#4 Red Line Cars 1900-2151

yeah I saw those new Orange Line traincars at Cabot Yard from the Southeast Expressway over the weekend

What I'm seeing here is a 01800 pair stripped. Are some being used for parts until new cars are in service?

01816-01817 have been out of service due to lack of parts availability for at least fifteen years. There is one other pair of 01800s out due to derailment damage as well, and I expect those are having parts borrowed to keep the rest of the fleet intact too. Whether or not the CRRC cars are successful, it is doubtful either pair will ever see service again. The 01800s were among the first subway cars in the US to utilize AC traction, and their propulsion systems are somewhat unicorns. Parts availability for them was a problem starting very early on.

Plus GE leaving the transit motor control business didn't help, another reason the 01800s are also to be replaced. What's left of GE's rail business(mostly locomotives) was bought by competitor WABTEC(Westinghouse).

jwhite07 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:09 am The 01800s were among the first subway cars in the US to utilize AC traction, and their propulsion
systems are somewhat unicorns. Parts availability for them was a problem starting very early on.

The 01800s are a rare use of GE AC traction (also on NYCT's R110B). The GE AC traction system is a GTO.
GE's 1996 Transit Product Catalog is on Wayback Machine.

A shame about the 1800 series having to be replaced after less than thirty years . Nice cars these were. Liked them a lot since I watched them going into service in the mid-1990s.

Will the Chinese cars become unicorns?

Maybe not, but by the time all of the production delays, pandemics, failures, redesigns, and accidents are over with, the MBTA will have some number fewer than the original number of CRRC cars that they ordered, and they will be technologically obsolete by then.

Youre right, Ian (Head-End). The large RFW's of them will be missed as well as the cab access door RFWs of the older trains.

But Im also looking forward to the new 01900s although they will have a cab access door RFW like MNR's M8s but with the shades down mostly

Has there been any news or updates when the 1900s will return back into service like the OL cars have?

From what I read it’s by the end of the year after the modifications are made to the bearer pads and other neccessary fixes that they made to the orange line cars.

I sure hope so as far as December is concerned for the 01900s to return to service. Id sure would love to ride them and take my video of them. 01816/01817 by the way went down to Otis Joint base for special use

Update on approximately when more new red line cars may be coming: https://www.mbta.com/news/2022-01-05/te ... m=red-line

The past few days, the cars have been out for a limited time. They doing test runs or they carrying passengers?

They are actrually carrying civilian passengers once again. But now with the completion and opening of the new Red Line test track and associated railcar facility and employee training center right at the end of the test track, this will mean the next several new trainsets will be able to take civilian customers sonner rather than later