by Mdlbigcat
Maybe some of the old-timers would remember this story, but the old 01100 Orange Line cars nearly escaped the scrappers torch in the early 80's. What happened? Here's the story:
In 1979, with the Hawker-Siddely cars on the way, the current Orange Line cars were only around 22 years old, and these cars had a lot of life left. Also in 1979, David Gunn had quit his #2 post at the MBTA, and had accepted the GM position at SEPTA. As soon as he started the position, his first major crisis hit. The Broad St Subway fleet was slowly failing as the old [1928] car fleet was literally dropping like flies. During this time, about 30 cars were left in operable condition, with the concurrent massive delays in service. The new subway cars were in the process of being ordered, so any relief was 3 or so years away, so Gunn had the idea of importing the old Orange Line cars to run on the Broad St Subway. Negotiations were opened between SEPTA and the T and while they were going on, trouble struck! Hawker-Siddely went on strike, and the new Orange Line/Blue Line cars were put on hold. The planned transition was postponed for about a year and a half, and during that time Kawasaki was almost ready to deliver the new cars for SEPTA. So the idea died since SEPTA had cobbled enough old BSS cars to meet schedules [it was also helped by the closure of the Ridge Spur due to the construction of the Regional Rail Tunnel through Center City Philly.],and they did not want to go through two acceptance procedures for subway cars. So sadly the 01100 Orange line cars did not live to carry more people elsewhere. When the 01200 cars arrived, the Orange Line cars were replaced, and most of them went to the scrapper at the tender age of 24.
What do you think of this story?
In 1979, with the Hawker-Siddely cars on the way, the current Orange Line cars were only around 22 years old, and these cars had a lot of life left. Also in 1979, David Gunn had quit his #2 post at the MBTA, and had accepted the GM position at SEPTA. As soon as he started the position, his first major crisis hit. The Broad St Subway fleet was slowly failing as the old [1928] car fleet was literally dropping like flies. During this time, about 30 cars were left in operable condition, with the concurrent massive delays in service. The new subway cars were in the process of being ordered, so any relief was 3 or so years away, so Gunn had the idea of importing the old Orange Line cars to run on the Broad St Subway. Negotiations were opened between SEPTA and the T and while they were going on, trouble struck! Hawker-Siddely went on strike, and the new Orange Line/Blue Line cars were put on hold. The planned transition was postponed for about a year and a half, and during that time Kawasaki was almost ready to deliver the new cars for SEPTA. So the idea died since SEPTA had cobbled enough old BSS cars to meet schedules [it was also helped by the closure of the Ridge Spur due to the construction of the Regional Rail Tunnel through Center City Philly.],and they did not want to go through two acceptance procedures for subway cars. So sadly the 01100 Orange line cars did not live to carry more people elsewhere. When the 01200 cars arrived, the Orange Line cars were replaced, and most of them went to the scrapper at the tender age of 24.
What do you think of this story?
69th St. Train Making All stops.......Doors are Closing!
