'd me was included I will try to send you each a reply later crazy day today out all over town. Inside the card I wrote:

To the family and friends of Austin Wuennenberg,

Please know that so many of us, some "just guests", some former and some current CMs are sending you our thoughts, love, prayers and deepest sympathies.

As days turn to weeks and time goes on please know that for many of us the sights and sounds of WDW are a part of our daily lives and so too now is Austin. He created such magic for his guests and fellow cast members alike. We will think of his smile, we will not forget.

Respectfully,
and it's signed with the usernames and says as a footnote "folks from the SGT message forums)

I hope that's okay.

For the monorail folks I wrote:

To all at Monorail Operations,

Please know that your guests love you.

The magic you create stays with us, not for a day or a year but for our lifetimes.

Please know that as time goes on we will not forget.

We will be sending our thoughts, prayers, and wishes for peace and healing to you- always.

Respectfully,
The "just guests", former and current CMs
on the SGT forums and then the usernames.

I'm going to go get started on the blanket in Austin's honor now...will post pictures when it's finished.

I'm using white yarn...it is actually yarn that I had bought a spare large skein of when I made the blanket for Randy's family. I think that is particularly fitting somehow...

hugs to all
Bru

[Whazzup]

What wonderful gestures in Austin's memory, Bru. Thank you.

P.S. I hope my PM got to you in time before you sent the cards.

[Zazu]

Believe me when I tell you that I fully understand your anger and frustration in that you are so close to the situation and your inside knowledge is leading the way here, but please don't pick on words. They mean the same thing...accident...wreck...whatever.

Sorry I jumped on you. Technical jargon in any field can be pretty opaque to those on the outside, and I guess this is one of those cases. For me, an accident and a wreck are entirely different things; I can, however, appreciate that the difference may not be obvious to those on the "outside".

I do appreciate your posts and your support. But I suspect a number of us are going to be grumpy about this for some time. Apologies in advance for my next offense.

[idratherbeinwdw]

I imagine the cms here already know this, but for the benefit of others here is the latest. There have been some suspensions at WDW.

http://www.wesh.com/news/20003663/detail.html

[Monorail_Red]

If the e-stop is hit in the cab by the driver, wouldn't that kill only his monorail?? Wouldn't the kill switch by tower or a cast on the platform have to be hit them to kill the power to the ENTIRE line rather than the power by just one train??

If that's the case, that's probably why Austin backed up rather than hitting his E-stop, because him hitting it wouldn't have stopped the pink from coming backwards.

Yes and no.

The e-stop won't actually kill power to a train...it will apply the emergency air brakes that cannot be accessed through the MCU. The air brakes can be accessed by the MCU, but only at low speeds. The e-stop uses all AIR and applies them HARD. Emergency stops are avoided because they are rather hard on the trains.

If power is lost on the beamway, it triggers an e-stop. So CMs at the platforms with the kill packs...they can only kill that section of track...in and around the station. So if a train is in a station zone and for whatever reason a pilot uses their kill pack, it drops the power to the beam (not the entire system), therefore triggering an e-stop to any nearby monorail(s).

I believe that is how it works but if I'm wrong, somebody please correct me.

I don't want to directly reference to the accident, but I would imagine that if you used the e-stop on the train, it would take a few minutes for the main air reserve to build back up (so train can move again). If for whatever reason somebody wanted to stop a monorail quickly and reverse, it's not about how fast you stop it's how fast you can get the train back into motion.

But yes, hitting the e-stop in a monorail will not affect any other trains, other than the ones coming behind you that may have to hold till you get moving again.

We mailed the cards today, folks, straight from the post office and it's a good one so hopefully they'll get there soon. Everyone who pm'd me was included I will try to send you each a reply later crazy day today out all over town. Inside the card I wrote:

To the family and friends of Austin Wuennenberg,

Please know that so many of us, some "just guests", some former and some current CMs are sending you our thoughts, love, prayers and deepest sympathies.

As days turn to weeks and time goes on please know that for many of us the sights and sounds of WDW are a part of our daily lives and so too now is Austin. He created such magic for his guests and fellow cast members alike. We will think of his smile, we will not forget.

Respectfully,
and it's signed with the usernames and says as a footnote "folks from the SGT message forums)

I hope that's okay.

For the monorail folks I wrote:

To all at Monorail Operations,

Please know that your guests love you.

The magic you create stays with us, not for a day or a year but for our lifetimes.

Please know that as time goes on we will not forget.

We will be sending our thoughts, prayers, and wishes for peace and healing to you- always.

Respectfully,
The "just guests", former and current CMs
on the SGT forums and then the usernames.

I'm going to go get started on the blanket in Austin's honor now...will post pictures when it's finished.

I'm using white yarn...it is actually yarn that I had bought a spare large skein of when I made the blanket for Randy's family. I think that is particularly fitting somehow...

hugs to all
Bru

Thank you, Bru - the cards sound AWESOME. What wonderful gestures...Please do post the pictures when you can, I can't wait to see the blanket!