#14 Orange Line Cars 1400-1551 (From Red/Orange Procurement discussion)

I hope the new CRRC Orange Line traincars get here soon now that things have or will get back to normal with the railcar manufacturer

Robert Paniagua wrote: ↑Tue Nov 24, 2020 11:10 am I hope the new CRRC Orange Line traincars get here soon now that things have or will get back to normal with the railcar manufacturer

CRRC was way behind even before the pandemic. The order is expected to be at least 15 months late, and I don't see that improving as the pandemic surges once again. I'm not sure that CRRC's Massachusetts plant can be considered to be "back to normal" at this point.

Uh, I hope that maybe when this mess is over that they can resume production of these new trains

I don’t see any kind of normal happening until most people get vaccinated. Until then, I see this as a catch up game which will take time. How long? We will have to see what time says.

DOes anyone know if the latest pre-CRRC stock is still in service and not completely retired? Because...

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... erailment/

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has taken its new Orange Line and Red Line subway cars out of service as it investigates Tuesday’s low-speed derailment of a train with 100 passengers aboard. The Boston Herald also reports a bus bridge around the accident site at Wellingon station in Medford, Mass., between the Oak Grove and Sullivan stations, will remain in place for three weeks as MBTA crews repair a switch damaged in the derailment and perform other infrastructure work. MBTA Deputy Press Secretary Lisa Battison said the cars built in Springfield, Mass., by a subsidiary of Chinese equipment manufacturer CRRC are being removed from service “out of an abundance of caution … to allow vehicle engineers to perform a thorough analysis of the cars’ performance.” A total of four trainsets are being sidelined.

If not, then...

Plenty of 01200s in service. Only 4 sets of 01400s in service and taken out, according to this:
https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/03/17 ... erailment/

The Hawker-Siddley 1200 Orange Line cars are 40-42 years old, and IIRC never rebuilt.

Problem again with the side bearers:
https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/05/10 ... f-service/

On a model train or a toy train a truck (bogie) that is not fixed contacts the car body only at the kingpin. On a "real" train, going around a curve, the kingpin can't hold the car perfectly upright and the outside of the truck frame (specifically the outer end of the truck bolster) leans on the underside of the car body (specifically on a fixed bolster under the car). The truck must turn freely at all times, which is nearly true on a model train with just the kingpin attachment. But for the real train, a sliding bearing system is needed on each side of the kingpin to allow for the turning of the truck going around a curve. If the truck cannot turn freely, it of course derails. One system used in the past has a round bolster (actually think: pizza crust sections instead of a full circle) mounted horizontally under the car body and above the trucks. The truck bolster has little wheels at the outer ends to roll back and forth under the theoretically smooth and flat rim of this special car bolster.

At any rate, the problem mentioned for the new Red Line and Orange Line cars is that the trucks are not rotating freely enough.

From Trains:

MBTA Deputy General Manager Jeff Gonneville said tests on the cars have found that as their mileage increases, it takes increasing force to turn the truck frames, and that investigators are looking at a component known as a side bearer pad, which regulates rotational force on the truck.

Disney Guy wrote:On a model train or a toy train a truck (bogie) that is not fixed contacts the car body only at the kingpin. On a "real" train, going around a curve, the kingpin can't hold the car perfectly upright and the outside of the truck frame (specifically the outer end of the truck bolster) leans on the underside of the car body (specifically on a fixed bolster under the car).

You forgot to mention the PCC in your avatar uses the kingpin method.

Another article on the side bearer problem:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/05/16/ ... foot-long/

The Boston Globe wrote:When one of the few new trains to have graced the Orange Line derailed in March and disrupted subway service for weeks, transit officials at first suggested it was unlikely the problem was caused by the vehicles themselves.

And since the derailment occurred along a section of track that was undergoing repairs, it seemed likely at the time that the culprit would be aging rails or a faulty switch, not brand-new train cars. Still, as a precaution, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority pulled all the new subway cars from service — four trainsets from the Orange Line and one from the Red Line — while investigating.

The caution, it turned out, was warranted. Following a series of tests, the MBTA last week revealed that the undersides of the new trains are not turning properly as they accumulate more miles — an effect that officials now say played a key role in the March 16 derailment.

Any updates on the investigation since the new orange line cars derailed? It’s been out of service basically the entire summer.

I did note that MBTA took delivery of six more Orange Line cars in June and July, which would suggest there has been some progress in a redesign or a fix (why would the MBTA accept cars they will need to retrofit on the property versus at the manufacturer?). There has been no proclamation about a fix being found and a return to service, nor have there been any new Red Line car deliveries since both CRRC fleets were removed from service four months ago.

Would CRRC have to deliver cars to the T to make room in the factory to assemble more? The cars would of course not be accepted until all of the fixes are made. Now, are the cars run in the subway for testing without passengers while sidelined? This would speed up the acceptances.