BusHunter Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Well surprising to report, 12 NABI's have been retired. They are #7519, #7527, #7541 and #7544 from 103rd. #7572, #7609, #7628, #7631 and #7632 from North Park. #7686,#7687 and #7709 from 77th. Before this #7629 had been retired from the LSD fire last year. #7555 and #7520 were off the roster and presumed to be retired also. Seems like they would be now. So that brings us down to 211 left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Well surprising to report, 13 NABI's have been retired. They are #7519, #7527, #7541 and #7544 from 103rd. #7572, #7609, #7628, #7631 and #7632 from North Park. #7686 - #7688 and #7709 from 77th. Before this #7629 had been retired from the LSD fire last year. #7555 and #7520 were off the roster and presumed to be retired also. Seems like they would be now. So that brings us down to 210 left. In that there seems to be an FTA penalty, what constitutes retired? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geneking7320 Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Last night I saw a NABI working #3 King Drive which looked as though it might not be too long from retirement. Seriously though, the bus was turning south from Chicago onto Michigan and the rear section was tilted to the door side while it also leaned back. It likely needed some work. Gene King Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Get your photos by the end of summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cta5658 Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 i already got my photos lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Not to sound mean or anything, but I just have to salute busfan, since he was the one who informed us about this over a month ago, and everyone doubted him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Not to sound mean or anything, but I just have to salute busfan, since he was the one who informed us about this over a month ago, and everyone doubted him.Well, in response, I'll repeat this post. Still waiting for an answer. I also remembered that at the time, rmadison said to speculate for yourself, but had a caution about the assumption that buses could be parked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC-RTS-08 Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I took some photos last year as well. I am kind of shocked that they are retiring these so soon. I thought they got most of the bugs worked out on these buses. Many of them aren't even 6 years old yet. I guess CTA wants to standardize their fleet to make them all New Flyers. Any word on where these retired NABIs are headed? Scrap? :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I was going to mention that it seems odd that North Park would be short on buses when the 4000s are quickly coming in, but the early retirement of the 7500s explains why the 5800s are still around and why even a few 6000s are at North Park. Always expect the unexpected : according to Kevin's post here, the 7500s could all be gone by the end of this summer, which would be way before the end of the line for the 6000s . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I was going to mention that it seems odd that North Park would be short on buses when the 4000s are quickly coming in, but the early retirement of the 7500s explains why the 5800s are still around and why even a few 6000s are at North Park. Always expect the unexpected : according to Kevin's post here, the 7500s could be all gone by the end of this summer, which would be way before the end of the line for the 6000s . What post are you speaking of because I don't see that anywhere? It is mentioned in the Buses section that the problems plaguing these buses and a number of them dropping off the roster could indicate a possible early retirement, but it goes on to state that there is no official word yet from CTA regarding their status. That's a big jump to they could be gone by end of summer. To answer Busjack's concern of possible FTA violations, the same section also mentions that there are some exceptions granted to the rule. It's possible the NABI's issues qualify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwantae Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Well surprising to report, 13 NABI's have been retired. They are #7519, #7527, #7541 and #7544 from 103rd. #7572, #7609, #7628, #7631 and #7632 from North Park. #7686 - #7688 and #7709 from 77th. Before this #7629 had been retired from the LSD fire last year. #7555 and #7520 were off the roster and presumed to be retired also. Seems like they would be now. So that brings us down to 210 left. I could've sworn that I've spotted #7688 on Tuesday night on State/ Van Buren working #6. Or I guess they'd just recently retired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksone44 Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Its an absolute shame these buses need to be retired this early due to the quality. I wonder what kind of warranty these buses have/had? what truely were the problems with the suspension on these buses that absolutely could not seem to be fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Maybe John Kass is saying something about this. (Forget the Cellini business). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I could've sworn that I've spotted #7688 on Tuesday night on State/ Van Buren working #6. Or I guess they'd just recently retired. It's out on the #6 now, I'll take it off the list. I also could've sworn #7519 was on the #26 this week, but until I see it in the present it'll stay on the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 It's out on the #6 now, I'll take it off the list. I also could've sworn #7519 was on the #26 this week, but until I see it in the present it'll stay on the list.Which gets back to the question raised earlier: WHAT IS THE DEFINITION? Do you have the same list rmadison and greenstreet have? Or a picture with SCRAP painted on it? And, why wouldn't 7520 be on the off the roster list if it has been out of action at least as of March, 2006? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I'll go back to previous staments about the guy from Seattle and his comments about the NABI's and why would the CTA invest so much into them. It looks as though he was correct in his assesments...but then he was a transit guy, not a pol. With the apparent demise of these buses, makes you really wonder about making your entire fleet a single maker. God forbid if something really bad surfaces with the New Flyers (although it appears they are pretty much holding up okay up to now). Still, do we really need 900 artics, and might part of the problem here be that artics just don't work too well here anymore (if ever). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Any word on where these retired NABIs are headed? Scrap? I don't think they would go further than the scrap lot at 77th for now. I don't think they'll be shredded until more of them retire. These buses make good parts buses for the others that are left. I wouldn't doubt a few #5300's sticking around the shop either. Some of there parts doors and windows, body panels could be used to repair #6000's. One example is on #6131, the bus from the Peterson wreck a few years ago that pretty much wiped out the front door area of the bus. The front doors now are actually off a #5300. The grabs handles are different and not painted yellow to reflect that they are older than 1995 origin. So an old scrap bus fixes a newer one. Back to the main story. I speculate that maybe half to three quarters of the NABI's would retire, there simply is not enough #4000's to do a full retirement yet, especially if BRT gets back on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Well surprising to report, 12 NABI's have been retired. They are #7519, #7527, #7541 and #7544 from 103rd. #7572, #7609, #7628, #7631 and #7632 from North Park. #7686,#7687 and #7709 from 77th. Before this #7629 had been retired from the LSD fire last year. #7555 and #7520 were off the roster and presumed to be retired also. Seems like they would be now. So that brings us down to 211 left. This is probably not retirement... but project Band-Aid, Duct Tape, Staple Gun & Glue Gun to fix these "buses" up until the 12-Year mark(if they can even make it based on Gene King's sighting of a NABI on #3) Quote below.... "Last night I saw a NABI working #3 King Drive which looked as though it might not be too long from retirement. Seriously though, the bus was turning south from Chicago onto Michigan and the rear section was tilted to the door side while it also leaned back. It likely needed some work." Look for the CTA logo to be replaced with a trash can, indicating that these buses are garbage! Many different ways to replace North American Bus Industries(a.k.a NABI), here are some I and others came up with... add to it if you like. NABI= Not Able to Build It NABI= Not Able to Bus Intact NABI= Need Another Bus Immediately!(not my quote, but very good!) NABI= Needs Another Band-aid, Ivan! NABI= Nails And Band-aids Inside and out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Which gets back to the question raised earlier: WHAT IS THE DEFINITION? Do you have the same list rmadison and greenstreet have? Or a picture with SCRAP painted on it? And, why wouldn't 7520 be on the off the roster list if it has been out of action at least as of March, 2006? I am reading off the roster. (as in a piece of paper) The definition of scrap? I would say it's retired to south shops, but can return. Anything's possible. It's not final until it hits the shredders. Which brings me to #7520. Even though it and #7555 were off the roster until it actually leaves south shops, there's a possibility it could return. Look what happened to #7675. It was off the roster for a while but it returned. But now that the NABI's are being retired it's doubtful they'll be back. Why work to bring something back your actively retiring? If they were #4000's, but there not. So they are retired. I don't think we'll be getting any new buses from NABI anytime soon considering how things have turned out. . :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I am reading off the roster. (as in a piece of paper) The definition of scrap? I would say it's retired to south shops, but can return.Thanks for that degree of clarification. I don't think we'll be getting any new buses from NABI anytime soon considering how things have turned out. Well, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Any word on where these retired NABIs are headed? Scrap? I have to wonder if they could possibly be returned to NABI? Despite all the problems I assume there would be some parts and perhaps engines/powertrains that could be reused/rebuilt. Although it could also be more financially feasible to just scrap them instead... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I have to wonder if they could possibly be returned to NABI? Despite all the problems I assume there would be some parts and perhaps engines/powertrains that could be reused/rebuilt. Although it could also be more financially feasible to just scrap them instead...While others are the experts, the powertrains are probably more similar to other CTA equipment, while, at least for California orders, NABI buses are natural gas. Might also be able to pawn some off on Pace (don't know what is in the 6162 and 6600 series). Update: See the reference on the Pace contracts page to remanufactured engine parts for both Orion VIs and NABIs. Since the download is not available, not sure whether that implies they are the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 What post are you speaking of because I don't see that anywhere? It is mentioned in the Buses section that the problems plaguing these buses and a number of them dropping off the roster could indicate a possible early retirement, but it goes on to state that there is no official word yet from CTA regarding their status. That's a big jump to they could be gone by end of summer. To answer Busjack's concern of possible FTA violations, the same section also mentions that there are some exceptions granted to the rule. It's possible the NABI's issues qualify. I'm speaking of Kevin's post earlier in this thread. It isn't anything official, but I just wouldn't doubt Kevin. And if you still have no idea what I'm saying then I'm refering to whatever "get your photos by the end of the summer" means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redlinerider Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Adding to the breakdowns... 7597 broke down at Foster/Sheridan around 4:30 today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 I'm speaking of Kevin's post earlier in this thread. It isn't anything official, but I just wouldn't doubt Kevin. And if you still have no idea what I'm saying then I'm refering to whatever "get your photos by the end of the summer" means. I know what the phrase means thank you very much. I just happened to be glancing at these posts late at night and missed that part. Though I don't doubt Kevin either, I do hold out a bit of caution still based on the Bus section stating nothing official has been announced about the NABIs' status. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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