A metro train in Sydney, Australia, derailed Wednesday when a piece of metal jabbed through the floor of a passenger car and rose up through the train. Passengers on the train knew there was something wrong even before the incident, in that the train made loud noises and emitted a burning smell since it left Bondi Junction. As the train neared the Edgecliff Station, a metal bar was sheared off the concrete below the train. Passenger Kiriana Buffett was near the point where the bar entered the car.
"I just remember seeing it punch through the floor and then towards me – I don't know what happened next," said Ms Buffett, who sat in shock for 20 minutes after the incident. "Someone said it slowed down but I didn't see it go slow at any stage. I'm pretty lucky to be alive actually."
The chief executive of Sydney Trains, Howard Collins, said the bar that broke through the carriage was a piece of "metal channelling" attached to a concrete walkway near Edgecliff Station.
The train stopped, and its 700 passengers were evacuated. One line of the railway was closed, but was reopened by Thursday. -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Tania Pires)
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Anyhow, I'm a huge fan of old non-fiction and Google Books is one of my favorite spots to peruse.
It really is a GREAT deal to have all these classic PopSci issues available for easy browsing! For years both my father and I were Popular Science subscribers. I finally canned it about 10 years ago when the magazine really degenerated and adopted a "jam anything & everything green down your throat editorial policy" ... They've basically morphed into Popular One-Sided Left Wing Science and the science is particulary weak these days. Of course, they were never as egg-heady as Scientific American (itself a disaster today for the same reasons... quite a shame) but they did focus on emerging technology and generally presented a neutral political stance and objective editorial policy. Well, those days are long gone.
But at least we can look back on these old classics that aimed to teach people and present alternate views on future technology. Good stuff, but sad how far things have fallen with them.
Thank you!
sincerely, Norma E. Mizer
I'm trying to find the issue that had the plans for a gas engine powered model airplane called "Miss Sicence" or "Miss Scientific" Around 1941,1942 or 1943.
Thanks
Charlie Calvert