CHI74 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I saw a 500 Series Optima Opus Bus on the #62 Route i saw it at Archer and Califorina Ave around 930am or 1000am are this buses going to be part of the #62 run ? Or was it like the Prototype bus (i think is was hygerin)sorry about the spelling I have never seen and optima Opus on this route. I thought that it was used up by Lincolin Park or some whare like that? At first i thought that it was at "ROCKWELL'' ARCHER GAR for repars and it was being test driven but it was picking up people. I also saw i bus that had a "C" on the winshield this realy was a treet i mean all the way from Chicago Ave Garage. By the way the number on the OPTIMA OPUS was if i recall right 502 Thank you for you time i thought that you all would get a kick out of this :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesi2282 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Well as a result of the Spring Pick Route moves the 500-series Optima Opus buses were moved to only operate out of Archer and Forest Glen, so seeing a 500 on a Archer route would not be weird, but seeing one on a busy Archer route like #62 is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theloosh Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I was actually aboard an Optima this morning, #520, traveling inbound on the #62 at about 8:15am. It followed the normal headways for #62, so not surprisingly it was already standing room only by the time I got on at Archer & Halsted. By Canal (transfer point with the 44), it was so full that people were left waiting on the curb. Emptied out to only a few standees by Chinatown but filled up totally again on the way downtown. People kept commenting on how they thought this was a new bus and they'd not seen anything like it before. 'Twas pretty funny. Hope the Archer garage doesn't make a habit out of this, though. I mean, even full-length buses get pretty full on the 62, so an Opus is totally incapable of handling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordguy Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I was actually aboard an Optima this morning, #520, traveling inbound on the #62 at about 8:15am. It followed the normal headways for #62, so not surprisingly it was already standing room only by the time I got on at Archer & Halsted. By Canal (transfer point with the 44), it was so full that people were left waiting on the curb. Emptied out to only a few standees by Chinatown but filled up totally again on the way downtown. People kept commenting on how they thought this was a new bus and they'd not seen anything like it before. 'Twas pretty funny. Hope the Archer garage doesn't make a habit out of this, though. I mean, even full-length buses get pretty full on the 62, so an Opus is totally incapable of handling it. ===When they were still assigned to North Park, the Optimas were occasionally assigned to heavy routes; only I believe the circumstances were different. Until the NewFlyers began to arrive, NP would sometimes run short of serviceable buses owing to the dilapidated condition of many of their elderly TMCs and the chronic problems with their not-at-all-elderly NABIs. So any available bus --- even a puny Optima --- was considered preferable to no bus at all. Judging by messages from other members, I get a sense that the Novas are pretty reliable. In the wake of the route realignments, I have a hunch that the the number of buses needed at the Archer Garage was underestimated. Unlike the situation at NorthPark, I'd doubt that Archer ran short of serviceable buses. Instead they may have just ran out of buses, period! --- other than the Optimas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Judging by messages from other members, I get a sense that the Novas are pretty reliable. In the wake of the route realignments, I have a hunch that the the number of buses needed at the Archer Garage was underestimated. Unlike the situation at NorthPark, I'd doubt that Archer ran short of serviceable buses. Instead they may have just ran out of buses, period! --- other than the Optimas. A very astute observation and probably right on. Once again, if this is the case, another example of the brilliant planning and organizational skills by the geniuses on Lake Street. Bravo !!!!! As far as those guys go, they wouldn't know the difference between a Opus or a dufus. They only consider the fact that the bus has wheels and a motor and could care less if there are seats or not. Any Opus on a route like Archer, especially during the daytime hours is absurd, whether it is interlined or just out there because a Nova has a flat. Poor, poor management again (whether it be the garage or central casting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Chi74's report was kind of hard to figure out and at first sounded like a barn trip, but TheLoosh was able to confirm a regular one. I agree that of the routes Archer should have put an Optima, 62 wasn't one of them (they probably put an Optima on 62 and a full sized bus on 55A/55N). At least we have intrepid sighters on the SW side, who are sure to pick up any pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUSANGEL#1 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Before 103 gave Archer the optimas I would always see them operate on the 14,28,34/119,103/106, and 111. Then U of C would have no optimas on their routes. I hope Archer doesn't make the same mistakes as 103. U of C is priority for the optimas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Before 103 gave Archer the optimas I would always see them operate on the 14,28,34/119,103/106, and 111. Then U of C would have no optimas on their routes. I hope Archer doesn't make the same mistakes as 103. U of C is priority for the optimas! OT here, but last night I saw a NOVA on #50 Damen. Yes, I know it's a Archer route, it's just so weird seeing them on this route right now since I'm used to seeing TMC's, Flxible-5300's and 6000's and New Flyers on this route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Actually Archer is short on buses now. #6400 - #6407, #6746 - #6722 are gone (except #6727). With the pickup of #6516 - #6505 from Fg, Archer is still short about 22 buses. That's why they need the optima's on #62, better something than nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Actually Archer is short on buses now. #6400 - #6407, #6746 - #6722 are gone (except #6727). With the pickup of #6516 - #6505 from Fg, Archer is still short about 22 buses. That's why they need the optima's on #62, better something than nothing. Lousy planning. Pure and simple. First of all, with all the swapping, enough should have been there for service. If not, then the buses should not have been moved, period. 2nd, on a station level, I am sure there are less dense routes that could get by with an Optima that probably have Novas running around on them. Again, no way a route like Archer should ever, ever be stuck with an Optima...unless you want to run about 6 together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nflyer22 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Actually Archer is short on buses now. #6400 - #6407, #6746 - #6722 are gone (except #6727). With the pickup of #6516 - #6505 from Fg, Archer is still short about 22 buses. That's why they need the optima's on #62, better something than nothing. Where did 6400 - 6407 go, and why did they go? Aren't the lower 6400s supposed to be at Archer, and the higher ones at Forest Glen? OT here, but last night I saw a NOVA on #50 Damen. Yes, I know it's a Archer route, it's just so weird seeing them on this route right now since I'm used to seeing TMC's, Flxible-5300's and 6000's and New Flyers on this route. Yeah, same here for me, on the 21 Cermak. I see it everyday and it's hard to switch seeing a Nova on it every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJL6000 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Where did 6400 - 6407 go, and why did they go? Aren't the lower 6400s supposed to be at Archer, and the higher ones at Forest Glen? 6400-6407 went back to 77th. Thus, three garages run Novas: 77th (6400-6504), Archer (6505-6721, 6727) and Forest Glen (6722-6726, 6728-6883) at present. 77th is currently the only garage running both Novas and New Flyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nflyer22 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 6400-6407 went back to 77th. Thus, three garages run Novas: 77th (6400-6504), Archer (6505-6721, 6727) and Forest Glen (6722-6726, 6728-6883) at present. 77th is currently the only garage running both Novas and New Flyers. OK, I see now . Wonder what Archer will get back for 6400 - 6407 (unless Archer isn't getting anything back due to all the Optimas being there). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 OK, I see now . Wonder what Archer will get back for 6400 - 6407 (unless Archer isn't getting anything back due to all the Optimas being there). Depends on fleet need due to the shift in routes. Before A had about 229 low floors (117 Novas and 112 NFs), and the numbers given above would indicate 218 Novas. More shifts wouldn't surprise me, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHI74 Posted March 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 OK, I see now . Wonder what Archer will get back for 6400 - 6407 (unless Archer isn't getting anything back due to all the Optimas being there). I would just like to say that the OPTIMA OPUS are fit to be run on routes like 62H (OLD HARLEM 63RD) or as was note above 55N / 55A could`nt the buses that are sent to MIDWAY (TRANSIT CENTER 59TH) be sent to duty on 62 Archer and the OPTIMA OPUS be sent to MIDWAY? Also can any one please define '' BARN TRIP" Thank you for you time B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Also can any one please define '' BARN TRIP" Thank you for you time Weren't you reffering to a barn trip in your original report? I think that you mentioned the 500 on Archer being a short-turn, barn trip to Archer/Rockwell, the Archer Garage. Or maybe you just couldn't tell in your own post that a CTA barn is a CTA garage. Some things to clarify from your first post: Lincoln Park won't be seeing any Optimas for a long time to come due to the recent swap of Optimas from North Park to Forest Glen. Also, the Optimas were never at or even near Chicago Garage and the sticker could not have been a 'C'. Just some explanation from my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHI74 Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Thank you for the information on the "C" sticker it was not on the OPTIMA OPUS it was on a bus that came after the OPTIMA had all ready passed the stop that i was at i was in a hurry and i think that i saw something that was not their. Thank You For Your Time :mellow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPTA42 Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Tangentially, I got an Optima on Foster tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 To confirm this wasn't just a one-time fluke, bus #510 is currently operating on the 62. Not sure how packed it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendo26 Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 I need to take the 62 early on Saturday. I'm wondering if I'll get an Optima. I'm kind of hoping since I've haven't had a chance yet :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordguy Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 To confirm this wasn't just a one-time fluke, bus #510 is currently operating on the 62. Not sure how packed it is. ===Hmm! Seems as if the Archer Garage may be CRITICALLY short of Novas. Owing to the CTA's series consolidation plan, only two other barns have Novas in their stables: 77th and Forest Glen. Chances are, since they've recently added a few units, FG can't spare any (other than a few little Optimas, their only other series is the 6000s which are now distributed between only two barns, FG & 74th). So, there's little if any flexibility with that option. (No pun intended). That leaves 77th as the only other alternative. Can that garage spare any buses? If not, any Novas reassigned to Archer would need to be replaced with other units: maybe TMCs otherwise scheduled for retirement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.