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Trolley Infrastructure Removal


Mark Walton

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Here is what I have picked up from other lists, mainly from Terry. Please add, confirm, or correct as may be appropriate.

- All overhead is now removed from Mitchell Garage.

- Other bits and pieces in various locations are going or gone, I forget exact locations.

- At least 3 routes are no longer operated with trolleys, and no trolleys run on weekends anymore.

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OH gone from Coliseum Loop and 118 Avenue between Coliseum and 92 Street.

OH gone from 80 Street between 118 Avenue and 115 Avenue.

OH gone along 95 Street between 110 Avenue and 107 Avenue.

OH tied off on 95 Street between 102A Avenue and 103 Avenue.

Non-essential traction poles removed from the Coliseum Loop.

Routes 5, 7, and 9 will no longer have etb operation.

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Plus,

OH gone from 76 Ave and 118 St in Belgravia

OH gone between 109 St/61 Ave and Southgate

OH gone from Coliseum Loop and 118 Avenue between Coliseum and 92 Street.

OH gone from 80 Street between 118 Avenue and 115 Avenue.

OH gone along 95 Street between 110 Avenue and 107 Avenue.

OH tied off on 95 Street between 102A Avenue and 103 Avenue.

Non-essential traction poles removed from the Coliseum Loop.

Routes 5, 7, and 9 will no longer have etb operation.

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  • 1 month later...

I read in the Journal online there was a problem with the LRT at 95th Street, with a pantograph apparently snagging the trolley overhead there. A few commenters blamed the presence of trolley wire, which was removed shortly afterward - then there was another problem there! Some other commenters said the LRT/TB crossing had worked well for 30 years with few if any problems. Can anyone confirm or add anything, in a separate thread for the LRT mishap if needed?

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There was a pretty thorough discussion of what happened and the causes in the "2009 Edmonton Spottings" thread.

I read in the Journal online there was a problem with the LRT at 95th Street, with a pantograph apparently snagging the trolley overhead there. A few commenters blamed the presence of trolley wire, which was removed shortly afterward - then there was another problem there! Some other commenters said the LRT/TB crossing had worked well for 30 years with few if any problems. Can anyone confirm or add anything, in a separate thread for the LRT mishap if needed?
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So does that mean that it hasn't been approved? Or is it to be approved in 2010?

Not exactly, according to that sentence by ets trolley fan it means that a report (or similar) recommends that council approve the removal of all trolley-related equipment in 2010. So overhead wires, poles, etc. will be removed in that year (if council approves).

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Actually, that was the wording of the recommendation to council back in June, which was adopted as the motion, word for word. So, on June 18, council voted to decomission the trolley system in 2010. So it's already been approved. :( Now, we have to change it.

Not exactly, according to that sentence by ets trolley fan it means that a report (or similar) recommends that council approve the removal of all trolley-related equipment in 2010. So overhead wires, poles, etc. will be removed in that year (if council approves).
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  • 2 weeks later...
Is there a way to get city council to change their decision of phasing out the trollies?

Running trolleys or not is entirely Council's decision to make. So, yes, if you can convince seven councillors to vote a particular way, there is a way. Whether or not it's likely to happen is a different story...

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  • 3 weeks later...

From the Toronto Star:

Trolley bus comeback too costly

TTC won't bring back zero-emission vehicles

Feb 19, 2009 04:30 AM

Tess Kalinowski

As transit goes, it doesn't get much cleaner, quieter and smoother than trolley buses, the electric vehicles that ran on Toronto streets between the 1920s and the early 1990s.

But the high cost of the electric buses and the infrastructure they require make a comeback in Toronto highly unlikely, according to a report before transit commissioners at yesterday's TTC meeting.

Greenhouse gas emissions from trolley buses are virtually zero. However, the price of getting to that zero is prohibitive, says TTC consultant Richard Soberman in the report, which was prompted by a move to consider bringing them back on some major routes not covered in the Transit City light-rail plan.

It would cost about $1,800 for every tonne of such gases trolley buses eliminated compared with diesel buses.

The buses would cost nearly $1 million each, as much as double the cost of a diesel or hybrid bus.

At their peak, the TTC was running 153 trolley buses on nine routes. But in 1993, confronted with their aging infrastructure and diminishing subsidies, the TTC abandoned them.

It went on to invest in the short-lived compressed natural gas buses, then to diesel, and finally to the hybrids – which have also turned out to be problematic because of shorter battery life and lower fuel economy than projected.

"The real message in the report is, if your goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there's a lot less expensive ways to do it than buying trolley buses," TTC chief general manager Gary Webster said.

Vancouver, Edmonton, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Dayton, Ohio, and Philadelphia still operate trolley buses.

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Saw the ruins of the Highlands overhead today. So, Uwe, you and your pals want to explain how overhead continues to come down, despite the fact that you have no funding to remove it. At $11million to take down the whole system, that's $80 000 per kilometre. For the approximatley 3km of overhead removed in Highlands, thats $240 000 of city funds improperly spent right there. Where is that money coming from?

A similar fate had better not befall Parkallen in April when the 133 ends, as removing the 7.5km of overhead south of Jasper Ave would cost $600 000.

The overhead was taken down on the highlands branch last weekend, but I don't think that that stretch has been used for years, despite all the poles getting cleaned and painted (and in some cases replaced) last year.
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I saw it today. All or most of the EB wire is gone. 50 Street is still up. Much of the WB wire along 112 Avenue is still up, except that section by Bellevue Hall. Most of the spans and hangers/clips are still in place.

I still had to go for a double dose of trolley after. Not an entirely bad way to spend Pally's birthday.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Ticket sales have been brisk, the WB wire is all gone now. The 50-53 St. loop is still up.

I guess so. How much does Epcor charge the city to work weekends?

Is the Northlands line still up? Those wires have been ready to tear themselves down for years.

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