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What was the WORST piece of equipment SEPTA ran?
Topic Started: Jul 8 2007, 10:32 PM (2,650 Views)
frankl3217
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Neoei3318
Jul 20 2007, 06:21 PM
As Someone who lived in South Philly along the 47, I can share that pain quite easily. It dosen't matter which direction you're going, as soon as you hit Market, One lumpsome of peeps gets off the bus in exchange of another.

I think the South Philly end is ALOT worse, as you have to fight traffic down the bottlenecks at Walnut, all the way down to South St. plus Washington/Passyunk Avenues. The bus doesn't clear out until you hit Tasker/Morris.


isn't that the truth about the 47!

i also lived along the 47 in south philly and used it quite often from arch street to shunk street. in my opinion i have to agree about the bus load of people getting off at market and another load getting on. there have been many times where the 47 was packed and just passed by waiting passengers between chestnut st and washington ave and this was before the route got extended from 8th and oregon to whitman plaza

does any one remember when the BSL trains doors would open up while the trains were moving?

the AMG trackless trolleys frequently broke down on the 79. the over head wires prior to 1986 were not in the best shape either with an occasional power outage shutting down the while line and a bunch of 800's parked in the middle of snyder ave at various stops with the poles pulled down as diesel's (6000 series flxibles) were sent in for emergency service
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septaman
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Nabi's were the worst piece of equipment because sometimes the front door makes a loud hissing sound when the door opens.
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philabob1
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Quote:
 
does any one remember when the BSL trains doors would open up while the trains were moving?



Yes, the good ol' days... I remember someone holding a door for someone else to board and that door didn't close again while I was on the train (Walnut to Tasker-Morris). A little excitement...
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philabob1
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I always thought of the artics to be one of the quieter buses in the back. However, the engine sounds really suspect. I agree with you about the hills - i was on 7158 when it broke down on Ridge Ave. It really doesn't help that there's a stop on the hill for Wissahicken Station.

Don't give up on artics - our city needs them. It would be good, though, to have them with more powerful engines. It's hilarious that there are 35ft buses with ISMs while our artics only have DD50s...especially with those hills. Perhaps hybrids would be best.



I think the artics should go where needed. 33, 48 and 60, maybe 65, but the other Allegheny routes don't seem to need them around the clock (and didn't get them when Allegheny had a mixture of 40' and 60' buses). Not sure 6 absolutely needs them and, if so, it can be out of Midvale. 17, 47 and 52 probably could use them.

The hills kill the artics. I've been on my share of them that don't make it or barely make it, and getting rid of the stops on the hills isn't a good option (keep in mind that Ridge Ave is one long hill from Main St to Hermit St and, on 27, there are two other significant hills on Manayunk Ave). In the summer, they overheat, in the winter, they get stuck on ice/snow. The problem is that SEPTA has built the 27 schedule around the artics (and this is why the ridership is down - too long a wait between buses, especially in the peaks), so the higher seating capacity is only needed because of the level of service. In midday, night and weekend service, the artics are unneeded on 27.

When the Volvos failed on the hills, SEPTA said it was because of the 'mid-ship' engine/drive train location. So the Neo's came as 'pushers'. This is OK except in slippery weather, and barely OK on dry pavement at that.
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CACrafter88bk2504
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Anyone remember when the Subway-Surface Kawasaki cars had a blue marker light on the right side, next to the front destination sign, above the front entrance doors?

The 1982 Neo AK 40 foot model buses 8285-8410 & 8411-8434(8413 was manufactured in January 1983) had wheelchair lifts in the back, with two black towers up against both ends of the rear exit, housing the wheelchair lift controls.

Finally, anyone recall the Neoplans numbered between 8285-8875 having the "wait for green light, touch bars to open back doors"?

I think the 3000-3251 group may have had them as well but by the time the 3252-3371 group started arriving, the touch bars to open the back doors approach was dropped, laying the chore of opening the back door on the laps of the operators.

Anyone recall the aformentioned listed above?
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philabob1
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However, if you want an Artic ride wuth some cahones, try the hawk on the 65 on a Friday night. The trip is only scheduled for 25-30 minutes and the operator will hold to that promise. There were times where I had to hold on to the seat handle. Trust me.


There were operators on 27 on runs just after the evening peak that would try and set speed records on the Expressway outbound. (There could still be - I don't ride it regularly any more.) Some would come around the Vine St on-ramp from 16th St as if on 3 wheels, and if the Expressway were 'open' they'd come on (already in the left lane from the entrance) and open up. The problem was that they'd hit Wissahickon early and then have to wait to catch up time, particularly if they were Mall trips that couldn't run 'hot'. More often than not, a T-car was at Wissahickon, so they couldn't leave early.

A few times the ops must've known the T-car would be there (probably saw it on the preceding inbound?) and would dog it across the City Ave bridge to somehow glide into Wissahickon stop on time.

When the Volvos were on the line, the back ends had little weight and would often sway at speed. One would often see people getting out of the rear section en route, moving up front, from fear or whatever. I watched a woman sit through this once in the seat across the aisle from me and then go to the front at Wissahickon, where we waited while she leaned over the bridge rail and lost her lunch. I guess she asked the op to wait since he did and she reboarded once she was done with her duty.
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frankl3217
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CACrafter88bk2504
Jul 23 2007, 03:18 PM
The 1982 Neo AK 40 foot model buses 8285-8410 & 8411-8434(8413 was manufactured in January 1983) had wheelchair lifts in the back, with two black towers up against both ends of the rear exit, housing the wheelchair lift controls.

Finally, anyone recall the Neoplans numbered between 8285-8875 having the "wait for green light, touch bars to open back doors"?

I think the 3000-3251 group may have had them as well but by the time the 3252-3371 group started arriving, the touch bars to open the back doors approach was dropped, laying the chore of opening the back door on the laps of the operators.

Anyone recall the aformentioned listed above?

yes ... i remember the black wheel chair lift towers with yellow caution stripes by the bcak doors. they stuck out like a sore thumb. i've actually seen one in use one time.the controls are inside one of the towers and they moved so slow.

from what i can recall, all of the 8000 and 3000 series neo's i have been on had the green lights above the bcak doors. i do not remember the touch bars although the old gm fishbowls (4000 series) and flxibles (6000 series) did have them

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frankl3217
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septaman
Jul 22 2007, 08:34 PM
Nabi's were the worst piece of equipment because sometimes the front door makes a loud hissing sound when the door opens.

yep thats true, but the AMG trackless as well as the old GM fishbowls (4000 series) and Flxibles (6000 series) front and rear doors made even worse (and louder)hissing sounds
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ctrabs74
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philabob1
Jul 23 2007, 12:05 PM
I think the artics should go where needed. 33, 48 and 60, maybe 65, but the other Allegheny routes don't seem to need them around the clock (and didn't get them when Allegheny had a mixture of 40' and 60' buses). Not sure 6 absolutely needs them and, if so, it can be out of Midvale. 17, 47 and 52 probably could use them.

I could agree with you on the Midvale portion of the 47, but unless you move the 17 or 52 to Allegheny or Callowhill, it won't happen anytime soon.
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septaman
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The K needs artics during AM rush hours and PM rush hours.
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