Over the last 60 years there has been


much criticism of the Los Angeles are for al- lowing the huge Pacific Electric rail system to be abandoned. Those persons interested in urban rail transit matters most likely spent many “what ifs” on the subject of the Pacific Electric being steadily upgraded into a modern rail system instead of being dis- mantled. In any case, Los Angeles is working hard to build a world-class urban rail sys- tem. Thanks to John A. Lee and Frank Bauer for the information.


CTA: Chicago Says Farewell to the Budd Cars The Budd Company built the stainless steel 2200 series elevated cars for the Chicago Transit Authority in 1969. In 2013 the 2200s are the oldest L cars serving the CTA and they are being replaced. The last day of reg- ular revenue service for the 2200s was July 31, 2013. The 2200s were equipped with old- fashioned “blinker” doors that often con- founded riders and made it impossible for wheelchair users to board the cars. To ac- commodate wheelchairs, the 2200s were of- ten operated in trains with the accessible 2600 cars.


Budd built 150 of the 2200 series cars for


the CTA and they were originally operated only on the Red Line and Blue Line. By 1983 the 2200s served the Blue Line on a regular basis, and CTA began to remove the 2200s from service in 2010. For the final farewell the CTA assembled an all 2200 L car train that operated from Rosemont to Jefferson Park on the Blue Line. Two of the cars are at the Illinois Railway Museum; the rest of the cars have been sold for salvage. Thanks to John Harvey and Peter Perreault for the in- formation.


Schools and Rail Transit


Don’t expect some colleges and universities to happily accept rail transit on campus. Many university administrators are totally clueless about the importance of transit and providing mobility for students, faculty, and staff on campuses with limited parking. One reason, of course, is that administrators have reserved parking close to their offices. Officials of the University of Minnesota are not overly welcoming to rail service and the new light rail line linking Minneapolis to St. Paul does not come on the campus. At Indi- ana University a high level administrator wanted to keep campus bus service routes about a half-mile from most classrooms and laboratory buildings because “students can walk that far.” His car was parked at a re- served spot 50 feet from his desk. The Uni- versity of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and the University of Missouri at St. Louis do appear to be happy to have transit serve the campus closely. San Diego State wanted to have light rail transit pass beneath part of the campus as a subway. It is a busy rail line. I hope that academic administrators do wake up and see reality. Thanks to Charlie Bogart for the information.


Leimert Park Village Gets a Rail Station Leimert Park Village in Los Angeles has been working for many years to get a station on the new Crenshaw Light Rapid Transit Line. The Crenshaw Line branches off from the Expo Line and then runs south to meet with the Green Line near Los Angeles Inter- national Airport (LAX). Leimert Park has worked for years to gain a station in the very heart of the Los Angeles African-American


community. The new station will be located at the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Vernon Avenue. This follows a Los Ange- les practice of locating a rail station in the heart of an ethnic area; Chinatown, Little Tokyo and Mariachi Plaza are examples. Thanks to Frank Bauer for the news.


Indiana Transit Improvements To be Studied When Hoosiers finally do something, it is of- ten quite good. There is also a tendency to delay an undertaking if it involves the ex- penditure of money. Indiana politicians, like those throughout the U.S., love to pump sun- shine about democracy while busily selling wooden nutmegs to the electorate. The citi- zens and leadership of several central Indi- ana counties have made it known to the In- diana General Assembly that they would like to have a referendum on the issue of an increase in taxes within the county in order to pay for considerable improvements in bus service and, perhaps, introduction of rail commuter or light rapid transit service. Pub- lic anything is a bad idea to many Hoosier politicians and because local and county government can do little without the per- mission of the Indiana General Assembly, the transit improvement work has been stalled for many years. As of this writing, the Indiana General Assembly has decided that the matter should be studied once again for the umpteenth time in three decades. It is a delaying game.


Why I Have Not Responded to Your Letters I usually write notes to correspondents who supply information. I have not done this in July and August and early September of 2013 because I damaged my right knee as a result of three falls that damaged the ten- don that attaches the quad muscles in my right leg to the kneecap. After surgery I spent nine weeks in a rehabilitation facility. Thank you for your support and the infor- mation you were kind enough to supply.


Flashes The MINNESOTA STREETCAR MUSEUM (P.O. Box 14467, Minneapolis, MN 55414- 0467, 952-922-1096) publishes the newslet- ter Streetcar Currents and the history mag- azine Twin City Lines. The museum operates two historic trolley lines: Como- Harriet Streetcar Line, and The Excelsior Streetcar Line. The museum is always on the lookout for passengers and volunteers. And you, interested reader, can be both a passenger and volunteer, even perhaps a motorman. On your way to see the statue of The Unknown Norwegian in Lake Wobegon, stop in the Twin Cities for a ride on the trolley. Finding a loss in sales and revenue when it priced its ten-ride ticket at the cost of ten one-way fares, Chicago’s METRA rail com- muter service is bringing back the ten-ride ticket priced at the cost of nine one-way tick- ets to see if it boosts sales and revenue. Me- tra is also trying to get more financial sup- port so that it can upgrade station facilities, experiment with wifi on the Rock Island serv- ice,and speed up on-board acceptance of credit cards. Thanks to Steve Scalzo for the news. The proposed ANAHEIM STREET CAR has won the support of the Anaheim City Council. The 3.2 mile route would join the Con- vention Center with a new rail station located between the Honda Center and Angel Stadi- um. The cost is expected to exceed $300 mil- lion. Thanks to John A. Lee for the news.


From Then to Now, To There and Back


Visit us on the web for the key to the images above. www.transitgloriamundi.com


DVDs from Transit Gloria Mundi are the traction fan’s best choice for accuracy, quality, selection and value. Ask for our free catalog.


(800) 428-7003 36 E. 27th St., Dept. B-144, Baltimore, MD 21218


Vol. 1-Northern N.E.


DVD-R 53 min. Music & Narration.


Color and B&W $2395 (postpaid)


$2495 (MA & ME postpaid) $2395 (Canadian postpaid)


DVD-R 63 min. Music & Narration.


Color and B&W. $2395 (postpaid)


$2495 (MA & ME postpaid) $2395 (Canadian postpaid)


Corgi Models and many other DVD’s, Videos & Books available.


E-mail us or Visit our Website and see our Online Catalog


Kennebunkport, ME 04046-1690 (207)967-2712


Seashore Trolley Museum P.O. Drawer A


e-mail: carshop@gwi.net www.trolleymuseum.org


49


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