People, please keep your bikes off the third rail!
Red Line tracks catch fire after bike hits rail
Red Line trains were temporarily halted early Friday when a bicycle that came into contact with the electrified third rail caused a minor explosion-type fire at the Morse station in the Far North Side Rogers Park neighborhood.
Police don’t know how the bicycle ended up on the tracks, Rogers Park District Police Lt. Mark Amati said.
“A bicycle fell or was thrown or somehow ended up on the train tracks, and it hit the third rail and it caused an explosion-type fire,” Amati said.
CTA officials received reports about 3:30 a.m. of a bike falling onto the northbound tracks, causing a power outage and a small track fire at the station located at 1359 W. Morse Ave., CTA spokeswoman Kim Myles said.
Crews temporarily removed power to the northbound Red Line tracks from the Howard station to the Thorndale station. Power was removed at 3:34 am. and was turned back on at 3:58 a.m., Myles said.
The power was turned off to allow firemen to put out the fire and perform track inspections, according to Myles.
Police are currently considering the incident non-criminal incident unless they receive information to indicate otherwise, according to Amati. No was was injured because of the incident, he said.
The incident will not affect morning commuters, Myles said.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by mike w. on
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Someone i knew once got similar results with a piece of rebar... 600VDC is pretty unforgiving.
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Permalink Reply by Primitive Don on
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Wow. Watch out for those 'explosion-type fires.'
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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on
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Brings a whole new meaning to 'electric bicycle'. Damn that inclined Morse stop platform.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Bullis 5.5-6.5 miles on
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This is why it is not recommended to pee on the 3rd rail.
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Permalink Reply by Ali on
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Actually you can pee on it all you want as long as you are not grounded...One more reason to wear sneakers...
-Ali
Mike Bullis said:This is why it is not recommended to pee on the 3rd rail. -
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Mike,
I direct you to the Mythbusters episode testing Peeing On The Third Rail. :)
Mike Bullis said:This is why it is not recommended to pee on the 3rd rail. -
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Permalink Reply by Brett Ratner on
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This guy should upgrade to a carbon fiber frame. The next time he throws his bike on the tracks, it would prevent another "explosion-type fire."
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Ya, but it would break. Thus becoming the first thrown-on-train-track submission to Busted Carbon.
He should totally go bamboo for his next throwable bike.
Brett Ratner said:This guy should upgrade to a carbon fiber frame. The next time he throws his bike on the tracks, it would prevent another "explosion-type fire." -
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Permalink Reply by Patrick O'Connor on
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Carbon fiber is actually absurdly conductive electrically. The epoxy that holds the stuff together not so much, but if any of the carbon came in contact, the bike would be gone in a matter of seconds.
Trust me, I've been electrocuted in a carbon fiber electric car.
Brett Ratner said:This guy should upgrade to a carbon fiber frame. The next time he throws his bike on the tracks, it would prevent another "explosion-type fire." -
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Carbon fiber's structure is a lot like graphite so is its conductive properties...Put a .7mm lead onto a 9 Volt battery leads and test it out...
-Ali -
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Permalink Reply by Duppie on
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Nice vid, Ryan.
If I understand the video right, as long as you are not an Irish drunk, standing barefooted on a wet CTA platform, you should be able to pee on the 3rd rail. ;)
Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:Mike,
I direct you to the Mythbusters episode testing Peeing On The Third Rail. :)
Mike Bullis said:This is why it is not recommended to pee on the 3rd rail. -
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