SEPTA Announces Trolley Tunnel Blitz For 9 Days In July

Philadelphia, Pa, July 2, 2018 – Due to power, track and station improvement projects, SEPTA Trolley Routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 are not operable in Philadelphia’s Center City tunnel from 10 p.m. on Friday, July 13, through 4 a.m. on Monday, July 23. Trolley service begins/terminates at 40^th and Market Streets as trolleys are redirected to their alternate diversion service routing allowing for connections to SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line at 40^th and Market Streets. Trolley passengers can change for the Market-Frankford Line at the 40^th Street Station for travel to-and-from Center City, as the work efforts don’t affect that service.

This is the fifth consecutive summer SEPTA has conducted the Trolley Tunnel Blitz. During this year’s nine-day tunnel closure, members of SEPTA’s in-house Engineering, Maintenance and Construction Division crews work around-the-clock on key maintenance and construction tasks throughout the five-mile, single loop Center City tunnel. 

                 Photo and story by Joseph M. Calisi (c)2018 All Rights Reserved

An invitation to experience my acclaimed presentation on rail transportation in Italy

October 28, 2015 -

An invitation to cover/experience my acclaimed presentation on rail transportation in Italy.

Media Advisory:

Presentation of Rail Transportation In Italy By Joseph M. Calisi

Revised Date/Time:
                              October 28, 2015, show begins about 6 pm
                              meeting begins at 5 pm

Location           : Farmingdale State College

                              2350 Broad Hollow Rd.

                              Lupton Hall Room T101-make a left out of the 'T'

                              Farmingdale, NY 11735

Directions        : See below

Contact            : Joseph M. Calisi JMCalisi@Yahoo.com

Join us for entertainment to be provided by the National Railway Historical Society's New York Chapter Historian and Director, Joseph M. Calisi. The program is a photographic recap of the Electric Railroaders Association European extravaganza this past May, 2012. The group chased after trams, trolleys, funiculars, ropeways and Italian high speed Frecciarossa trains all over Northern and Central Italy. The presentation includes an update on Italian rail transportation since 2012.

Don't miss this excellent show!

Known as the International Transportation Photojournalist since 1993, I’ve contributed to the information world in print (magazines and newspapers) and electronic media (TV reporter and interviewee, radio and websites) for over 20 years.

Congratulations also go to Joseph who has added to his impressive portfolio of published work, the cover photograph of a national publication - the February, 2013 Trains Magazine – an interior shot of Grand Central Terminal in connection with the 100th anniversary of New York’s emblematic rail terminal. This is in addition to the magazine covers of Railway Age magazine - the #1 rail industry publication of the Americas over the years. Visit his website at: http://josephmcalisiphotography.com and transportation blog at: http://railientrails.blogspot.com/

An added feature is that an 11-minute documentary will be shown on the last days of mainline steam railroading in Inner Mongolia, China. This presentation garnered me a Telly Award in 2003.

Come and enjoy the show!

Directions:
Meeting is in Lupton Hall Room T101 (SUBJECT TO CHANGE).

Directions are:

NOTE: NON-REGISTERED VISITORS NEED TO REQUEST A PERMIT TO PARK ON CAMPUS. SEND AN EMAIL TO THIS ADDRESS

BY OCTOBER 15TH SO THERE WILL BE ENOUGH TIME TO PROCESS YOUR REQUEST.

When coming onto the campus, go to the police or guard headquarters to get a parking permit and a campus map to find Lupton Room 101. However, an alternative is to come to the meeting and we will provide parking permits which you will then have to place on the dashboard of your car. But when you first park only park in student parking or else you will get a ticket if you are in faculty or charging stations parking.
 

Directions to the Campus

From the Metropolitan Area

Campus Map

By Car
Northern State Parkway - to Exit 40 (Route 110). Travel south on Route 110 for approximately 3 miles. On the right hand side you will see the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park. Turn right into the campus at the College sign.

Southern State Parkway - to Exit 32 - (Route 110). Travel north on Route 110, approximately 3 miles. Turn left at the College sign onto the Melville Road. Proceed approximately 1/4 mile to College entrance. Turn right into the College.

Long Island Expressway - to Exit 49 South (Route 110). Travel south on Route 110, approximately 2 miles. On the right hand side you will see the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park. Turn right into the campus at the College sign.

By Train
Long Island Railroad - Pennsylvania Station. Take the Ronkonkoma line to Farmingdale. Check with the Conductor for any necessary changes. Take a taxi from the Farmingdale Station to the College.

By Bus
The campus bus stop serves both the Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) and the Suffolk Transit System from the same bus stop located on the east side of parking lot 4 B.

Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) Bus Map and Schedules

Suffolk County Transportation Bus Map and Schedules

Shuttle Service:
Checkers Cab (516-777-1111) and Yellow Cab (516-849-6666)
Cost is $4 per person.

Monday through Friday
Farmingdale LIRR to Farmingdale State College (Laffin Hall): 7:00 AM, 8:35 AM, 9:10 AM

Farmingdale State College (Departs from Laffin Hall) to Farmingdale LIRR: 12:25 PM, 1:25 PM, 2:25 PM, 3:25 PM, 4:25 PM, and 5:00 PM

SEPTA Media-Sharon Hill Trolley Service Changes Begin on July 20

Philadelphia, Pa., July 15, 2015 -

Buses are being used in place of trolleys along SEPTA Routes 101 and 102 (Media-Sharon Hill Line) through Sunday, September 6, 2015 due to a 12-week trolley modernization project. New timetables for Routes 101 and 102 will begin on Monday, July 20. The new schedules reflect some Route 101 trip time adjustments and Route 102 bus re-routing to accommodate track construction on Springfield Road and Woodlawn Avenue.

The Media-Sharon Hill Line is comprised of three parts: the trunk from 69th Street Transportation; Center to Drexel Hill Junction (Shadeland Avenue) used by both Route 101 and 102; stops from Huey Avenue to Media used by Route 101, and; stops from Garrettford to Sharon Hill used by Route 102.

 

During the 12-week summer trolley shutdown, 16 SEPTA in-house and third party contractor groups will work on a variety of projects on all three portions of the line. The work schedule will typically be Monday-Saturday, from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

 

Scheduled work in 10 phases over the 12-week period on Route 102 are:

·         Rail replacement;

·         Concrete roadway and repaving the parking lanes, and;

·         Installation of rubber rail boots around the new rails to lessen vibration and noise.

 

The last time the trolley track and roadway were replaced in this area was 1983.

 

During this first of 10 phases of the construction, substitute Route 102 buses between Clifton Heights and Aldan will travel via Baltimore Avenue, Oak Avenue and Providence Road due to the Springfield Road and Woodlawn Avenue construction as trips will be15-20 minutes longer.

Boarding locations will be moved to Baltimore Avenue at Trolley Station and Providence Road at Woodlawn Avenue. For details, visit: http://septa.org/rebuilding/101-102-modernization-phase-2.html.

 

For more information on the Route 101/102 Trolley Modernization work, visit http://www.septa.org/rebuilding/101-102-modernization.html.

New Jersey Transit Green Lights ‘Expanded’ Light Rail Vehicles

Newark, NJ, July 9, 2014 – NJ TRANSIT’s Board of Directors said tonight that the experiment was a success. Twenty-five Hudson-Bergen and ten Newark City Subway LRVs (Light Rail Vehicles) will be retrofitted with extra capacity that offers 50% more seating in late 2015. The test configuration went into operation a year ago in cooperation with car builder KinkiSharyo and HBLRT operator Twenty-First Century Rail Corporation. The move echoes Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) with the expansion of their KinkiSharyo-built LRVs that gave similar results.
The expanded light rail vehicle was originally placed into revenue service on July 4, 2013 and rotated to operate along the three segments of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system over the course of a six-month pilot program.
The move is expected to save NJ Transit a considerable amount of money long-term. By not purchasing new vehicles and deploying a retrofit, 75% of the cost of a new 2-car set could be channeled into the existing fleet and offer more seats to the public. It also is expected to save wear and tear by utilizing one set of powered units instead of two and require less maintenance overall. In effect, this is a low-cost solution to a vexing problem for commuters since the HBLRT went into operation in 2000.
NJ Transit Executive Director Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim said passengers were clamoring for additional seating the HBLRT system that averages 45,000 commuters daily.
The design differs from the Dallas cars in that two extra sections need to be added to the ‘2 beds and a bath’ concept that originated as an experimental design on the BMT in Brooklyn NY nearly a hundred years ago. By expanding the cars to a ‘3 beds and 2 baths’ design, the additional trailer sections increase the car length by 37 feet and expand seating capacity from 68 to 102 seats in addition to providing additional standing room. By utilizing existing resources and spare Hudson-Bergen Light Rail equipment, the conversion is estimated to be significantly less than purchasing new standard light rail vehicles. NJ TRANSIT will conduct a full evaluation of the pilot program before determining whether to expand additional light rail vehicles in its fleet.
Before the testing for the new configuration began a YEAR AGO, the New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman James Simpson at the time said, “Through customer surveys conducted as part of NJ TRANSIT’s Scorecard initiative, we’ve heard from customers, particularly on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system, that crowding on trains is a top concern. Through a successful public-private partnership with the vehicle’s manufacturer, we will be piloting an expanded light rail vehicle on our system to test the feasibility of converting additional vehicles in our light rail fleet in order to increase capacity and ensure a comfortable ride for more customers.”

Photo caption: Interior and exterior of the test car for NJ Transit's stretch light rail vehicle

SEPTAs Trolleys Halted During Their Trolley Tunnel Blitz

Philadelphia, Pa, Wednesday, July 16, 2014 – SEPTA is following a trend other transit agencies around the country are practicing, an intensive 24/7 period of maintenance that requires a service outage for a period of time and is being nicknamed the ‘Trolley Tunnel Blitz’ for the Center City Trolley Tunnel. Beginning August 1, 2014, a 17-day period of no trolleys operating on Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36 which will be repaired for the over 5-mile tunnel route. These routes be diverted to 40th and Market streets and riders may transfer at 40th Street to the Market-Frankford Line for service to and from Center City.

New welded trolley rail, track switches, emergency lighting cables, and overhead wire are part of the maintenance program.

In a press release, SEPTA said, “Given that the Trolley Tunnel is a 5+ mile long, single track line, the length of our regular service day, and the number of Trolley routes operating through the tunnel it would take many months of night and weekend outages, spread out over the year, to complete the amount of work we have planned during this Blitz. An extended work window, during a traditionally low ridership period, makes it possible for our Track, Power, Communications and Signals, and Bridges and Buildings Maintenance Departments to efficiently complete important construction and maintenance projects that will benefit our customers."

The project is funded the Act 89 dedicated funding bill that provides the resources needed for SEPTA to begin Rebuilding for the Future. The Trolley Tunnel Blitz is part of a comprehensive infrastructure and revitalization program that tackles a $5 billion backlog of projects, including bridge replacements, substation, overhauls, and station improvements.

Norfolk, Virginia Opens Light Rail Line After 20-Year Sojourn To Get There

Norfolk, Va (August 18, 2011) – With the snip of the scissors, nine Siemens S70 vehicles began making their way through the streets of Norfolk, Virginia in revenue service after twenty years of waiting and planning. The 7.4-mile, $318 million light rail line that’s operated by Hampton Roads Transit, was celebrated with a full agenda of events and celebrations on Friday the 19^th to mark the official “Opening Day,” with festivities that stretched through the weekend. The start-up that was beset by protests, delays and cost over runs, was finally on a roll.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was marked by the usual congratulatory speeches. Mayor Paul Fraim said, “This is an historic moment for the City of Norfolk, the Region and certainly the Commonwealth. It's good to see all of you here and I mean all of you.”

HRT President and CEO Philip A. Shucet was the last speaker and said just before offering a gold-colored commemorative fare ticket in lieu of a golden spike, “This is an important day. We've worked hard to get here, we've taken good care of every penny we've spent and of every penny that belongs to you. It's important for so many reasons. It's important for the City Of Norfolk and certainly the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

After the ceremony, the officials and everyone else that attended the event, piled into LRV number 407 for the one-stop trek to the next westbound stop at Monticello Avenue for the reception where officials would be available for interviews and good cheer.

A PCC will once again ply the rails of the streets of San Diego

San Diego, August 27, 2011 - Beginning August 27, 2011, the PCC will once again ply the rails of the streets of San Diego. Car #529 was restored and modernized to current standards by volunteers at a cost of $850,000. The program was led by MTS Chairman Harry Mathis.

Trolley service in San Diego ended in 1949 and this car built in that year for operation in San Francisco.

These PCC streetcars were built in St. Louis by the St. Louis Car Company in 1945 and delivered to the St. Louis Public Service Company in 1945 and 46. They served in San Francisco from 1957 until retired in 1982. In 1992, Gunnar Henrioulle of South Lake Tahoe purchased the cars for a proposed street car system in Sacramento, California.