Path: utzoo!lsuc!ncrcan!moegate!soley
From: soley@moegate.UUCP (Norman Soley)
Newsgroups: tor.general
Subject: Re: Toronto Transit Commission reprieves PCC streetcars
Message-ID: <501@moegate.UUCP>
Date: 7 Aug 89 21:27:01 GMT
References: <1989Aug5.050846.431@sq.sq.com>
Organization: Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Toronto
Lines: 44

In article <1989Aug5.050846.431@sq.sq.com>, msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader) writes:
> 
> They make much more noise than the PCCs. 

They are also much heavier which has necessitated the complete rebuilding of
the streetcar tracks the older tracks and bedding just couldn't take the abuse.
With this summers work along Gerrard St. this now appears to be complete.
They also cause vibration problems, living on a street with a streetcar line
is a little like living with a constant mild earthquake, we have freinds who
live on Broadview and their dishes rattle every time a streetcar goes by,
they're so used to it they don't even notice.

> They have had braking problems

As indicated by this weekend's accident where a CLRV lost power and slid 
backwards into a trolley bus?  The newspaper described three braking systems
which all failed, The primary braking is done electically through the motors,
the secondary brakes are air-pressure driven and the third is some sort of
magnetic system that's supposed to grab the rails. I'm just speculating but
it seems likely that either the magnet is actually an electromagnet (plenty
of redundancy in the case of a power loss!!) or the car had already jumped 
the rails before the third system was tried (from the photo in the newspaper
it looks like it travelled some distance after leaving the rails)

> There are now 63 PCC streetcars left in service, but judging by the
> frequency with which I see them, most must be on rush hour or occasional
> duty only.  

Actually they tend to get used on the night routes and in routes that run
through more residential areas in an effort to curb the noise.

> In the past couple of years there has been a pilot program to rebuild
> PCC cars, but I think only about 5 have been done so far.  So we may hope
> that many of the surviving cars will be similarly rebuilt.  

I recall reading a report on that pilot, seems the rebuild costs about 1/3
the cost of a new CLRV and adds to the lifetime of the PCC about 1/2 the
life expaectancy of a CLRV, if this is true is makes good sense to me. 


-- 
  Norman Soley - The Communications Guy - Ontario Ministry of the Environment
soley@moegate.UUCP  or if you roll your own:  uunet!attcan!ncrcan!moegate!soley
   The Minister speaks for the Ministry, I speak for myself. Got that! Good.