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The Breakdown Thread


sw4400

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Hi All;

This happened between 1968 and 1972 when I was a student at Lindblom Tech HS. Sometimes I would ride the #59 59th/61st bus home and transfer to #3 King Dr. On this particular afternoon the 59th/61st bus (a 40ft propane Flxible Twin Coach) ran out of propane at 61st and Michgan. That was the first and only time I've witnessed such an event.

Did they get some more propane fuel to get it started back up again?

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I Boarded #6883 on #56 Milwaukee at the Jefferson Park Terminal at 10pm, when we reached Belmont about 10:28pm, the Bus Lights went off and the Bus Died. About 8-20 Minutes later, #6805 came with a Tow Truck behind it. The Truck Towed #6883 back to Forest Glen.

Must Have Been Engine Failure

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Did they get some more propane fuel to get it started back up again?

When a propane bus runs low on fuel, they usually have to be towed home.

Fueling propane buses have to be done with a pressurized line at a fuel island. LPG really can't be safely transported in a gas can or in any of the mobile service trucks CTA had at the time.

Call the hook. Take it home.

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  • 4 weeks later...

What was this operator thinking??? I wonder how bad those roof pods and the driver's side of the bus are damaged after this...

................................................................................................

"Anyone who doesn't make mistakes isn't trying hard enough."

--Wess Roberts

................................................................................................

I can only guess the bus operator was thinking he could navigate around the obstacle.

Nice try. I'm sure the last thing on his mind was the clearance of the angle irons on the structure...

The bus operator will get time off and retraining for hitting a fixed object.

The bus will go to the shops and get repaired.

The sun will come up tomorrow, and every little thing is gonna be alright.

Don't sweat the small stuff...

Because, in the end, it's ALL small stuff.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Friday night, Chicago garage Nova bus #6530 eastbound on #74 Fullerton broke down at a reasonably convenient spot: The southwest corner of Fullerton and Pulaski. I was on the New Flyer following it, #1079. We didn't pick up too many riders, but our operator was definitely trying to make up the gap in service afterward. ;)

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  • 4 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I saw 6704 on SB Western past Barry this evening. It looked like it rear-ended a dump truck although there was no noticeable damage. The bus was practically on the rear of the dump trailer. A Bus Supervisor was on the scene in the front of the dump truck.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Rode #4164 this evening. I know with the New Flyers with Allison Transmissions, the gearbox goes G 1, G 2, etc... as the bus accelerates in "D", but the one on #4164 showed just an "F" while being driven. Any ideas on what that means? Is that what is supposed to be displayed?

thats just the allison hybrid drive, F is foward, R is reverse, NN is nuetral

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  • 1 month later...

#4108, Tuesday morning SB on the outer Drive a little bit south of the Belmont entrance ramp. The bus was pulled over in one of those sections for disabled vehicles, but the rear part of the bus was still blocking part of the far right lane causing a delay as far back as at least Montrose up to that point just south of Belmont where the bus sat disabled.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't know if this is SOP, but it has been quite a morning thus far... I go to catch the #11 Lincoln/Sedgwick bus to go to work. Tracker shows one 5 minutes out(#1313). So when it comes it's signed "Not In Service". Ok, so I grab breakfast then go to catch the next NB bus(#1762). When it arrives, it also is "Not In Service", so I contact the North Park Supervisor about this, who says this is because of a bus with a dead motor at Clinton. That's understandable, but why are all the NB buses going "Not In Service" for ONE disabled bus that's at the end of the line SB???

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I don't know if this is SOP, but it has been quite a morning thus far... That's understandable, but why are all the NB buses going "Not In Service" for ONE disabled bus that's at the end of the line SB???

I don't have the answer to this one, but you might be interested in a parallel discussion about "Out of Service" 22 buses at Howard on yesterday's CTA Tattler comment section. Of course, I referred him back here.

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  • 2 months later...

I saw 4136 operating on Addison going east just a minute ago... something must be wrong with that bus, as it was emitting blue smoke from underneath as it was accelerating.

And to think, they call those buses "Clean Air Hybrids". :lol: Interestingly, wouldn't a hybrid bus be using electric power until it hit 25MPH? So why would it be using diesel leaving a stopped position?

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And to think, they call those buses "Clean Air Hybrids". :lol: Interestingly, wouldn't a hybrid bus be using electric power until it hit 25MPH? So why would it be using diesel leaving a stopped position?

I thought that that was the case, until I got into the debate over the Highland Park ones.

In any event, if it were the engine smoking, that probably would be black smoke from the tailpipe (unless a Pope has been elected :lol:).

Aside from the Halloween effect, if I were guessing, I would say oil burning, probably in some compenent. But people have told me here to quit guessing.

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