ww.RonRailPictures.com PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES
VOLUME TWO SUBWAY AND SURFACE LINES
1 Hour 7 Minutes
Philadelphia SEPTA City Transit: Juniper St to 40th St subway lines through Woodland and Chester Ave surface lines and more. 1970’s PCC Cars through 1980’s Kawasaki. Experimental color
one of a kinds. Includes Routes 10 - 11 - 13 - 34 - 36. ONLY $29.95
PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES Two Discs Set 2 Hrs 23 Min
The Colorfull Years - 1970’s and 1980’s
PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES
VOLUME 1 SURFACE LINES
VOLUME ONE SURFACE LINES
Two Discs Set 2 Hours 23 Minutes
Includes Routes 6 - 15 - 23 53 - 56 - 60
From the lens of Gary Grahl. See Philadelphia PCC’s during the color- ful 1970’ and 1980’s on Routes 6, 15, 23, 53, 56, and 60. ONLY $29.95
NJ LIGHT RAIL LINES
Two Discs Set Approx. 3 Hours Explore the history of light rail in
New Jersey from Newark Subway, thru PCC’s last ride in the Public Service Era, to NJ Transit Light Rail and More! ONLY $29.95
NJ LIGHT RAIL LINES
Two Discs Set Approx. 3 Hours
Explore the history of light rail in New Jersey from Newark Subway, thru PCC’s last ride in the Public Service Era, to NJ Transit Light Rail and More!
Add $4.00 S&H per order (PA add 6% tax) See us on the web at
www.ronrailpictures.com or mail check or M/O to RonRail Pictures, DeptT
5552 Republic Way, Bethlehem, PA 18017
Connecticut Company’s Streetcars
Relive the days of Connecticut Company's big yellow cars... Profusely illustrated, this book covers every division of the Connecticut Company, the trolley empire controlled by the New Haven Railroad. This book features nearly every type of trolley car operated across the Nutmeg State until shutdown in 1948.
CONNECTICUT
STREETCARS SOFTCOVER
$21.95 PLUS S&H - ITEM #C00082 Carstens PUBLICATIONS, INC.
CARSTENSBOOKSTORE.COM (888) 526-5365
50 OCTOBER 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM schemes and
RonRail w Pictures
Philadelphia’s Transportation Challenge
SOMETIMES IT TAKES A STUDY to reveal just how important public transportation is and why providing needed money is critical. Threats to cut state and federal funding by a significant amount have been made. Just such research was commissioned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), with the work carried out by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia and Econsult Solutions, Inc. The study shows how investment in infra- structure in general, and mass transit in par- ticular, can pay off. It is also an alarm bell warning of the negative consequences caused by lack of investment, and the false economy of failing to make important invest- ments. For those innocent of knowledge, SEPTA is a very large system serving Philadelphia and surrounding counties in Pennsylvania; New Jersey Transit and Delaware Transit take up the travel needs at the edges of the system. SEPTA delivers service by bus, subway, elevated, street car, trolleybus, and a very extensive electrified rail commuter service. Much of the rail infra- structure dates from the 1920s and earlier. The study was completed in the first half of 2013 and was intended to help SEPTA in its quest for higher fares as well as aid from state and federal sources. More money is needed in order to upgrade maintenance and operations plus make necessary capital investments so that SEPTA can continue to help meet the transportation needs of the region. The study found that SEPTA supports about 26,000 jobs, and in so doing con- tributes $3.21 billion in economic output. SEPTA generates $62.5 million in state tax revenues. Based on ridership, SEPTA gets less than a fair share of state support. Re- ductions in support will lead to an attrition of service. For example, SEPTA’s most recent capital budget is $364 million which com- pares poorly to the budgets of other major U.S. transit systems, such as: NJ Transit’s $1.1 billion, Washington’s $1 billion, Chica- go’s $950 million, and Boston’s $860 million. Attention must be paid to infrastructure and transit in Philadelphia because plan- ners estimate there will be 600,000 more people in the region by 2040. The infrastruc- ture must be positioned to handle increased demand. Thanks to John C. Spychalski for the information.
Los Angeles Westside Subway The new Westside subway in Los Angeles was expected to open its first phase in 2019. Now there has been some rain on the parade and it seems more likely that the new sub- way will not be open for revenue service un- til 2023. This is the subway extension of what has been dubbed the Purple line that now terminates at Wilshire and Western. The extension will continue west under Wilshire Boulevard and there are three sta- tions planned with the addition of a newly planned stop at Wilshire and La Cienega. Construction of the extension is expected to be complicated because the new subway will pass under the La Brea Tar Pits and
there will be issues about methane gas and fossils at the site. Other subway concerns are related to the underground link between the light rail Blue Line and the light rail Gold Line. The subway will run close to Dis- ney Hall, the home of the Los Angeles Phil- harmonic and its exciting and distinguished conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Tests are be- ing carried out to make sure that Mr. Du- damel won’t have to conduct around the sound of subway trains. Many thanks to John A. Lee for the information.
The Dulles Line and Other Big Projects Washington Metrorail has dubbed the now- building rapid transit line to Dulles Airport the Silver Line. Clark Construction is part of a joint venture called Capital Rail Construc- tors that will build 11.4 miles of track and six stations. The work is expected to cost $2.7 billion. This is a big job and the largest part of the second phase of the Dulles rail line project. The dirt is expected to fly in 2014 and the work is expected to be complet- ed by 2018. If memory serves me correctly, the project to put a rail line out to Dulles In- ternational
Airport started its talking stages in the 1980s.
Other major rail transit projects include the construction of the Second Avenue Sub- way in New York City and the rebuilding of the Red Line in Chicago from downtown along the Dan Ryan Expressway to the southern terminal. In the case of the Dulles Silver Line, given airline service and quality these days, at least the ride to and from the airport will be good. Thanks to David Harris for the news.
Changing the Board at NICTD??? Since 1977, when the Northern Indiana Commuter
Transportation District was
formed, members of the board have been chosen by county officials. For each county served (Lake, Porter, La Porte, and St. Joseph) the county commissioners choose one board member and the county council choose one. The Governor of Indiana also chooses a member of the board. There have been a few tweaks over the years, but the board and the excellent management team have led to a stable situation which has al- lowed the South Shore Line to have its phys- ical facilities completely overhauled. The politicians of Lake County have want- ed to dominate the NICTD board for many years, arguing that a very large proportion of the railroad’s passengers come from Ham-
PLEASE SEND light rail, tran- sit and commuter rail news items and correspondence di- rectly to Prof. George M. Smerk, Emeritus Suite, Kelley School of Business, 1309 East Tenth Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-1701.
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