Rail work at 60th and Girard

According to the FRANKFORD TERMINAL website guest book, rail work is going on at 60th and Girard in preparation for the restoration of route 15. Reports say that wire work will be next, so the June startup date [one year late, provided there's no strike] will be met.

In addition, it seems that the tracks on 59th St has been removed, and the street has ben paved over.

OK just for kicks I took a ride out to 60th & Girard to see what's going on. Its kind of hard to ascertain what SEPTA is doing but I've come up with some interesting questions & theories.

Right now, SEPTA is jackhammering something where the switches are located at 60th St. That whole intersection is a big mess with alot of remnants left over from tracks and switches that are long since dead. There is currently a switch that allows trolleys to return to the depot from either direction via 60th Street. I also noticed some new wiring hardware on the track leading back to Callowhill District via 60th Street. I don't know if its 2 weeks old or 2 years old. It looks very new though.

My question is, why didn't they originally configure the tracks to allow trolleys to leave the depot via 60th Street instead of 59th Street? With the exception of 1 switch on 60th Street, and 1 switch at 59th and Callowhill, along with some wiring (poles are in place) and a 20 foot section of track, trolleys could very easily use 60th Street in both directions to do their pull ins/pull outs. Not much is missing, and it doesen't make sense why 59th Street was ever used for pull outs.

Was the 15 always configured this way (to leave via 59th St)? It would seem to make more sense to have 60th Street as the primary route as there are tracks on both sides of the street.

Why was the track laid right in the middle of 59th Street in the first place? Regardless of the direction of traffic flow, it doesen't make alot of sense putting a track in the middle of the street tying up all lanes of traffic.

No matter how you look at this, this problem is definitely 100% SEPTA's fault. They have other options and they've had plenty of time to excersize any of them. Instead they think time will fix it on its own.

I'm wondering if SEPTA planned some of this purposely, knowing that 59th Street might be a bit of a problem.....

I'm going to take my digi and get pics of said intersection. Will post later on

jfrey40535 wrote:Why was the track laid right in the middle of 59th Street in the first place? Regardless of the direction of traffic flow, it doesen't make alot of sense putting a track in the middle of the street tying up all lanes of traffic.

...

I'm wondering if SEPTA planned some of this purposely, knowing that 59th Street might be a bit of a problem.....

Back when this track was laid, 59th Street was one way with parking on both sides. The world was a different place back then, not the go go, high speed "Get the $%&!& outta mah weh!" world we have today. Streets were not built to be these multi-lane 'mini-highways' that people jet all over town on. The trolley ran down the center of the street with no problem for decades. Until the city said it was ok to make the street two-way.

SEPTA wasn't even a glimmer in the eye of The State when these tracks were laid, so they could not be blamed for that part at least. This is partly their fault and The City. The City should have known that the trolley service would be coming back in the not too distant future and SEPTA should have tried to block them from turning the street into a one way. Also, when they knew that they would be needing the trackes for resumed service, they should have tried to have the street changed a LONG time ago.

So, the blame is two fold. As easy as it is to just blame SEPTA, one has to look at all the factors.

actually, 59th street has never been one way. the fact that parking is permitted on both sides of the street is new, however. What basically happened is that the lanes were shifted to permit 2 way parking and 2 way travel. simple as that. it isn't 100% SEPTAs fault because of engineering, but perhaps because of their refusal to communicate with their neighbors.

This work has nothing to do with Route 15. Wish it was.

SEPTA is putting in drainage for their v-tag system.

What the *&%$ is a V-tag system? Sounds like another Schelpta money laundering system.

There was also something funny going on at Richmond & Cumberland. They were working near the switches there too. Guess that's a V-tag too?

I've already learned not to get hopes up when it comes to SEPTA. I know better than to think they are actually doing something to improve, expand, grow the system in ways that don't involved diesel spewing boxes on rubber wheels.

jfrey40535 wrote:What the *&%$ is a V-tag system? Sounds like another Schelpta money laundering system.

I'm sure someone else can explain it better, but it's a means by which cars can communicate with the wire to do things like automatically set switches for the desired route.

It's an old and proven technology (I believe the Kawasakis had it from the start), and it's beneficial in that it saves the time it otherwise would take for every operator to stop the car, get up, grab the switch iron from its pocket, exit, throw the switch, get back on, put away the switch iron, sit down, and restart the car.

And this is being done, now....why?

Why wasn't it done when the line was being rebuilt?

Why is it being done when the future of the line is uncertain?

Why is logic always missing from SEPTA???

The only answer I have is that Faye is good at hiding the bucks.....

jfrey40535 wrote:Why wasn't it done when the line was being rebuilt?

Beacuse it has nothing to do with Route 15..........

Latest rumor (from a very reliable Elmwood operator) is that they are going to move the 59th St tracks over to the northbound lane this summer with service starting in September.

Take it for what it's worth.

I'm a SEPTA employee, albeit a nobody. I asked my boss about it, and he said they are installing V-Tag at 60th and Girard for the Rt 15. A June service start is doubtful, but better chances exist for September.

And another thing, if the work at 60th and Girard had nothing to do with new 15 service, why bother doing it? Nothing runs on those tracks right now, and if they weren't planning to get it operational, why bother. If the tracks rot away or the V-Tag eqipment is damaged, who cares? A trolley hasn't run down those rails in over 10 years.

Therefore, my completely uneducated opinion is that the only reason maintenance would be performed on unused tracks is that they may become used again relatively soon.

I think its more SEPTA's habit of creating "busy work" for its crews. Since 2003, everyone has been saying service will start in about "6 months". Nothing has changed since then.

Still makes no sense why they can't string a wire over 60th St, install a switch and repair 20 feet of track and run them out that way.

The SEPTA MO seems to be "spend the money on anything" by the end of the year. Out of all the capital projects over the years, has service gotten better? NO. Has service expanded? NO. So what are we getting for out money? NOTHING!

Article about Route 15 V-tag from "Rail Transitions" online article at
http://www.ggw.org/rrtc/newsletters/news98-3.html


Former Philadelphia streetcar line to be reborn as light rail

Philadelphia’s transit agency (SEPTA) has received bids for architectural/engineering services for the Girard Avenue Light Rail line. The project will reactive the Route 15 streetcar line, and upgrade it to modern light rail standards. Route 15 was shut down in 1992, when SEPTA could no longer afford to maintain the aging and outmoded infrastructure on Girard Avenue.

The new project will not only replace track, trolley wire and electrical substations, but will add improvements that will increase the reliability and convenience of the line. Turnout switches will be controlled by the automatic "V-tag" system. The track switches will also be equipped with heaters to prevent freezing during winter weather. Transitways with boarding platforms and shelters are proposed for 22% of the 8.36-mile line. Bumpouts (short sidewalk extensions) with shelters will be provided at 45 stops that are not on the transitway. Pre-emptive or preferential signals are planned for 65 intersections in order to speed the light rail vehicles through traffic.

The City of Philadelphia had lobbied SEPTA to reactivate and upgraded the Girard Avenue line. SEPTA had been actively planning two new rail transit proposals that would serve suburban areas: the Schuykill Valley Metro and the Cross County Metro. The City argued that transit investments also needed to serve the needs of the lower income areas of north Philadelphia.

mannynews wrote:Article about Route 15 V-tag from "Rail Transitions" online article at
http://www.ggw.org/rrtc/newsletters/news98-3.html


Former Philadelphia streetcar line to be reborn as light rail

That article was published in 1998. Wish the line were running......