MFSE slow order betw. 15th and 30th: how much longer?

Does anyone have any idea how much longer the slow order for WB trains between 15th and 30th will be in effect? It's really frustrating going so much slower than usual in that stretch, since it used to be such a racetrack (and still is, EB).

Is the speed restriction a result of that derailment a while back?

Try riding between Spring Garden and Girard (EB). THAT is frustrating. In fact the whole thing is a mess with the cars rocking back and forth, the seats in shambles, and mutiple speed restrictions between Girard and 30th.

You can really notice a night and day difference between the BSL and MFO, which doesen't say much, but the BSL cars are almost 25 yrs old, and still look and feel brand new. Seats are fine, ride is smooth, cars are relatively clean. At least they don't have cloth seats which retain odors.

Speaking of new seats, I see SEPTA is replacing the relatively new cloth seats on the Silverliner IV cars with vinyl covered seats. The cloth ones really did not hold up well....again. Apparantly they didn't learn their lesson with the M4 cars.

That slow order is a result of the derailment.

The one between Spring Garden and Girard EB is somewhat due to the same reason that caused the 15th st derailment.

I was told by an operator that the reason that was imposed is because going at regular track speed, swaying of the cars would cause them to brush up against the outer retaining wall on the track deck while making that curve. So they slowed the trains down to cut down on the car sway.

The cars didn't sway a year ago....what changed? The MFL is the only line I've been on that has car sway like this. BSL, regional rail are straight as an arrow. On the MFL in these areas you can almost get "sea sick".

jfrey40535 wrote:The cars didn't sway a year ago....what changed? The MFL is the only line I've been on that has car sway like this. BSL, regional rail are straight as an arrow. On the MFL in these areas you can almost get "sea sick".

That is why I never ride the rear cars cause they are the worst offenders of swaying.

As of today, the slow order seems to have been lifted between 15th and 22nd. My train still slowed way down west of 22nd, but that's been the case for a while.

jfrey40535 wrote:The cars didn't sway a year ago....what changed? The MFL is the only line I've been on that has car sway like this. BSL, regional rail are straight as an arrow. On the MFL in these areas you can almost get "sea sick".

You are correct. The swaying on the whole fleet is getting worse as the months go by....someone better take a look at the maintenance manual! A lot of current speed restrictions were not around a year ago, and most new ones are sway-related. The one right at 15th Street westbound at the derailment site might be track-related too.

pennengineer wrote:As of today, the slow order seems to have been lifted between 15th and 22nd. My train still slowed way down west of 22nd, but that's been the case for a while.

If that restriction was lifted, I think it may have been restored again. Today and yesterday, the train I was on ran slow all the way from 15th to 30th, at about the same speed the whole way.

Could it be safe to say that the sway is caused by bad track? Between Girard and the tunnel portal, segments of that track were supposedly replaced under a "Capital Improvement" program a few years back.

What happens in the tunnel is a different story with the the cars violently lurching back and forth on the track. Possible track out of gauge? You can actually see waves in the track on the EB track at 15th, looking toward 13th. How long has it been since the track was replaced?

jfrey40535 wrote:Could it be safe to say that the sway is caused by bad track? Between Girard and the tunnel portal, segments of that track were supposedly replaced under a "Capital Improvement" program a few years back.

What happens in the tunnel is a different story with the the cars violently lurching back and forth on the track. Possible track out of gauge? You can actually see waves in the track on the EB track at 15th, looking toward 13th. How long has it been since the track was replaced?

All the rail from 2nd Street to the 44th Street Portal was replaced with CWR within the 1996-1999 time frame. All the third rail was replaced in the same stretch between 1998-2001.

You could (can?) see small waves in the track on the west Philadelphia side of the El as recently as this summer, but I haven't ridden it since. I recall that ride was pretty wavy in the back, too.

PARailWiz wrote:You could (can?) see small waves in the track on the west Philadelphia side of the El as recently as this summer, but I haven't ridden it since. I recall that ride was pretty wavy in the back, too.

And that rail will only be replaced with the new El structure installation.

I've seen the waves too. That rail is horrible, especially westbound.

Yeah, the slow order, which had been lifted for a day or two, was back in effect yesterday. I had to go all over town yesterday, and noticed it each time I passed through.

if ya ride up front you'll see the gold "S" plate in the track just west of the 15th St Interlocking.

The saga continues: today we went full-speed west of 15th again.