T8H5307A Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Reading the article on Chicago Breaking News about a bus taking a short cut through Douglas Park reminded me of the time I was on an inspection trip on one of the Ballard Powered New Flyers 5900. Our operator had a bright idea of going off-roading with the bus in Garfield Park because this location he considered would make a nice photo with the background of the park and got it stuck in the mud too! The bus didn't have enough power to pull itself out of the mud and only passenger side rear wheels were off the pavement. It took all the people that were riding the bus to push it out back on the pavement. One of the reps from Ballard was with and wasn't amused with our operator! Included is a picture of the bus where it got stuck and also photos of the engine compartment of 5900 and 5901 inside Chicago Garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T8H5307A Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I guess after all it was worth getting stuck to get this picture! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zol87 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Cool, How old are these photos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Cool, How old are these photos? I'd imagine about ten years or so. I remember seeing the Clean Machine on Michigan quite a bit back when I was eight, which happens to be ten years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordguy Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I'd imagine about ten years or so. I remember seeing the Clean Machine on Michigan quite a bit back when I was eight, which happens to be ten years ago. The three hydrogen-fueled buses were delivered in 1997. Da Mare, with great fanfare, posed for a photo that showed him drinking from the exhaust pipe of one. While I don't recall the details, I believe that Robert Belcaster, the CTA chairman at the time, had some personal interest in Ballard Systems, the company that developed the buses (with New Flyer bodies). It seems to me they only operated for four years, five at most. I later recall reading (though I don't remember the source) that the buses "had been returned to Ballard". Yet a few years back, a couple of them turned up in the Perry Avenue boneyard, partially stripped. (One of the regular posters on this board --- sorry, I don't remember who --- captured some photos of them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cta5300 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I guess after all it was worth getting stuck to get this picture! the buses destination sign looks to me like a flipdot and LED combined Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 the buses destination sign looks to me like a flipdot and LED combinedLook that way, but the LED ones weren't developed until after 2000. Can't tell if that is something to do with the picture. Maybe T8H could clarify. Having personally seen them in the Perry Yard, and others having captured pictures there, I really doubt the reports that they were returned to the manufacturer. And, yes, Belcaster was forced out because he was "secretly" buying stock in Ballard during the early stages of the test (archive of an old article). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPTA42 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I posted photos of them a while ago; others may have, too. The run box on one was set to JUNK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T8H5307A Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Look that way, but the LED ones weren't developed until after 2000. Can't tell if that is something to do with the picture. Maybe T8H could clarify. This is the only other photo I can find of 5900. I also included a shot of 5864 to compare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 The picture of #5900 with the steam coming out of the tailpipe is a rare classic. I remember when I first saw the bus the bus would emit this white smoke from the tailpipe. It looked very weird at the time to see that coming out of a bus. I never did see #5902 too much. That was the junker of the three, not seeing much street time. I still remember the strange electrical whirling sound of the engine on takeoff. Funny in the initial press release, it was stated the buses would run on the #20, #65 and #66. I never did see one on the #65. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T8H5307A Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 The picture of #5900 with the steam coming out of the tailpipe is a rare classic. I remember when I first saw the bus the bus would emit this white smoke from the tailpipe. . First thing that came to mind was a tea kettle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 First thing that came to mind was a tea kettle! Kind of reminded me a steam train!! I wonder did it always smoke like that, or did it have to do with the temperature. (I saw it when it was around 50 degrees.) I wonder what happened when it got cold under 20 degrees. Was the bus restricted to run? Wouldn't there be problems with freezing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 So if these were running around in '99 then were there any news stories on them? I remember seeing a neat program back in about 2000-2001 on PBS about future of cities and transit and one thing they were touting was the clean air bus with water for exhaust. I wonder if these could have been the ones shown in service? I don't recall whose they were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW 77 Operator Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Look that way, but the LED ones weren't developed until after 2000. Can't tell if that is something to do with the picture. Maybe T8H could clarify. Having personally seen them in the Perry Yard, and others having captured pictures there, I really doubt the reports that they were returned to the manufacturer. And, yes, Belcaster was forced out because he was "secretly" buying stock in Ballard during the early stages of the test (archive of an old article). they are still there now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Flyer Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 they are still there now All 3 buses or whats left are at Perry Street just shells Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonytavell Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 are these buses driveable ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 are these buses driveable ? No most likely not if they're nothing but shells now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anonymous Guy Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Why did they discontinue use of these buses so quickly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Why did they discontinue use of these buses so quickly?They were a test to see if the Ballard system would work. Apparently it didn't. There was an advertisement for requests for proposals to convert them to diesel (about the time the other 5800s were rebuilt) but that went nowhere, either. The drivers at Chicago might tell us whether the hydrogen filling station is still around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cta5300 Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Sorry bout the topic i typed it wrong. so many buses the CTA had and there not on the bus roster. why aren't they on the bus roster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 did the cta buy 5900 ballard buses? if they did why dosen't it have a spot on the Bus Roster? They might have been on Ballard's dime, since it was a test (if you mean on the all-time roster, as opposed to the current one). Also, an article from that time indicates that the bus was being operated by the CTA in accordance with the terms of a contract with Ballard. Googling this, I found the typical Frank era press release of 3/23/2000 Ballard Power Systems, XCELLSIS Fuel Cell Engines Inc., and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced today the successful conclusion of the world?s first fuel cell bus demonstration and testing program after two years of operation.Of course, the test was so successful that the buses were soon thereafter consigned to the Perry Yard. And the use of the word "vapour" indicates that the release really came from Ballard, not an American source, like the CTA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cta5300 Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 They might have been on Ballard's dime, since it was a test (if you mean on the all-time roster, as opposed to the current one). Googling this, I found the typical Frank era press release of 3/23/2000 Of course, the test was so successful that the buses were soon thereafter consigned to the Perry Yard. And the use of the word "vapour" indicates that the release really came from Ballard, not an American source, like the CTA. well the NABI 40-LFW bus was a test and it had a bus roster spot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 well the NABI 40-LFW bus was a test and it had a bus roster spot Find Frank and ask him about it. A difference might have been that the CTA had a contract to buy it, but that apparently fell through (the bus was seen by the chicagobus.org folks but never seen again). The article I added to my post indicates that CTA was operating the Ballard bus for Ballard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Yes, they did buy these buses. According to a CTA newsletter, the bus was purchased with Federal funding specifically earmarked for environmental air quality improvement projects and the total price was 9.6 million. Air Products and Chemicals inc., a world leader in the production and safe handling of hydrogen installed the hydrogen fueling station at Chicago garage. The first bus went in service 9/18/1997. On the bus were advertizing cards showing the evolution of the project. I remember them saying there was former testing of these buses in California. They may have had a slightly different operating system though or else how could we have been the first to test this technology in revenue service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Topics merged. 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.