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Miscellaneous TTC Discussion & Questions


Orion V

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8 minutes ago, Orion VI said:

I can't find what models they will be anywhere, are they going to be a continuation of the Flexities?

(mb if this is a stupid question)

I had the same question...given how bespoke our system is, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a continuation of the flexities, or something very very similar.

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10 minutes ago, Orion VI said:

I can't find what models they will be anywhere, are they going to be a continuation of the Flexities?

(mb if this is a stupid question)

It will be the continuation of the Flexities that is currently in revenue service. TTC was looking into a different model, but it would be difficult having to maintain two different fleets plus adjusting the setup to accommodate along with testing a new streetcar along the same network.

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1 hour ago, Shaun said:

And we don't have space for them now so where will they be stored?

Hillcrest is being proposed to be built to accommodate a carhouse to accommodate any additional overflow streetcars if Roncesvalles, Russell and Leslie Barns reach capacity. It was years ago when I asked regarding if the yards could handle an additional 60 beyond the 204 along with planning documents in this link. Page 15 of the Powerpoint slide regarding total streetcar fleet capacity between the three yards.

https://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2013/July_24/Reports/New_Streetcar_Implementation_Plan.pdf

Though the info is outdated in the powerpoint slide and the actual number is 239 streetcars. Attached in this doc in page 16 under "streetcar facility plan."

http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2020/October_22/Reports/5_TTC_Fleet_Procurement_Strategy_and_Plan.pdf

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16 hours ago, GTAmissions1 said:

Hillcrest is being proposed to be built to accommodate a carhouse to accommodate any additional overflow streetcars if Roncesvalles,

The announcement explicitly included funding for Hillcrest storage. So that's funded as well - at least for these cars.

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3 minutes ago, MK78 said:

I can't believe that they didn't have the foresight of fleet expansion when Leslie Barns was being planned & built.

They did. The capacity of the 3 yards is enough to store the current fleet plus the 60 more. If you go back and see those original 2009-era documents for the streetcar tender and the design of Leslie, you'll see that.

 

But none of that reduces deadhead costs to routes in the middle of the City or to St. Clair. That's where the carhouse at Hillcrest comes in.

 

So the TTC is pulling a bit of institutional slight-of-hand - and certainly not the first time that they've done so, and likely not the last - in order to squeeze a little more money out of the upper levels of government in order to get that funded.

 

Dan

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53 minutes ago, smallspy said:

They did. The capacity of the 3 yards is enough to store the current fleet plus the 60 more. If you go back and see those original 2009-era documents for the streetcar tender and the design of Leslie, you'll see that.

 

But none of that reduces deadhead costs to routes in the middle of the City or to St. Clair. That's where the carhouse at Hillcrest comes in.

 

So the TTC is pulling a bit of institutional slight-of-hand - and certainly not the first time that they've done so, and likely not the last - in order to squeeze a little more money out of the upper levels of government in order to get that funded.

 

Dan

There's also a second benefit to this.  Adding capacity to store 60 cars at Hillcrest in addition to the current 204+60 capacity that exists between Russell, Roncesvalles, and Leslie means that the TTC isn't maxed out for storage space once the new cars arrive and there's still room for another 60 cars.  That'll help accommodate some more incremental fleet growth if ridership picks up in a big way after the pandemic or they build extensions to the traditional streetcar system like the Waterfront East or West LRTs and order a few more cars beyond the 60 being bought now.

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I wish TTC would figure out a better way of cleaning the wheelchair ramps on buses, my goodness, so many lately are so clogged with debris & dirt that they are getting stuck & not working properly.

(mainly buses from MT.D, Eglinton, Arrow rd.)

The operators in my area, lately have just shrugged & taken off, not even bothered to use J-Hooks, I have inquired about this (C.S) & have been told that drivers are still supposed to use JHooks, unless medically unable, same basic comments from Union Reps.

Yes, I’m venting, Yes, I’m annoyed, but it’s frustrating to have to deal with this when trying to get to work, on a daily basis, it’s 3 buses to my FT, job, it’s a frontline worker position (at a hospital) & because I can get called at last minute, or have to stay late, it’s not even at all feasible to use Wheeltrans.

Have noticed that it’s usually Orion buses with the issue, not the Nova LFS’s, not the NFI’s.

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Anyone know if they have a preliminary path as to how they want to extend the streetcar tracks from the Ex to Dufferin loop? How do they plan to cross the Gardiner since west of the Ex, the highway lowers back down to ground level and below further west. How do they plan to cross the rail tracks since Dufferin loop is north of the tracks while the current Ex loop is south of it.

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The tracks would be extended along Dufferin, which is pretty flat where the two bridges are.  Then a T junction south of the Gardiner with an extension of the tracks from existing loop, which would presumably follow the existing terrain.

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10 hours ago, bus_7246 said:

Has there been an update to this project?

This is a very short extension of the infrastructure so I'm surprised they are putting the East Bayfront portion to Cherry St first. They should both be done at the same time and forget about the Villager Island extension for now.

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I was talking with a friend of mine and we were shooting the breeze about the old days and I pointed out that this one's good because 4500, 4549, and the PCCs up at Halton don't have them.  His response was that most people here wouldn't be old enough to remember, fair enough 1991 was 30 years ago(!), so I thought I'd better explain the picture:

BEE9DBBD-5316-49BB-B3C4-01645350BC34.thumb.jpeg.bab78e0e618fae60633d734cc0bf21c0.jpeg

This is a window crank from a TTC PCC car.  The A8s, 4500-4549, which were rebuilt into the A15 4600 series cars that hung on until the end in late 1995 didn't have these which is why someone that's only experienced PCCs at HCRR or on 4500 and 4549 in Toronto wouldn't be familiar with these.  On everything before the A8 class and on many of the used PCCs, you'd reach up and spin the crank to open or close the windows.  That's what I was getting at about the beautiful spring weather.  PCCs had a generous amount of window space that could be opened up compared to the CLRVs and ALRVs so on a nice day, you could go for a ride with tons of fresh air and a beautiful breeze through the whole car.

Dropping all the windows completely open in a Gloucester car was another get a breeze through the whole thing, especially with the cool tunnel air, that was another warm spring day treat after the winter.

Honestly, the bloody awful 2020-2021 pandemic environment has me seriously nostalgic for the old days of just enjoying the simple pleasure of going out for a ride unencumbered by anything.

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I seem to recall that some of the 4400s had cranks and some had thumb latches. And some had robin's egg blue seats, and some had maroon seats (the non rebuilt ones, of course).

To nitpick further, if you got a ride on 4000 at HCRR, you got window cranks.

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3 hours ago, Ed T. said:

I seem to recall that some of the 4400s had cranks and some had thumb latches. And some had robin's egg blue seats, and some had maroon seats (the non rebuilt ones, of course).

I'm really having trouble remembering if the 4400s were mixed.  All the ones I remember specifically and truth be told, I didn't really pay much attention to fleet numbers back then apart from trolley buses to see if a new one showed up at Eglinton that I hadn't been on yet.  Give me a PCC or a Gloucester back then and I was happy; it didn't matter which one it was.

3 hours ago, Ed T. said:

To nitpick further, if you got a ride on 4000 at HCRR, you got window cranks.

I agree, this is true, but that car's seen such little service at HCRR outside of the first couple of years of the 2000s plus they keep the doors padlocked on it so it isn't possible to go see the interior that it's probably as outside of the experience of a lot of the younger members here as were the junkers before they got pulled in 1991. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The train going past VMC is just going into the tail track. Many reasons, but most likely a changeoff train for one coming in with mechanical issues, or just staging a spare train.

Not all that uncommon, happens multiple times a day.

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3 hours ago, Orion V said:

How come TTC spec the LFS with the rearmost windows sealed when I see other systems have that openable?

It’s a spec choice by the agency because sometimes you’ll have outside exhaust come into the bus, OC Transpo for example has the back windows closed on their 60ft

it also may not be needed on smaller agencies that don’t sit in stop and go traffic all day like Toronto 

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