The Type 8 Discussion to End All Discussions(Type 8 tracker)

Ok now, let's get into the REAL nitty-gritty with these questionable M8's that have been running the Green Line, and trying to replace the Boeing Vertol equipment. This will be the new Type 8 tracker thread, first starting with me.

On Mon, 03/08/04, I picked up 3804 for one stop, Park St, till GOVT CTR in the early morning rush hour. ASA was down, and the operatour didn't even make an announcement. But in all, it was a smooth ride, that's what counted the most.


Type 8s: 53 active cars

3802, 3803, 3804, 3805, 3806, 3808, 3810, 3811, 3812, 3813, 3814, 3815, 3816, 3817, 3819, 3820, 3821, 3822, 3823, 3824, 3825, 3827, 3834, 3840, 3841, 3844, 3846, 3847, 3851, 3852, 3854, 3855, 3856, 3857, 3859, 3861, 3862, 3863, 3864, 3865, 3867, 3868, 3869, 3870, 3873, 3874, 3875, 3876, 3877, 3878, 3879, 3880, 3881

Type 8 unaccepted cars in testing at Riverside or awaiting delivery from Littleton MA (28 cars)

6 unaccepted cars are at Riverside for acceptance testing: 3801, 3829, 3849, 3850, 3871, 3872

22 production cars and 15 shells at Breda: 3800, 3818, 3826, 3828, 3830-3833, 3835-3839, 3842-3843, 3845, 3848, 3853, 3860, 3882-3899: 22 of these cars to be delivered to the MBTA as complete cars, remaining 15 are incomplete shells to be used as parts, one of these shells may be used to repair car 3807. Spare shells will be stored at Everett Shops

Used with permission of J.Belcher of NETransit

First of all, finally railroad.net got a real bulletin board system!! :D

Let's see how you guys adjust to being able to actually embed images and URLs in the MIDDLE of your posts, lol.

Anyway...

Where did the Type 8's go??? They have completely disappeared from the C line in the past week. Are they on the B line? What's the deal?

All of the Type 8s I've seen in the past week or two have been on the BC line (or as it says on the LCD destination signs BOSTON CLGE).

According to NETransit, there are 33 accepted, 29 in service. Soon they will outnumber the Boeings!

Saw two deuces in a row westbound during Wednesday AM rush.

Forgot to say on Beacon St.

I haven't seen any on the C line all week; but I got to see (and ride) a lot of them on the B line. It seems that they were shifted back to BC. And my opinion on the matter is...

WHAT THE HELL?!

Why do they keep doing that?.. Why not distribute them equally among the lines? Instead, they put them all the same line at once, and then move them all to a different line...

In all honesty, my irritation mainly comes from the fact that the C line is my line - it's the line I ride most, as that is the line I mostly take to work...

But one thing is getting clearer: the operators are getting used to them more and more now. I rode 3825 on the B line a few days ago. The operator was really ripping it, we reached 45MPH twice in the tunnel and 40MPH a few times on the surface. There was no usual slowdowns for switches either; except of course the switches that all cars slow down for: the active switches after Copley and after Kenmore. The car was fairly empty, too (for the B line, that is). It was a really fun ride

Also, on Tuesday, I got to ride in a hybrid 3-car unit that had the modified Type 7 in the MIDDLE, and two Type 8's on either side of it. The consist handled well, I didn't notice any difference in the ride from a regular Type 8 ride, except the Boylston screecher took longer to pass, naturally

Also, another quite important observation, is that now that the Bredas were shifted to the B line, the C line operation became mostly type 7's, with a few boeings filling the gap. That's the impression that I got while riding the C.

JayZ wrote:Also, another quite important observation, is that now that the Bredas were shifted to the B line, the C line operation became mostly type 7's, with a few boeings filling the gap. That's the impression that I got while riding the C.

It actually has been almost 50/50 between Boeings and Type 7's on the C line when you look at it throughout the day. It seems like earlier in the morning and later at night there are more Boeings, with Type 7's being predomiant in the middle of the day. That's just my take on what I've seen

I wonder if the mass shift from line to line has anything to do with the fact that the cars are still under observation. With deliveries coming in again, there are many more "new" cars in service, and it may just be a means to ensure proper operation on both the B and C Lines. We know at least for the moment, that since the T won't send the Type 8's to Lechmere on a regular basis, that they will be restricted from the D and E.

As for the Boeings, other than spotty appearances, mostly on weekends on the C Line, they are out doing most days what they have proven best at doing in their later years...rush hour extra trains on the Riverside Line. Coming in from Riverside Last night (on a Type 7, ironically) I counted 7 trains outbound, and 5 of them were Boeings.

DelawareHudson wrote:We know at least for the moment, that since the T won't send the Type 8's to Lechmere on a regular basis, that they will be restricted from the D and E.

Actually, I forgot to mention: on tuseday I also got to see a consist on the D line; it looked like it was being tested. It was 3809 and another car the number of which I don't remember, but they were both brand new and sparkly. I was waiting at reservoir for an outbound train (pretty late), and that train of two type 8's was switched out from the Reservoir yard onto the tracks and then started to move in the inbound direction. I didn't get to see where it ended up being, though, as at that moment my train pulled up and I left (it was too cold to wait for another one, plus I was late ). That is the second time in the last two weeks that I see Type 8's on the D line during late hours. I guess the day they will appear in revenue service on the D line is indeed getting closer...

I saw 3823 on the C line late last night (after 11PM). That was the only Type 8 I saw all day on the C. However, I was driving down Comm Ave by BU around 7PM and all I saw running the B line was Type 8's!! It was crazy! Actually, I should correct myself - I saw 3622 and 3682 and both were paired with a Type 8 - they were running right behind each other in service! It was like seeing the future of the green line right before my eyes! (paired Type 7's and Type 8's)

This morning, I picked up 3819 by itself from Park Street from GC. Ride was smooth once again, but the ASA was entirely down. I don't know what's going on with the ASA of the M8's but some of them haven't been functioning at all. Completely silent, the operatour didn't even bother announcing stations.

three car train this morning. 3825-3804-38?? @ boylston @ 7:15am, inbound to park.

Those ASA systems are the exact same systems that were used on the 18000 reddy's. You'd think that after all the problems they had with them even before the Type 8's were designed the T would be smart enough to change to a different system, but they didn't... Now they're suffering the consequences. I've already been in three cars where the ASA was non-functioning. It's a damn shame.

Also, the operators still don't know how to properly handle the ones that ARE working. Twice, I've seen an operator call his partner in the trailing car to help him set the destination into the ASA computer. That is appalling in my opinion. The operator should know how to operate the vehicle!

Saw my first 3-car Type 8 train this afternoon... 3802-3803-3805 on the Boston College line.

Yesterday evening I got to ride t8's during the snow, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I got on an outbound B train (3819, don't remember the number of the second car). When we got out to the surface (it was already about 8:00pm, so snow was pretty thick by then) I was amazed that there was no difference in the ride due to the snow. There was no wheelslip, and the operator did not use the sander at all, even on the roughest of inclines. Also, there was no clunky acceleration, like on the type 7's or LRV's on slippery tracks, the ride was as smooth as ever. The ASA was fine, there was no crowd, and it was generally a very fun ride until we caught up with the preceding train somewhere around summit ave. From then on we were dragging slowly.

On the way back I got another Type 8, it was 3827 (and once again I didn't get the number of the second car). Once again, it was a nice smooth ride, the ASA was OK, but the wiper was not aligned properly and it was banging against the top of the windshield on every move. Quite annoying, especially considering how silent and smooth the wipers usually are on those cars.

The fleet of the B line yesterday was mostly Type 8's with a few Type 7's, but there were no hybrid consists (t8+t7) at all for some reason. On the way back I've seen a disabled type 7 stuck at the boylston extra track. Also, even at this late hour, all B line trains were two-car consists, even though all the cars I've seen of the C and E lines (and most of the cars on the D line) were all singles.