TTC CLRV/ALRV updates and discussion

[CLRV4002]

1 hour ago, Downsview34. said:

Got this tweet. Let’s see what happens 

Well it’s 2pm now so that was a load of bs 

[2044]

4 minutes ago, CLRV4002 said:

Well it’s 2pm now so that was a load of bs 

Perhaps they were thinking of the Fashion Santa charter with 4110.

[Downsview 108]

7 minutes ago, CLRV4002 said:

Well it’s 2pm now so that was a load of bs 

An elderly man was hit by a Flexity on his motor scooter earlier this afternoon somewhere in Parkdale. Relax.

[Genius101]

The CLRV weekend trippers on Queen have been removed unfortunately since the new board takes into effect today. 

[Streety McCarface]

Queen is packed so they really need the CLRVs for capacity

[CLRV4002]

23 minutes ago, Genius101 said:

The CLRV weekend trippers on Queen have been removed unfortunately since the new board takes into effect today. 

Would it honestly kill them to have some running today and next Saturday? This basically means the final week of CLRVs will be celebrated by having a handful of them on the 511 then 2 packed cars running next Sunday and a final contest run. What a disappointment. 

[splendidwizardplayer]

10 minutes ago, CLRV4002 said:

Would it honestly kill them to have some running today and next Saturday? This basically means the final week of CLRVs will be celebrated by having a handful of them on the 511 then 2 packed cars running next Sunday and a final contest run. What a disappointment. 

And not only that the last route that has CLRVs now has low floors. (And yes I am aware that my foam is showing).

[PCC Guy]

The contest for the last run was criminally stupid, but you guys are expecting entirely too much. What other vehicle in recent memory has stayed in service from the early morning until late at night, 7 days a week, up until the very end? How many vehicles in recent memory have had numerous specimens preserved by both the TTC and the HCRR? How many vehicles had their final run announced more than a month in advance? How many had a specimen painted up as a Community art piece and sent all over the city, even in places the vehicles no longer run?

They could've called it a day when the last Flexitys took over the 506 and just sent buses into Bathurst, but they didn't. 

You guys got so much and are now demanding even more.

 

[CLRV4002]

16 minutes ago, PCC Guy said:

The contest for the last run was criminally stupid, but you guys are expecting entirely too much. What other vehicle in recent memory has stayed in service from the early morning until late at night, 7 days a week, up until the very end? How many vehicles in recent memory have had numerous specimens preserved by both the TTC and the HCRR? How many vehicles had their final run announced more than a month in advance? How many had a specimen painted up as a Community art piece and sent all over the city, even in places the vehicles no longer run?

They could've called it a day when the last Flexitys took over the 506 and just sent buses into Bathurst, but they didn't. 

You guys got so much and are now demanding even more.

 

All that is quite true, especially in comparison to other vehicle retirements we’ve seen. However I think what confuses me and others is why they would have extras running to celebrate their retirement only to stop running them a week prior to retirement. 

[Streety McCarface]

Meh, at least we got mccaul shots

[Streety McCarface]

Sounds like 4024 is dying. Sitting on here and the Operator just called in saying his horn wasn’t working. He’s going out of service on his way back from Bathurst station.

 

edit: he’s running to the ex, running up to queen, then going out of service. 
 

edit 2: apparently he’s running to Russell along King.

[Bus_Medic]

2 hours ago, PCC Guy said:

You guys got so much and are now demanding even more.

Indeed. A reality check is sorely needed.

[christine]

5 hours ago, PCC Guy said:

The contest for the last run was criminally stupid, but you guys are expecting entirely too much. What other vehicle in recent memory has stayed in service from the early morning until late at night, 7 days a week, up until the very end? How many vehicles in recent memory have had numerous specimens preserved by both the TTC and the HCRR? How many vehicles had their final run announced more than a month in advance? How many had a specimen painted up as a Community art piece and sent all over the city, even in places the vehicles no longer run?

They could've called it a day when the last Flexitys took over the 506 and just sent buses into Bathurst, but they didn't. 

You guys got so much and are now demanding even more.

 

On the point of doing nothing.

Unlike a specific bus model/type if you look around the downtown core you see imagery of a CLRV, whether its on the side of a building, books, signs and even on TV. Considering an entire generation grew up with these cars and they were a visible element on city streets downtown, these cars are as much a part of Toronto as the Skydome, CN Tower and the Gardiner Expressway. Love or hate it, they've supported the growth we see downtown. When you're this embedded in the City, the collective population "owns" them as much as the TTC does. So yes, the TTC kind of has an obligation to the public. They could do nothing but that would kill much of the good will they still have. And with the worsening schedules (check out the struggle of the O'Connor or Keel buses), delayed transit projects, delays and subway closures the public's tolerance is already very short. Doing nothing, being quiet about the last trip, would give yet another excuse for people to bitch about the TTC, not to mention lose allies that help keep a positive image of the agency. 

As for Bathurst, I'm willing to bet money they didn't keep the CLRVs on there out of the goodness of their heart, just like they didn't put the CLRVs on Carlton a few weeks ago for nostalgia.

I think the higher expectations come from the Miller-Giambrone and Byford years. They were great at engaging the public. However, I gave up on expectations long ago.

[drum118]

Dec 22

Like others, wasn't able to do Queen on Sat due to family event.

4091 & 4094 on track 20 waiting for the scrap truck to show up to take them away.

4051 still sitting on track 22 like it was last week.

4528 sitting on track 19 and went into service later on.  There were 2 other Flexity in the yard and never shot them.

5 CLRV's that were used on Queen over by the car house. 4 of the cars have a large Good By logo on the driver side and a small one at the rear on the other side.  There were 4 more CLRV's 2 tracks to the east of the Queen cars for 511. 4187,  4042, 4053, 4147

A number of CLRV's being washed and then went to the back of the line in the carhouse.

Service on 501 and 504 were the pits with either 3 cars in a row or a 15 minute gap.

3 eastbound Flexity short turn at the yard with 2 at the same time with one having its tail blocking the sidewalk and a lane of traffic. First time seeing 3 being short turn within minutes of each other. 4460, 4557 and 4554

Shot 4155 from the Flexity going westbound to go into service on 511

A lot of mix message as what taking place on the 27

A few people were waiting for the Queen CLRV's to come out and were disappointed they weren't today.

Nice to see 4001 fix up to be part of the heritage fleet. Was hoping for 4000, but when it bit the dust, glad one of the SIG cars were retain. Hoping a few more of TB cars being retain, especially 4178 in that nice paint job.

 

[Streety McCarface]

8 hours ago, PCC Guy said:

The contest for the last run was criminally stupid, but you guys are expecting entirely too much. What other vehicle in recent memory has stayed in service from the early morning until late at night, 7 days a week, up until the very end? How many vehicles in recent memory have had numerous specimens preserved by both the TTC and the HCRR? How many vehicles had their final run announced more than a month in advance? How many had a specimen painted up as a Community art piece and sent all over the city, even in places the vehicles no longer run?

They could've called it a day when the last Flexitys took over the 506 and just sent buses into Bathurst, but they didn't. 

You guys got so much and are now demanding even more.

 

 

2 hours ago, christine said:

On the point of doing nothing.

Unlike a specific bus model/type if you look around the downtown core you see imagery of a CLRV, whether its on the side of a building, books, signs and even on TV. Considering an entire generation grew up with these cars and they were a visible element on city streets downtown, these cars are as much a part of Toronto as the Skydome, CN Tower and the Gardiner Expressway. Love or hate it, they've supported the growth we see downtown. When you're this embedded in the City, the collective population "owns" them as much as the TTC does. So yes, the TTC kind of has an obligation to the public. They could do nothing but that would kill much of the good will they still have. And with the worsening schedules (check out the struggle of the O'Connor or Keel buses), delayed transit projects, delays and subway closures the public's tolerance is already very short. Doing nothing, being quiet about the last trip, would give yet another excuse for people to bitch about the TTC, not to mention lose allies that help keep a positive image of the agency. 

As for Bathurst, I'm willing to bet money they didn't keep the CLRVs on there out of the goodness of their heart, just like they didn't put the CLRVs on Carlton a few weeks ago for nostalgia.

I think the higher expectations come from the Miller-Giambrone and Byford years. They were great at engaging the public. However, I gave up on expectations long ago.

Is there not a middle ground here? Sure, we were spoiled with the additional cars on Queen and Bathurst leading up to retirement, scheduling cars to the point of having months to go out and fan is definitely something the TTC hasn't done much, if at all, before. For that, we should obviously be grateful and accept what we've been given.

At the same time, some of us have other things to do in our lives that prevent us from going out and Railfanning, so wanting the cars to run for a regular period shouldn't be too much to ask. I personally was swamped with my studies that I couldn't make the trek out to Toronto to ride the 506 (my all-time favorite route) with the CLRVs one last time. When I finally get a break from Family commitments, school, work, and social commitments, the one day I come and take photos they decide to not run cars on Queen. Worse yet, they keep 4178 in the carhouse. In hindsight, it's not a big deal. I have shots of 4178 and I've ridden part of the Queen car on a CLRV before. I was also still able to ride some cars down King and Bathurst, and I got to spot some turns at McCaul, but the point is that it's a disappointment, a huge one for the community at large. 

tl:dr
No, we don't have any right to be angry at the TTC for not running cars. The railfan community should be one that celebrates community as a whole, and no matter how much I agree with the symbolism @christine portrayed, entitlement just undermines the railfan community at large. At the same, being slightly frustrated or disappointed shouldn't be written off either, not everyone's schedules align, and the cars should be celebrated.  

[christine]

2 hours ago, Streety McCarface said:

No, we don't have any right to be angry at the TTC for not running cars. The railfan community should be one that celebrates community as a whole, and no matter how much I agree with the symbolism @christine portrayed, entitlement just undermines the railfan community at large. At the same, being slightly frustrated or disappointed shouldn't be written off either, not everyone's schedules align, and the cars should be celebrated.  

My blurb was more directed towards the hypothetical scenario of the TTC not doing anything. Considering I thought Queen was done back in June, the Queen extras were definitely an unexpected bonus.

[CLRV4094]

Don't worry, as there are currently 8 CLRVs going into service on Bathurst this morning. 4110 and 4170 are two of them.

[FabianColeyLOVESBUSES]

will 4001 be going into service on the 511 during the last week for the clrvs?? I know 4178 is a rad car and always gets put on the 506 and then the 511 right after from Monday to Friday.

[CLRV4094]

2 minutes ago, FabianColeyLOVESBUSES said:

will 4001 be going into service on the 511 during the last week for the clrvs?? I know 4178 is a rad car and always gets put on the 506 and then the 511 right after from Monday to Friday.

Judging by where it's parked, that is likely, but as of right now it is not out. 

[CLRV4094]

Looks like there is 9 or 10 CLRVs tracking on 511 (4164 is tracking in the lake), but 4040, 4085, 4110, 4123, 4133, 4170, 4176, 4179 and 4184 are tracking as 511s properly along with 3 Flexities as well.

[Robert Lubinski]

6 hours ago, christine said:

My blurb was more directed towards the hypothetical scenario of the TTC not doing anything. Considering I thought Queen was done back in June, the Queen extras were definitely an unexpected bonus.

Like when they pulled all the PCCs in early November 1995 and said they were done, with only an announcement that they were being retired, and they were already all parked. A few calls to Commissioners got them put back on the road with a formal send off and six cars in regular service for the last week. Until then most vehicles were retired with no announcement, no publicity, no last run, you just had to be lucky to be out for the day of the last run because you didn't know when it was coming and you might be on it or miss it, so the CLRV retirement publicity has at least given a lot more opportunities for photos and last rides.

[Wayside Observer]

1 hour ago, Robert Lubinski said:

Like when they pulled all the PCCs in early November 1995 and said they were done, with only an announcement that they were being retired, and they were already all parked. A few calls to Commissioners got them put back on the road with a formal send off and six cars in regular service for the last week. Until then most vehicles were retired with no announcement, no publicity, no last run, you just had to be lucky to be out for the day of the last run because you didn't know when it was coming and you might be on it or miss it, so the CLRV retirement publicity has at least given a lot more opportunities for photos and last rides.

Can you say “Gloucester cars”?

[Downsview 108]

4178 is on the 506

[Wayside Observer]

I took my own advice to enjoy the VLRVs this week last night after a family Christmas get together and took a couple of quiet rides on Bathurst.

I did it the old fashioned way, the way I used to do it when I was out hunting for PCCs and Gloucesters.   Just me, by myself at a subway station or a street corner after dark on a short fall/winter day, an educated guess where to be and a wait for the right vehicle to show up before getting on and going for a ride.   No smartphone.  No app.  No website.  Just a quiet, peaceful evening.  Just like how I used to do it when the other fleets turned over.

There was a family with a kid at the Exhibition and a mixture of low floor cars and the one CLRV waiting to go back up to Bathurst station.  They got on the first Bathurst car which was a low floor car and I thought if that was me at that age and I saw the next car was an old one, I’d be insisting on falling back a car.  It’s a shame they didn’t take advantage of the opportunity that presented itself since the chance to do that ends in less than a week now.

[TTC4120fan]

After taking up much of my evening and many difficulties, I have finally managed to update the wiki to the current units still active. Please let me know if I have missed anything.