Railroad Forums 

  • Regional rail to Pottstown

  • Discussion relating to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Philadelphia Metro Area). Official web site can be found here: www.septa.com. Also including discussion related to the PATCO Speedline rapid transit operated by Delaware River Port Authority. Official web site can be found here: http://www.ridepatco.org/.
Discussion relating to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Philadelphia Metro Area). Official web site can be found here: www.septa.com. Also including discussion related to the PATCO Speedline rapid transit operated by Delaware River Port Authority. Official web site can be found here: http://www.ridepatco.org/.

Moderator: AlexC

 #1483310  by glennk419
 
mcgrath618 wrote:I know it’s a dumb fantasy, but it would be cool if SEPTA approached EMD and asked for an updated FL9, like an FL10. Those had pantographs IIRC, and that means they could operate through the CCCT without issue, and then be a diesel express to Norristown or something like that.
The first batch of FL9's had small pantographs that were used for shuttling around Grand Central terminal trackage where there were wide gaps in the third rail. The catenary there was only 600 VDC, not the 11 KV AC that is used on SEPTA. Those pantographs were also removed relatively quickly and later orders of FL9's did not have them.
 #1483321  by mcgrath618
 
glennk419 wrote:
mcgrath618 wrote:I know it’s a dumb fantasy, but it would be cool if SEPTA approached EMD and asked for an updated FL9, like an FL10. Those had pantographs IIRC, and that means they could operate through the CCCT without issue, and then be a diesel express to Norristown or something like that.
The first batch of FL9's had small pantographs that were used for shuttling around Grand Central terminal trackage where there were wide gaps in the third rail. The catenary there was only 600 VDC, not the 11 KV AC that is used on SEPTA. Those pantographs were also removed relatively quickly and later orders of FL9's did not have them.
My point was that it COULD be done. EMD could easily modify those things to make them work with SEPTA’s constraints.
Maybe I just think Bombardier and Siemens make ugly trains, and I’m just hoping we’ll see F units again.
 #1483333  by Nasadowsk
 
mcgrath618 wrote: Maybe I just think Bombardier and Siemens make ugly trains, and I’m just hoping we’ll see F units again.
Get used to it. Nobody's ever going to build anything like an F unit again. It's an ancient design. There's better now.

EMD is basically gone, anyway. The F-125s aren't doing too well, and they haven't sold any passenger power to anyone in years.
 #1483337  by ChesterValley
 
GE's been eliminating their locomotive division in Erie, and GE in general is trying to shed anything that they aren't number one in, and the EMD division is on the chopping block. Siemens would be better to try and get a custom Charger locomotive, but SEPTA would probably go with an ALP-45DP. Making a custom locomotive to conform to FRA crash standards is hard enough as it stands, and Stadler would be unlikely.

Being realistic, given SEPTA's history, copper out to Phoenixville would be the only real option they would consider unless they wanted to pull a NHSL extension from Valley Forge on top of the KOP spur out of their butts.
 #1483351  by zebrasepta
 
ChesterValley wrote:GE's been eliminating their locomotive division in Erie, and GE in general is trying to shed anything that they aren't number one in, and the EMD division is on the chopping block. Siemens would be better to try and get a custom Charger locomotive, but SEPTA would probably go with an ALP-45DP. Making a custom locomotive to conform to FRA crash standards is hard enough as it stands, and Stadler would be unlikely.

Being realistic, given SEPTA's history, copper out to Phoenixville would be the only real option they would consider unless they wanted to pull a NHSL extension from Valley Forge on top of the KOP spur out of their butts.
If SEPTA gets the money to electrify to Pottstown it would cost billions seeing how expensive the Wawa extension project has been and it would take over 100 years to finish the project looking at how slow the Wawa extension has been.
 #1483678  by dowlingm
 
There will almost certainly be surplus ALP45s in Montreal in a few years which depending on other potential buyers may be available for whatever change SEPTA happened to have under the cushions...
 #1484107  by ChesterValley
 
I took a closer look at the proposal from the consulting meeting found here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents ... 11/a446273, and another article from WHYY https://whyy.org/articles/a-long-shot-p ... -is-built/

What they are proposing is leasing rolling stock to run "Weekday peak periods...three rounds trips per day" while storing that equipment at Cromby. In conjunction with building three new stations at Phoenixville, Perkiomen junction, and Port Kennedy at a capital cost of 15 million and operating cost of 2.7 million. This does not include locomotive or rolling stock rental costs.
 #1484108  by mcgrath618
 
Basically, Phoenixville wants to just test the waters with this extension, and if the trains pull crowds, then after the testing period a full restoration of service would be considered.
 #1484261  by NorthPennLimited
 
Not sure how “crowded” the trains will be to Phoenixville for 2 reasons:

(1) it already takes SEPTA an hour to get a train from center city to Norristown. Add another 20 minutes to the current trip time and you loose your competitive edge against a highway.

(2) the current proposal calls for 3 trains (round trips per day) to Phoenixville. Unless you have a government job downtown with strict office hours, how do you work your schedule around the train schedule to Phoenixville if you have an early AM meeting or late meeting? Inconvenience in the schedule with sparse service will deter people with offices that require irregular hours or flex time.

All the same, I wish them the best of luck and commend their efforts to think outside the box to get the trains rolling
 #1484271  by ChesterValley
 
If they somehow pull this off, I'd be interested to see them use this type of programs on other lines. I would think there would be interest, considering Port Kennedy station is right next door to two big apartment complexes and the end of the 125 . The 99 bus also has some ridership, and the 422 corridor as we all know is always just a mess every rush hour with an increase in traffic for the foreseeable future. Admittedly, this proposal runs less trains per day than Cynwyd, which is troubling for ridership. A base of reverse commuters could also use this with adequate connecting buses.
 #1484292  by bikentransit
 
It's time to try something different. Not every line needs clock-face service. It works for Marc and others, so instead of shooting it down for that reason, give it a try. 422 and 76 are nightmare commutes. I can't believe people do it, but if they can lease some equipment and do some pilot stations, costs can be contained and we can get something rolling. We've had zero restoration here, it's time to look for other ways to do it.
 #1484466  by rr503
 
This isn't gonna work unless they can pull off hourly or better service during the day. One reason transit ridership in this nation is so damn low is because transit providers (and the people who fund them) forget that people need to move around beyond commutation. The lack of service to those markets/time periods all but forces folks to keep/use a car, weakening the case for them to use transit at all. So really, then, your clientele becomes those too poor to afford cars under any circumstances, and those who live in areas with traffic so bad that poorly managed rail systems are better. I'm all for them trying to pull off this extension with their own cash, but I think it will need more than 3rt.

Now if only we had dual mode DMUs...
bikentransit wrote:It's time to try something different. Not every line needs clock-face service. It works for Marc and others, so instead of shooting it down for that reason, give it a try. 422 and 76 are nightmare commutes. I can't believe people do it, but if they can lease some equipment and do some pilot stations, costs can be contained and we can get something rolling. We've had zero restoration here, it's time to look for other ways to do it.
MARC works precisely because D.C. is such a 9-5 town. Lots of people in government and virtually no nightlife to be seen. Philly -- and Phoenixville -- aren't that.
 #1484506  by mtuandrew
 
bikentransit wrote:Well start small and go from there. If all we can afford is a Yugo to get started, it's better than hoofing it.
But NS will charge Rolls Royce prices to use the Harrisburg Line, it would cost Bugatti prices to build along the NS ROW, and it would cost Koenigsegg prices to rebuild on the north bank. Why run a Yugo on an autobahn?
 #1484534  by ExCon90
 
Also, if initial ridership is low because of scant frequency, such as lack of a couple of "cleanup" trains after the pm rush hour, it may be difficult to get funding for expansion of service, making the initial low ridership a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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