Trolley switch

[poplar]

For most of the week I've seen the 15 trolley turn into either buses or new white and blue trolleys, the ugly kind that exist in the rest of the city. Does anyone know if the retro green/beige trolleys have gotten axed?

[Moonraker]

The PCC trolleys have not been discontinued, though having temporary changes in service can occur, though rare.

[Andy Sharpe]

I believe the PCC (green) trolleys are/were not being run due to the snow. Look for them next week. As for the buses, SEPTA has intermingled buses with trolleys on the Route 15 for a long time.

[Moonraker]

The SEPTA Web site this morning has eliminated the Travel Alert for bus replacement of the 8.2-mile Girard Avenue corridor of Route 15. It was bused
during the weekend blizzard over its full length from 63-Girard in west Philadelphia to Richmond-Westmoreland loop at Port Richmond near the Delaware River. Apparently SEPTA was concerned about the decision to take the cars off the Route 15 - presumably to prevent breakdowns and have the cars available for Monday. The concern was that without trolleys on the the track would become packed with ice and snow and be non-operable. That apparently was the case as Septa was admitting to operating buses. It could have something to do with the solid state, electronic chopper control that the PCC II's have. The original PCC cars were cam control. The newer "K" cars also have solid state controls and run fine in the the snow. The spin-slide will pick up from slippery rail. SEPTA does lose cars in snow storms largely from snow/ice/water causing damage to various pieces of electrical equipment under the cars. In other words, things could blow up when the whole underside of the car becomes a rolling snowball from bucking snowdrifts. The K cars are susceptible to air problems in extreme cold. That's always been an issue with them.

[poplar]

thanks for the info and checking the website, Moonraker. I was worried as the green cars were running during the snowfall, but then disappeared. They're back today. I realized I'd miss them a lot when the new ones came rolling by. They're comparably charmless and noisier.

[mixiboi]

Yeah, if the next snow storm hits as bad, expect them to be shelved again.

Also they may be shelved for a little bit, as SEPTA has to create the new loop in Fishtown in the summer of 2010 due to the destruction of the Girard to Richmond Bridge.