eolesen wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:29 am 137 cars isn't enough to go around?...SEPTA uses manual traps in such a fashion regularly on off-peak trains and occasionally on peak trains if there are crew shortages. The manual trap thing does not seem like big enough of a problem if someone is desperate for cars.
That's pretty much equal to the entire Amfleet II subfleet or the Viewliner subfleet. Outside the NEC, that's easily one car per corridor train.
I know that some people think single level cars with manual traps are a hindrance to commuter service, but they did just fine on the Budd RDC's operated in Dallas until just a few years ago, and also in the pre-1960's before gallery cars were invented. On a lightly traveled line (there are a couple in the Metra network I can think of) it's simply a matter of announcing only the rear or head XX cars will/won't be available at a particular station. Metra already does that to some degree with off-hour trains.