Seashore Trolley Museum Discussion

ck4049 wrote:I believe the Hawkers moved on their own motors but the 3424 had to be towed because it does not have poles yet.

3424 requires much electrical testing before it can run. The roof is leaky and the water drained down into the electrical compartments during its two years of dead storage at Riverside.

The #4 Blue Line cars now have two poles, and I'm told they made a maiden trip up the main line the other day. If not for Members' Day, they'll definitely be running for Transit Day.

1304 is apparently set for dedication on Members' Day, and made a members-only test trip to Talbott Park today.

225 has been getting looked at up in the shop, so I expect it'll be back in the operating fleet sometime reasonably soon (that may not be until next year, but still...)

639 was pulled from service today due to a pair of hot bearings. Also, motors 1 and 2 have excessive side-to-side motion in the armature.

434D is unofficially back in service after having its bearings repaired. Though it hasn't been inspected, the shortage of operable equipment forced the shop to release it anyway.

Finally, at some point in the last month that damn crane was moved from Riverside 2 and placed somewhere out of sight where it belongs, liberating 1700, 100, 1227, and the other cars stored on that track.

Cant wait for Members Day on Saturday! That'll be my first trip up there this year!

I was lucky to ride 1304 on it's test run Saturday. If you haven't seen the car recently, definitely check it out Saturday. It looks beautiful inside and out, and rides great. Saturday the 1304 crew was still working on some tweaks to the control systems on the car, but even if it's not tuned up 100% it's still a great ride.

The crane (3246) is now up in the shop yard, about where 300 used to hang out.

Operating cars over the next couple weeks look to be Dallas 434, ConnCo 303 (no surprise there), and BERy 5821 (soon, was getting some TLC in the shop when I was up Saturday). Chicago 225 is on deck for servicing, but use may be restricted to peak periods (i.e., Pumpkin Patch). ConnCo 1160 is awaiting the return of it's wheelset which is being addressed by an outside shop.

Members Day 2011 was ALOT of fun! The 1304 & the Blue Line 0600s ran for the public!

Transit Day this year was quite interesting, and not in the good way. The first photo runby of the day was cancelled due to 1304 still being worked on by the shop. Instead, it was decided to do a second run with 0210/01000. That trip didn't even get as far as Meserve's before the hook on 01000's second pole broke off, sending the pole up right into one of the wire hangars, in the process both breaking the hangar off the trolley wire and bending the pole back almost 180 degrees. A 5 MPH speed restriction was immediately put in place at that location and will remain until permanent repairs can be made.

In the afternoon, line car 3283 was sent out behind 0622-0623 to make temporary repairs to the overhead, which were successful (not being an expert on overhead, though, I can't tell you how much more needs to be done to eliminate the speed restriction). While repairs were being made, the Blue Line cars came back down to the stop sign south of Tower 1, and were then sent back up to Biddeford Switch, whereupon they lost their air and were marooned for nearly 90 minutes. Once 3283 returned from making repairs, 5821 and 639 were sent out to rescue the passengers on the Blue Line cars; the latter returned empty, while the former "looked like it had just left Park Street during rush hour" - it was standing room only. Subsequently, a regular 4:15 trip went out to the top of the hill and back while 5106 was prepped to tow the Blue Line cars back. That turned out to be unnecessary, as they managed to fix the air problem at Biddeford Switch without further assistance.

There were also two occasions today where there was so much radio chatter, the dispatcher had to tell everyone to shut up (he put it more politely, of course).

I'll have pictures up in a day or so, including shots taken up on the line car.

Here are my photos, starting with the third row.

Transit Day this year included much chaos, but was still very successful. Our NYC Hi-V ran for the public, an extremely rare opportunity, buses roved continuously around the property as usual, and the Subway service ran mostly as expected. The Elevated Train problem was the most damaging, although that's not to say that any of the damage was significant. A broken hanger is a simple problem which is easily fixed (nothing actually broke, the hanger simply clamps onto the wire and it let go when the pole hit it, preventing actual damage to the overhead system and a more dangerous situation. This is how it's designed to react, and it worked properly), and the repair was completed by the end of the day. 01000's pole has already been replaced and the car is now ok for service. The blue line cars' broblem was a stuck valve in 0623's controller. When either controller was set to release, there was a conflict between valves in the brake system which prevented a full release (which is exactly what you want to happen when something doesn't work right). The valve reset itself when the cars' tanks drained overnight, and the cars ran fine the next day. They are also OK for service at this point, and we now are better prepared to troubleshoot and solve minor problems like this in the field and avoid such delays. Don't forget that Seashore is also an educational organization. We aren't only there to educate our visitors, but also ourselves. Everything that happened was a learning experience for all of us involved, and should be appreciated as such. The other important part is that despite equipment failures, we got the service over the road and everyone who rode or ran it returned safely.

With antique equipment, it should be expected that some situations are going to arise. It was stressful but fun and exciting day for the crews (self included), and I've heard plenty of positive feedback from our members and visitors who attended the event.

It should be stressed that the repair to the overhead is temporary in nature, and a permanent fix will have to be made when the operating season is over. As I understand it, the hangar needs to be replaced with a new one that can hold the wire closer to the outside of the curve. For the time being, though, we can operate through the area with a speed restriction.

Yesterday was a good day to come up if you wanted variety. With 5 crewmembers besides the dispatcher, and only small crowds, we were able to shuffle cars in and out of service all day. 5821, 38, 639, 1227, 225, and even 303 all made at least one trip. Despite the relatively chilly weather, 303's trip was the most popular; we billed it as an authentic Yale Bowl experience. The crews also enjoyed the variety, as it meant many of us finally got controller time on 225 and 1227.

It was a great day indeed, even if it felt like every switch on the railroad was lined against me every time I was taking a car in or out of the barns!

We had one couple visiting Bangor, ME I believe. One or both of them had lived in Wheeling, WV and Cleveland, OH prior to Maine, so we were able to offer them rides on a car from two out of three cities (and not the one from Maine!) with Wheeling 639 and Cleveland 1227 in service.

1227 is a sight to see in service. A truly massive streetcar, even more impressive when you imagine it hauling a trailer.

http://trolleymuseum.org/collection/bro ... d=01227SOH

What's the status of the trolleybus line? I was under the impression they were building a full line for the trolleybuses to run, but now I'm not so sure.

I'm planning on visiting Seashore for the 2012 Transit day. Hopefully by then the trolleybus line will be fully operational.

Plans exist for extending the trackless overhead, but nothing has actually been done yet.

They have cleared the area around the bus yard where the proposed site for the Northern loop will be. Besides that a few line poles have been added and the dirt roads have had some improvements.

Since Seashore got the articulated bus #518203 from Hamilton, Ontario, would they be interested in obtaining an even rarer articulated bus from Canada?

Halifax Nova Scotia bought 14 articulated Classics out of only 16 ever built. Some are still in service today, but the writing is on the walls for those buses. Hopefully Seashore can come through and preserve one since Halifax is a bit closer that Hamilton.

Do you have a picture of one of them?