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The "Pennliner" SEPTA Neos as delivered
Topic Started: Jul 8 2012, 01:56 PM (5,252 Views)
CACrafter88bk2504
Transit Historian
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Neos 8450-8459 were sent to Southern for the Airport Express until the Airport Line was complete and ready for revenue service on May 9, 1985. 8450-8459 were immediately moved to Frankford afterwards.
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NeoArtic7101
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rest in peace to all AN440's that ran the Philadelphia area streets
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CACrafter88bk2504
Jul 15 2012, 11:52 AM
@ philabob 1, thanks.

Frankford got the big assignment of Neo BDs(8435-8561). 8435-8444 were assigned to Luzerne shortly after Frankford's order of BDs was complete, but eventually Luzerne got 8435-8444, and Luzerne kept the 8435-8444 until Germantown closed to bus operations in May 1993, then the 8435,8436, 8437, 8439, 8441, 8442 and 8444 were re assigned to Frankford.

The 8435-8444 group was mainly intended for Frankford usage, but got re assigned to Luzerne after the 6 went bus in January 1986(the 53 went bus in May 1985). By the time Germantown's faced it's impending closure, the 8440 was long gone after an accident in Huntingdon Valley either in 1988 or 1989(someone stole the bus and drove off with it, eventually crashing the Neo 8440). the 8438 had gotten fully overhauled sometime in 1990, received the engine cover that was prevalent on the Neo 3000s. what happened to the 8438 and 8443, I am not sure.

Germantown received the big Neo BM order(8601-8665). 8666-8670 were orignally assigned to Southern but were probably re assigned to Germantown after the S/26 were seperated and the S became the 18 in June 1985. The 26 was extended to Bridge and Pratt. Orignally, the S/26 routing went as far as Frankford and Harbison(Bridge and Harbison on rush hour trips?)
Germantown also had a big order of the 1985 AN440's (CD's)... if I can remember, it was 8726-8750 or something like that. I am going off of childhood memory, someone correct me if I am wrong. To me, in the 1990's, I thought SEPTA was the ish with the AN440's. I just wish they had AN460's a long time ago.

I am not gonna lie, the Neoplans I disliked the most were the DK's/EB's and the CD's though, but it was an immature reason why. Because the CD's didn't have the rippled engine covers... lol and the DK's/EB's because they didn't have a wheelchair lift like the EI's and EZ's.
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CACrafter88bk2504
Transit Historian
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The Neo CDs DID have the ribbed engine covers. Neo CD 8740kept it's ribbed engine cover from it's Germantown days. 8740 went to both Frankford and Callowhill with it.

The 8740 MAY have made it's way to Comly. The 8740 may have been one of the earlier casualties.
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thelemaque87
Transit Fan
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Hey I wanted to say that back in the fall of 1993, me and my late mother, Adrienne, took a ride on route K which was Neo 8438 going to Arrott Terminal. It was actually one of the first Neoplan BD series I gotten on. It was a treat as well. The last BD I rode was 8560 on route J to Richmond and Orthodox when it was on its last legs. Lot of memories from the Neoplan era.....
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thelemaque87
Transit Fan
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CACrafter88bk2504
Jul 16 2012, 10:06 PM
The Neo CDs DID have the ribbed engine covers. Neo CD 8740kept it's ribbed engine cover from it's Germantown days. 8740 went to both Frankford and Callowhill with it.

The 8740 MAY have made it's way to Comly. The 8740 may have been one of the earlier casualties.
Let's not forget about Neoplan 8725 which had a ribbed engine cover and ended up catching fire at Victory Depot in 1994...then it was scrapped immediately.
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MichaelBug
Advanced Transit Fan
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thelemaque87
Jul 16 2012, 11:39 PM
CACrafter88bk2504
Jul 16 2012, 10:06 PM
The Neo CDs DID have the ribbed engine covers. Neo CD 8740kept it's ribbed engine cover from it's Germantown days. 8740 went to both Frankford and Callowhill with it.

The 8740 MAY have made it's way to Comly. The 8740 may have been one of the earlier casualties.
Let's not forget about Neoplan 8725 which had a ribbed engine cover and ended up catching fire at Victory Depot in 1994...then it was scrapped immediately.
As the photo of 8725's burned-out rear (link earlier in this thread) demostrates, the ribbed engine covers were not replaced, only covered over by flat panels for ad placement (when SEPTA resumed advertising on the exteriors of buses in the early 1990's).

SEPTA did not advertise on bus exteriors throughout most of the 1980's. If the Neoplans were ordered today, no doubt SEPTA would have spec'ed them with the later flat engine covers from the get-go.
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thelemaque87
Transit Fan
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CACrafter88bk2504
Jul 16 2012, 10:06 PM
The Neo CDs DID have the ribbed engine covers. Neo CD 8740kept it's ribbed engine cover from it's Germantown days. 8740 went to both Frankford and Callowhill with it.

The 8740 MAY have made it's way to Comly. The 8740 may have been one of the earlier casualties.
Hey i wanted to know do you remember what routes you saw the 8289 and 8299 working on from your experience back in 80s or 90s??
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MichaelBug
Advanced Transit Fan
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I remember well one of the last rides I took on a suburban-spec Neoplan-it was on bus 8704 in the summer of 2001. At that time, 8704, which had long been a Victory Division bus, called Comly home. I rode it on the RRD shuttle operation between Jenkintown & Ambler, while SEPTA replaced a bridge in Fort Washington that had been washed out in a flash flood.

That shuttle consisted of express trips (via the PA 309 expressway) between the two stations, plus local trips for the intermediate stops like Glenside, Oreland, & North Hills. Basically, you could expect to see almost anything SEPTA ran at the time. It was a hot day, and I distinctly remember 8704 stalling out several times enroute. At that time, the first 5400-series New Flyers were hitting the streets, & I knew that that trip would likely be my last on the 1984 group of Neos.

As things turned out, that was indeed the case. I did get to ride 8852 (long at Frontier) one day on the 12 about 1 1/2 years later...but after that, the only other two rides I have taken on Neoplan AN440s since then were in early 2008 in Los Angeles on LACMTA's Line 20 to Santa Monica (the bus being one of their 6400-series), & a couple months later on the Farewell Charter with 3427.
Edited by MichaelBug, Jul 19 2012, 03:24 PM.
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CACrafter88bk2504
Transit Historian
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@ MichaelBug, the 8852 did not make it past the spring of 2002. By June 2002, All of the 8000 series Neos were off the streets. Some of the last times I spotted Neo BMs and CDs were 8737 and 8739 on the Southern contignent of the C in December 2001, the 8852 and the 8705 on the Southern contingent of the C just days before Christmas 2001, the 8622 on H/XH in on Friday December 28, 2001, 8631 on a pullin to Midvale coming off the 23 in early 2002, 8633 on the XH in February 2002(with a scrambled screen).

The 8852 was originally assigned to Victory(as were 8851, 8853-8875). The 8704 was originally a Fronier bus(as were 8698-8703 and 8705) and were all(including 8704)re assigned to Victory in 1986 when Victory renumbered it's routes in southern Delaware County, the re birth of the 112 and the extension of the 110 beyond Springfield.
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thelemaque87
Transit Fan
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CACrafter88bk2504
Jul 19 2012, 07:09 PM
@ MichaelBug, the 8852 did not make it past the spring of 2002. By June 2002, All of the 8000 series Neos were off the streets. Some of the last times I spotted Neo BMs and CDs were 8737 and 8739 on the Southern contignent of the C in December 2001, the 8852 and the 8705 on the Southern contingent of the C just days before Christmas 2001, the 8622 on H/XH in on Friday December 28, 2001, 8631 on a pullin to Midvale coming off the 23 in early 2002, 8633 on the XH in February 2002(with a scrambled screen).

The 8852 was originally assigned to Victory(as were 8851, 8853-8875). The 8704 was originally a Fronier bus(as were 8698-8703 and 8705) and were all(including 8704)re assigned to Victory in 1986 when Victory renumbered it's routes in southern Delaware County, the re birth of the 112 and the extension of the 110 beyond Springfield.
Do you remember what routes you saw the Neoplan 8289 and 8299 working on from your experience?
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