Caboose Paperwork and Earthquakes

Our neighbors and we got a notice in the mail this week saying that our Variance
Permit hearing would be held on 21 February. Oddly, the notice said we
wanted to build an auxilliary structure; I thought we were moving a
caboose into our backyard. We need to talk with our neighbors so they
know to come to the hearing and cheer for the project.

John and San Jose’s Plan Implementation Division planner have been trading email
and phone calls all week about paperwork details. She asked for a revision
of one of the drawings. He went to City Hall this morning to give her a new
printout. We learned that even though we created the application electronically,
the Plan Implementation Division needs a paper copy so that they can stamp
it, image it for electronic storage, then give us our own stamped paper copy.

After the Variance is approved, we still have to apply for a building permit.
We hope to get a refund soon of the almost $2,000 in fees the Plan Implementation
Division had us pay for the first permit request last November. We had to pay
about the same amount again for the Variance Permit submission in January.
I am sure there will be more fees due for a building permit.

Part of preparing a building permit plan will be to hire a Civil Engineer
to write a specification on railway equipment safety during an earthquake.
We need to find a Civil Engineer with a knowledge of railroads and a sense
of humor.

I checked out the web for what happens to trains during earthquakes
and found two examples:

1. 1999
   “Hector Quake” was
   Magnitude 7 (out of 10 possible on the
   
   Richter scale*) quake near Barstow,
   California. Track shifted during the earthquake which caused a very
   minor derailment (no overturned cars). There were no serious injuries.

   * The 1906 quake which destroyed San Francisco was an 8 on the Richter scale.

2. 
   2004 In Japan’s Niigata region, a high-speed train (Shinkansen)
   derailed following a 6.8 earthquake (out of 7 possible on the
   
   Japanese intensity scale). The train was at the quake’s epicenter
   and running at about 210 km/hour at the time. This is Japan’s
   first Shinkansen derailment in 40 years. Eight out of 10 cars
   derailed but there were no serious injuries.

It is clear that at this rate we will not have WP668 moved before her
first birthday in storage.