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thank you! that's really interesting - thank you!

Ah Methuen! I don't know anyone there but my late uncle taught in Medford for many years.

thank you!!

Thank you so much for that clarification - I remembered to change to 'cars' in the text of my question but forgot to change the title. Yes, my editor picked up on 'carriages' and I don't use that term in the manuscript. I was grateful to the members of this forum for helping me with Qs about the...

Gotcha and thanks again @seabord92 - you helped me earlier, too! In the manuscript, for a different scene (where the emergency brakes come on), I decided to go with totally new and fictional rolling stock, but in this scene, it's the standard MBTA Lowell line existing fleet.

thank you!!

I grew up in the area,too - Wilmington.What about you? I live in Scotland now. :-)

thank you! The conductor actually led her to that area because he wanted to quietly slip her a free ticket; she's lost her wallet and he's taking pity on her. Is that totally unrealistic, that he would lead her there? Is it that dangerous? Sorry for the basic questions.

I'm a fiction writer and fact-checking a scene I've written in a book for children, where a conductor has a word with a girl in the vestibule space between cars on an MBTA train to Lowell. Can you help me figure out two things - 1) would it be noisier in the vestibule than in the main cars where...

@seabord92 Thank you! I am going to give myself artistic license. (BTW you've probably read it but Syd Field's SCREENPLAY was invaluable for me to get a handle on plot and turning points...even though I'm writing novels rather than screenplays. Highly recommended)

@zephyr17 you absolutely rule, thank you. I am going to have to change the rolling stock, that's the only way. If the train itself were a fictional next-generation train (electric, driverless), could I get away with uncoupling electronically (no cut levers or angle c-cks)? I am definitely going...

@Qapla bless you for mentioning me and Lee Child in the same post! You are right. It's my editor who was querying some stuff and it's sent me down a rabbit hole of anxiety. I need to get out of the hole! I think my book is going to have a Downeaster II. It's the easiest way.

@ehbowen That is super helpful, thanks so much

@lstone19 Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate the generosity of this community! (Am I the OP? What does that mean?)

Please tell me what the **** is because I couldn't figure it out! -- EDITED - OK, I've figured it out :-)

@zephyr17 @Seabord92 thank you both so much (that's great btw @seabord92 -- what do you write? Thank you too for the offer of shadowing but I am in Scotland, to make things even more complicated!): I've re-read what you said there, Zephyr17, and I understand now (I think) that the front half...

Oops, @zephyr17, just to clarify: in my story, emergency stopping doesn't 'break' the train, it's a later action by the bad guy, a hacker. First, bad guy emergency-stops the train. Everyone is evacuated. I guess both of these could be done by what hackers call social engineering (convincing a...

Ugh, ok, thank you! A derailment won't work in the story sadly ( because, and here I'm causing even more problems for myself, I'd like the train to split once it's stopped and only the forward cars keep going). I wonder if I'll just have to go totally fiction and put a disclaimer in the end...

Hello all, while I'm at it, folks -- what are your thoughts on how much of the Downeaster could be controlled totally electronically, without manual intervention? As I mentioned, my book is set in the future, so MAYBE none of the following would be a problem, but I'd be interested in how much of...

@zephyr17 that's great thanks. In my book, characters are standing in the vestibule when the emergency brakes go. Is it realistic for them to be injured, bloody nose, broken arm? I really want a hard and rough stop but not sure if that's realistic.