6400-series Nova LFS - Updates & Retirements

[garmon757]

I was driving to Walmart in Country Club Hills and spotted about 6-7 Novas including #6662 parked at a secured site between 163rd-165th and Pulaski-Crawford. Any reason why they're there??? 

[sw4400]

5 hours ago, garmon757 said:

I was driving to Walmart in Country Club Hills and spotted about 6-7 Novas including #6662 parked at a secured site between 163rd-165th and Pulaski-Crawford. Any reason why they're there??? 

Maybe they are being prepped for Work Bus service? I don't even know where they are transformed for this after-revenue service life takes place....

[BusHunter]

12 hours ago, garmon757 said:

I was driving to Walmart in Country Club Hills and spotted about 6-7 Novas including #6662 parked at a secured site between 163rd-165th and Pulaski-Crawford. Any reason why they're there??? 

Maybe they are part of a rehab so fg can run them for 5 more years!! Just kidding btw.

[Busjack]

40 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

Maybe they are part of a rehab so fg can run them for 5 more years!! Just kidding btw.

There would have to be a contract for that, but there also seem to be junk yards and haul away firms in the vicinity, But I got you last point.

[BusHunter]

Any idea who owns the land they sit on? That would be a big clue on who was doing what. You mention a secured site, so someone is securing it.

[garmon757]

On December 31, 2016 at 8:34 AM, BusHunter said:

Maybe they are part of a rehab so fg can run them for 5 more years!! Just kidding btw.

Speaking of 5 years, so far there's no indication of any precurement of anything. All we hear is electric buses but what the hell...... It might be another 5 years of them running. 

[Busjack]

3 minutes ago, garmon757 said:

Speaking of 5 years, so far there's no indication of any precurement of anything. All we hear is electric buses but what the hell...... It might be another 5 years of them running. 

I've been waiting for anything on either the CTA or Pace contract opportunities page. So far, nothing of interest, but maybe with the holidays over, someone will show up in the procurement offices.

[sw4400]

25 minutes ago, garmon757 said:

Speaking of 5 years, so far there's no indication of any precurement of anything. All we hear is electric buses but what the hell...... It might be another 5 years of them running. 

I think there are enough buses to retire the remaining Novas. Once CTA figures out how to shuffle the fleet around where needed, they can be retired. The 30 electric buses, which should be contracted out this year for build in the future, are earmarked for beginning retirement on the New Flyers in the future.

Another reason to hold onto the Novas for a bit longer, the 2008-2009 New Flyer DE60LF's are supposed to undergo a mid-life rehab soon. They'll need spares to fill holes while buses are gone.

[BusHunter]

What really sealed the fate of the Novas was the failure of the #8325's to show up. Now with 100 buses there's no way 27 buses can replace 100. Possibly if they would have ordered the #8325's, they might have been able to scratch the 45 buses they would have had remaining after the 27 electrics showed up and this #8325 option..

[Busjack]

6 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

What really sealed the fate of the Novas was the failure of the #8325's to show up. Now with 100 buses there's no way 27 buses can replace 100. Possibly if they would have ordered the #8325's, they might have been able to scratch the 45 buses they would have had remaining after the 27 electrics showed up and this #8325 option..

However, as you have pointed out, the option is still there (unless the time has run out since the notice to proceed). The unanswered question is whether the money for that 25 became, in effect, the local match for the electrics, or is still there to exercise the option.

Certainly, though, the 5 year capital plan doesn't contemplate another contract to replace Novas. No mention of anything other than to replace NFs,

[BusHunter]

9 minutes ago, Busjack said:

However, as you have pointed out, the option is still there (unless the time has run out since the notice to proceed). The unanswered question is whether the money for that 25 became, in effect, the local match for the electrics, or is still there to exercise the option.

Certainly, though, the 5 year capital plan doesn't contemplate another contract to replace Novas. No mention of anything other than to replace NFs,

Probably it did become the local match as they seem smitten over these electric buses but you do raise a valid point that the #8325's could still be coming. I guess we'll have to see, but tick tock tick tock, time is running out!!  I'd give it 6 months and if nothing shows up then it's probably not happening. Unfortunately it's already been 3-4 months already.

[Busjack]

16 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

I'd give it 6 months and if nothing shows up then it's probably not happening. Unfortunately it's already been 3-4 months already.

The issue though, is whether CTA follows its usual practice of announcing and needing board approval for the exercise of options, while Pace apparently does not.

I was referring to that options expire if not exercised within 5 years of the notice to proceed. For instance, this is the end of the Pace 6323s contract. The announcement of this contract was on Jan, 2013, so theoretically CTA has another year to exercise the option.

[jajuan]

Plus to be a bit clearer on this, after accounting for what the electrics are supposed to replace out of the remaining 6400s, we're talking about at most about 75 buses to replace that don't have accountable replacements in the 5 year plan. Out of that 75, a good portion of that may still be junk that should have already been retired by now. So it basically boils to how much should already be gone to answer the question of if 8325-49 will be needed. 

[mikeymc77]

On 12/30/2016 at 7:02 PM, garmon757 said:

I was driving to Walmart in Country Club Hills and spotted about 6-7 Novas including #6662 parked at a secured site between 163rd-165th and Pulaski-Crawford. Any reason why they're there??? 

There used to be an auto auction in that area. But I doubt that buses would be up for auction

[sw4400]

Just a little update on figures..... 383 of the 484 Novas are either retired from revenue service, parked and being used as parts buses for the remaining 101 Novas or are scrapped or soon-to-be scrapped. That's 79% of the fleet gone, so that may be the end of the retirements until the buses kill themselves with needing too much manpower and money to repair them. I'll include the remaining roster below.....

6466-6468,6470,6472-6474,6477,6488,6553-6554,6558,6562,6564,6572,6574,6576-6577,6579,6581,6585,6671,6674,6678-6679,

6681-6682,6684,6686-6687,6691-6692,6694,6696-6697,6699-6700,6704-6706,6710,6713-6714,6722,6724,6730,6733-6734,6736-6737,

6751,6755,6758-6759,6761,6763-6764,6770-6772,6776,6780,6784,6787,6792,6794,6799,6802-6803,6805,6810,6814,6820,6824,6826,

6834-6838,6842-6843,6846-6847,6849,6854,6856,6858-6862,6865,6867-6871,6873,6875,6877,6882

Orange= Backlit Flip Dot Signs

Lime Green= LED Destination Signs

This may be the final bunch here, and will be retired off as they are no longer repairable(major engine repairs required, transmission blowout, etc....). I highly doubt the CTA will procure the last 25 Novas in the order of 425 already on property(they should've done so already while 8200-8324 were in production to be delivered). The electric buses will probably not be around until late 2018 into 2019, and there's only 30 planned to be ordered. The CTA is looking into beginning rehabs on 4000-4207 this year. The Novas will just survive until the end of 2017 or maybe 2018 and probably just be quietly retired, with shifts of New Flyer D40LF's or Nova LFS Smart Buses to compensate for the loss at FG(if necessary). By 2018, the newest of the old fleet will be 16 years old, and will probably be at a skyrocketing breakdown rate(I remember how bad the TMC's were as they approached 2008, service was not the greatest on 40' routes out of NP, as the TMC's were breaking down left and right due to age and years of wear and tear.... I seen them on hook and being driven with an Emergency Van in tow back to NP, some even stalling along the way, and they were rehabbed). The Novas never underwent a life-extending rehab, maybe repaired as needed, but otherwise that's it. Service was supplemented by the New Flyers they had at the time(the 5800's and incoming 1000's). NP was a garage that had TMC's until retirement, as I remember having some stragglers on #11 until their final days in 2008.

[busfan2847]

4 hours ago, sw4400 said:

Just a little update on figures..... 383 of the 484 Novas are either retired from revenue service, parked and being used as parts buses for the remaining 101 Novas or are scrapped or soon-to-be scrapped. That's 79% of the fleet gone, so that may be the end of the retirements until the buses kill themselves with needing too much manpower and money to repair them. I'll include the remaining roster below.....

6466-6468,6470,6472-6474,6477,6488,6553-6554,6558,6562,6564,6572,6574,6576-6577,6579,6581,6585,6671,6674,6678-6679,

6681-6682,6684,6686-6687,6691-6692,6694,6696-6697,6699-6700,6704-6706,6710,6713-6714,6722,6724,6730,6733-6734,6736-6737,

6751,6755,6758-6759,6761,6763-6764,6770-6772,6776,6780,6784,6787,6792,6794,6799,6802-6803,6805,6810,6814,6820,6824,6826,

6834-6838,6842-6843,6846-6847,6849,6854,6856,6858-6862,6865,6867-6871,6873,6875,6877,6882

Orange= Backlit Flip Dot Signs

Lime Green= LED Destination Signs

 

6467 went in 9/16, 6675, 6746, 6747, 6793 are still in service. There are 105 left.

 

 

[BusHunter]

9 hours ago, busfan2847 said:

6467 went in 9/16, 6675, 6746, 6747, 6793 are still in service. There are 105 left.

 

 

Yeah I was just going to say I saw #6793 in service on the #80.

[qwantae]

On 1/4/2017 at 9:02 PM, busfan2847 said:

6467 went in 9/16, 6675, 6746, 6747, 6793 are still in service. There are 105 left.

 

 

So 6518 with White Sign is already retired? I saw it last week sitting in front of 77th Garage facing 79th so I was assuming that it's waiting for repair. 

[busfan2847]

19 hours ago, qwantae said:

So 6518 with White Sign is already retired? I saw it last week sitting in front of 77th Garage facing 79th so I was assuming that it's waiting for repair. 

I have it withdrawn mid 2015 and sold for scrap to Sims by the end of 2015. Before it left it was reported at West Shops completely stripped apparently to be a work bus, but this did not happen.

[andrethebusman]

6518 long gone. Must be another number.

[andrethebusman]

2016 scrappings

Departures 2016.pdf

[andrethebusman]

I don't think I ever posted 2015 departures, so here goes:

Departures2015.pdf

[Busjack]

55 minutes ago, andrethebusman said:

2016 scrappings

Departures 2016.pdf

Hidden under where you classified this is that 24 Optimas are on the scrap list. CTA made a big deal that it sold about 20 downstate, but everything else must have been scrapped, and to that extent, state taxpayers took it on the chin (as the purchase was with state money).

Also surprising that most on the list went to Sims instead of Scrap Metal Services.

 

[BusHunter]

4 hours ago, andrethebusman said:

2016 scrappings

Departures 2016.pdf

Interesting #801 went to Paramount studios. I guess we'll be seeing that bus in the movies soon. Interesting it being a hybrid and all, but maybe there's the outside chance that's being used for some type of shuttle?

You would think that some of these electric bus retrofit companies would be out to get it, because they could make money on it, but maybe there's the issue that the title is designated as scrap or junk, but if retrofitted they might still be able to jump that potential hurdle.

[andrethebusman]

I will assume the 801 and four L cars to Paramount are to be movie props. Funny how CTA had such poor results with 40-foot hybrids, yet no apparent issues with hybrid artics??

The 500's are worn-out junk. I am surprised they were able to unload the few to Kankakee. Notice no others have gone anywhere. If they had been shipped out, they would have been on this list.