What Should A SilverLiner VI Look Like?

Matthew Mitchell wrote:As Bob points out, it's a packaging problem, but sharing equipment across two or three cars makes it easier.

BMT Triplex?

rbreslow wrote:Ah! Here is an idea. How about each train near the top has a colored strip to the line it runs on similar to the Aiport III's. You would always know what train you were getting on, but then again if some of the Blue CHW ones were being repaired they would have you bring in for example a Purple Throndale one.

Here's a crazy idea.

How about these hard plastic "plates" that have printed on them a train destination... and even a number!

Eventually we can even paint them with a color. Yellow or Red or Maroon or Blue or Green.... We can then swap them out amongst the trains as their destinations and traffic loading changes.

Far out, I know.

rbreslow wrote:Ah! Here is an idea. How about each train near the top has a colored strip to the line it runs on similar to the Aiport III's. You would always know what train you were getting on, but then again if some of the Blue CHW ones were being repaired they would have you bring in for example a Purple Throndale one.

I apologize in advance if you meant this in jest, rbreslow, but: this is a laughably bad idea. The reason that the Silverliner IIIs designed and branded for Airport service didnt' work out is that it's never a good idea to create a "captive sub-fleet" that can only be used on one line/service. It's incredibly inefficient from a car utilization standpoint, and you've already tumbled to a huge issue - when you don't have enough of the appropriately painted cars to serve a given line, you have to substitute cars from other lines. This would be ridiculous.

There are many other reasons why this is not at all a good idea, but I think those two are sufficient. As I said, if you were joking, I apologize. If you weren't joking, well....maybe you learned something.

jb9152 wrote:

rbreslow wrote:Ah! Here is an idea. How about each train near the top has a colored strip to the line it runs on similar to the Aiport III's. You would always know what train you were getting on, but then again if some of the Blue CHW ones were being repaired they would have you bring in for example a Purple Throndale one.

I apologize in advance if you meant this in jest, rbreslow, but: this is a laughably bad idea. The reason that the Silverliner IIIs designed and branded for Airport service didnt' work out is that it's never a good idea to create a "captive sub-fleet" that can only be used on one line/service. It's incredibly inefficient from a car utilization standpoint, and you've already tumbled to a huge issue - when you don't have enough of the appropriately painted cars to serve a given line, you have to substitute cars from other lines. This would be ridiculous.

There are many other reasons why this is not at all a good idea, but I think those two are sufficient. As I said, if you were joking, I apologize. If you weren't joking, well....maybe you learned something.

Actually I was not joking. As I started writing you may have noticed how I then turned down the idea. "but then again if some of the Blue CHW ones were being repaired they would have you bring in for example a Purple Throndale one so I get why they got rid of the Aiport ones."

And this is how through civil conversation, we all learn and understand both sides of anything.

rbreslow wrote:Actually I was not joking. As I started writing you may have noticed how I then turned down the idea. "but then again if some of the Blue CHW ones were being repaired they would have you bring in for example a Purple Throndale one so I get why they got rid of the Aiport ones."

Ah, OK. Simple rule is - never create a captive sub-fleet. It's the reason why, for example, Amtrak is VERY interested in the interoperability of the various "flavors" of PTC. If they would need, for example, to have one locomotive that works with ETMS and another that works with ITCS and yet another that works with ACSES, it becomes very inefficient operationally . Much better for SEPTA, with any future fleet decisions such as the Silverline VI, to go for homogeneity. Better for operations, better for maintenance (common spare parts inventory and maintenance/inspection procedures), and better from the customers' standpoint (similar seating and door arrangements).

If color is the issue, there's no longer any need to create captive cars. It seems to me that LED technology has advanced to the point where the cars could be outfitted with some form of striping that could simply be changed as needed to indicate the appropriate service.

I'm more concerned about the captive equipment we already have as a result of incompatible track gauges, third-rail configurations, couplers, etc.