Subway-Surface tunnel MOW blitz

[chuchubob]

SEPTA closes the tunnel to trolleys for one week and the attached weekends each August. It is happening this week. Hi-rail trucks at 30th Street westbound.
All routes that use the tunnel are on surface diversion routes during the blitz.
Route 10 on Filbert Street.
The other routes go north on 38th Street, west on Filbert, and south on 40th. Route 13 turning from Filbert onto 40th.
Route 11 turning onto 40th.
Route 34 waiting to turn onto 40th and on 40th crossing Market.

[ExCon90]

Very rare shots--and you can only plan to get them one week a year. (And how often do you see a broad-gauge hi-rail?)

[JeffK]

(And how often do you see a broad-gauge hi-rail?)

I wonder if they're variable gauge. I don't know if they're dedicated for trolley MOW which is all broad-gauge, or if they're used to service other parts of the system as well.

[ExCon90]

I don't know what SEPTA uses on the P&W, but if they really are variable-gauge they would be really unique!

[JeffK]

Much of the P&W equipment seems to be dedicated. They recently acquired a kind of "Swiss army knife" vehicle that can be configured for just about anything from laying track to snow removal.

Another factor is that the P&W's physically isolated, so transferring any of the heavy equipment could be cumbersome. It would have to be loaded onto a flatbed, most likely via the King Manor turnout.