was better communication to passengers when there are unplanned delays or problems. In Ottawa, Ontario, the O TRAIN service will shut down for four months so the line can be upgraded. The $59 million project in- cludes additional passing sidings and sta- tion improvements. Thanks to Hayward Mack for the information.
SUBSCRIBE TO
RAILFAN & RAILROAD Home delivery each and every month!
www.railfan.com ON-LINE AT: DVD
One of the pleasures of the ride to Norris- town from 69th Street Terminal on the erst- while Philadelphia & Western was the great high bridge across the Schuylkill River be- tween Bridgeport and Norristown. The bridge is 101 years old and in bad shape. It demands major repairs that are expected to cost $30 million and cause the bridge to be shut down for four months. Approximately 2400 passengers a day are carried over the bridge on what is now dubbed the NORRIS- TOWN HIGH SPEED LINE. Given the fi- nancial woes of the Southeastern Pennsyl- vania Transportation Authority, the repairs may not be made and buses will be employed on a permanent basis to move passengers the short distance from Bridgeport across the river to Norristown’s downtown. I re- member when the Lehigh Valley Transit Liberty Bell Limited cars descended to the street, from the Norristown Station, made a 90 degree turn to the left and dropped down a steep hill to Rink siding. Later, when the LVT cars were kept off the P&W tracks, the Liberty Bell cars would back down to the Rink siding and turn there on the loop and back into the Norristown Station. Thanks to David Harris for the news and the rekin- dling of a memory.
530-527-0141
SAN FRANCISCO CABLE CAR NO. 26 was placed back into service on the Pow-
ell Street lines in November 2012. No. 26 was built in 1890 and, like all the cable cars, is al- ways in line for refurbishment. It is a vener- able piece of equipment, having survived the great earthquake and fire of 1906 and the ig- norance of Mayor Roger Lapham 40 years later. The mayor wanted to rid San Francisco of its cable cars in a spasm of thinking that getting rid of the beloved cars would make San Francisco more modern. The mayor did not read the public mood correctly, but his at- titude toward rail transit was not unusual in the 1940s. Thanks to Douglas I. Duncan and John A. Lee for the news. The MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANS-
PORTATION AUTHORITY Government Center subway station is to be closed for sev- eral years while the station is remodeled and improved. About 9,000 passengers use the station on a typical day. The renovation is expected to cost about $90 million. In my time of using the station, I always felt the head house looked like a World War II pill- box minus the machine guns. The proposal is for a large glass walled structure rising out of City Hall Plaza. The present station will be shuttered in the fall of 2013 and is sched- uled to reopen two years later. Trains will continue to run through the station, but will not stop.
At long last the MBTA commuter cars
from Huyndai-Rotem are starting to trick- le into revenue service. It will still take some time for all seventy-four of the new commuter rail cars to be delivered, so don’t hold your breath. Moreover, there is suspicion that the cars will have many problems. Thanks to Peter Perreault for the information.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66