More Bus Moves

[Busjack]

Yeah they will be missed,But I wonder why there isnt many green LED Signs across the country on buses.

It basically comes down to what Luminator and TwinVison (and a few foreign firms) offer. Of course, Luminator took over TwinVision. They offer either the amber or white LEDs or the multicolor LEDs. (Luminator bus products page)

Essentially, the companies quit making flip dot signs about 10-12 years ago, because, being mechanical, they were prone to break. I remember signs (especially Pace ones) that were essentially green. Either an LED sign works, or you swap out a panel.

Basically, this is the same reason why buses don't have incandescent or halogen headlights these days.

[jajuan]

Yeah, they worked at first, but years before they were retired, most of the flip-dot signage did not work properly. There are some pictures on this site that show that.

Yeah but that doesn't change the fact that the Americanas were the first and that flip dots therefore didn't start with the 1991 buses as you originally stated. And their signs didn't stop working en masse until the time that they originally were going to be retired but CTA had to pushback originally because of the delay in the amber-signed Novas. That pushback in retirement would go on to extend the Americanas about two years after they were originally supposed to get scrapped. Either way the prevalent attitude among CTA in their final years was they're getting retired soon anyway so no point in maintaining particulars like destination signs as long as they still run. That's also why they never got the bus stop announcement upgrade that got introduced to CTA buses at that time.

[andrethebusman]

Bus moves 4/1/14

1329-1334, 1348-1349 Chicago to North Park

6551-6560 Forest Glen to Chicago

1250-1252 77th to 103rd

Note some of this reverses moves made last week.

[Mr.cta85]

Yesterday While doing the 28 on Michigan and balbo I saw a nova bus dead heading east bound towards LSD but the run box had a P*** I can't remember the run number but since when has NP had or have Novas. I know sometimes buses are loaned from other garages but when it has the garage letter or number that's something different.

[BusHunter]

Bus moves 4/1/14

1329-1334, 1348-1349 Chicago to North Park

6551-6560 Forest Glen to Chicago

1250-1252 77th to 103rd

Note some of this reverses moves made last week.

Damn that explains why I kept seeing #1329 on the #49, I was like since when does Chicago do this route. #6469 was also on the #49 today. I was hoping it went back to 74th. I purposely went and tracked #1332 down on the #36 to see if it was rehabbed. No it's not, but they half removed the graffiti on it. That bus needs a paint job now.

[ctrabs74]

It basically comes down to what Luminator and TwinVison (and a few foreign firms) offer. Of course, Luminator took over TwinVision. They offer either the amber or white LEDs or the multicolor LEDs. (Luminator bus products page)

Essentially, the companies quit making flip dot signs about 10-12 years ago, because, being mechanical, they were prone to break. I remember signs (especially Pace ones) that were essentially green. Either an LED sign works, or you swap out a panel.

Basically, this is the same reason why buses don't have incandescent or halogen headlights these days.

Hannover comes to mind, as their signs are used on new buses in New York (New Flyer Excelsiors and Nova 40-ft buses) and Los Angeles (the 5600-series New Flyers); there was a CTA New Flyer that tested a Hannover sign (I had a picture of it at 95-Dan Ryan from my trip to Chicago three years ago, but it's on my old - and dead - laptop).

[Busjack]

Hannover comes to mind, as their signs are used on new buses in New York (New Flyer Excelsiors and Nova 40-ft buses) and Los Angeles (the 5600-series New Flyers); there was a CTA New Flyer that tested a Hannover sign (I had a picture of it at 95-Dan Ryan from my trip to Chicago three years ago, but it's on my old - and dead - laptop).

There was the Aesys sign on 6441, and Axion Technologies got the contract to replace the roller curtains on the 3200s with high def LED ones (Press Release). From the slide show on Axion's home page, they also provide something related to the train announcement system, and provide the similar destination signs for the 5000s.

[garmon757]

This is the uncoming connections monitor on #4093.

[jajuan]

Don't know if this was ever mentioned before, but I noticed 4155 has different seats than the rest of the stimulus paid artics 4150-4207. Here are a few shots:

Also a few shots of the RTA style intermodal bus stop signs I took at the southbound Michigan/Van Buren-Congress stop:

[jajuan]

Bus moves 4/1/14

1329-1334, 1348-1349 Chicago to North Park

6551-6560 Forest Glen to Chicago

1250-1252 77th to 103rd

Note some of this reverses moves made last week.

So 1332, 1333, 1334, 1348 and 1349 moved from Kedzie to Chicago to North Park all in the span of a few days. And 1250-1252 moved from 103rd to 77th and back to 77th in that same time. Crazy.

[Busjack]

...

Also a few shots of the RTA style intermodal bus stop signs I took at the southbound Michigan/Van Buren-Congress stop:

IMG_20130816_192432_3701.jpgIMG_20130816_192448_2321.jpgIMG_20130816_192510_6411.jpg

The last one is clearly intermodal, but the bus stop signs look like standard CTA ones, other than the logo is centered. Maybe that makes them RTA, but that doesn't seem conclusive. I would be more convinced if there were a combo CTA/Pace sign for 855, and it wasn't just CTA putting Pace on its signs (as it sometimes did, but not consistently).

Of course, the [worthless] RTA travel info. number has been on bus stop signs since the 1970s, when it replaced MO4-7220.

[jajuan]

Yesterday While doing the 28 on Michigan and balbo I saw a nova bus dead heading east bound towards LSD but the run box had a P*** I can't remember the run number but since when has NP had or have Novas. I know sometimes buses are loaned from other garages but when it has the garage letter or number that's something different.

North Park doesn't have Novas officially. Whatever Novas have been sighted recently have all been loans thus far. And the run number box always shows the garage code of the garage making use of the bus at that time regardless of whether it's the home garage of the one borrowing it. Remember the run number identifies the operator not the bus. The operator is still assigned to North Park even if the bus isn't. So if North Park borrowed that bus, it stands to reason that the run number box is going to show a P and not an F. The only time that's going to be different is if a supervisor pulled that operator from his regular Forest Glen run and instructed him to do that North Park run due to such things for example as the operator from North Park who was supposed to be doing that run having not reported for duty that day.

[jajuan]

The last one is clearly intermodal, but the bus stop signs look like standard CTA ones, other than the logo is centered. Maybe that makes them RTA, but that doesn't seem conclusive. I would be more convinced if there were a combo CTA/Pace sign for 855, and it wasn't just CTA putting Pace on its signs (as it sometimes did, but not consistently).

Of course, the [worthless] RTA travel info. number has been on bus stop signs since the 1970s, when it replaced MO4-7220.

What probably wasn't clear in the shots is the signs with the centered CTA logo had those letter codes shown in the last shot designating boarding zones at the top of the sign posts, which makes the signs in the other the other two shots intermodal signs from RTA and not standard issue CTA signs. Note they have rtachicago.com on them and not transitchicago.com as signs directly from CTA normally do.

[YoungBusLover]

Just to answer my own question from yesterday,The Fresh moves Flxible was headed to south shops and currently there as of this morning.

[TripleTransit1]

Is it just me, or have non-hybrid 4300s taken over the 79th Street route?

[jajuan]

Is it just me, or have non-hybrid 4300s taken over the 79th Street route?

That's been the case since October of 20th of last year when the Dan Ryan leg of the Red Line reopened and those artics weren't needed as Red Line shuttle buses any longer.

[Mr.cta85]

North Park doesn't have Novas officially. Whatever Novas have been sighted recently have all been loans thus far. And the run number box always shows the garage code of the garage making use of the bus at that time regardless of whether it's the home garage of the one borrowing it. Remember the run number identifies the operator not the bus. The operator is still assigned to North Park even if the bus isn't. So if North Park borrowed that bus, it stands to reason that the run number box is going to show a P and not an F. The only time that's going to be different is if a supervisor pulled that operator from his regular Forest Glen run and instructed him to do that North Park run due to such things for example as the operator from North Park who was supposed to be doing that run having not reported for duty that day.

And now I feel like an compete idiot for not realizing that lol I honestly knew that but for some reason I completely didn't think about it at the time when I wrote my last post lol. But thanks for still explaining it.

[Mr.cta85]

It's now April everyone and you all know what that means, the new buses are making their way here and will go into service next month in May ooooh yea!!!

[jajuan]

And now I feel like an compete idiot for not realizing that lol I honestly knew that but for some reason I completely didn't think about it at the time when I wrote my last post lol. But thanks for still explaining it.

No problem man. We all forget things from time to time and make innocent mistakes. Hopefully I'm not the only one who doesn't hold against you.

[TripleTransit1]

Crazy moment on the #79. This chick got super-pissed because they were on a bus going east and they were trying to get to Western. I felt sorry for the dude.

[garmon757]

This don't make any damn sense! People don't know how to read when it clearly states that RIGHT TURN IN FRONT OF THE BUS IS ILLEGAL!!! Get ready to pay up stupid person!

Location: Park Manor

Bus Route and Number: Unknown

Courtesy by my kids' mom.

[BusHunter]

Don't know if this was ever mentioned before, but I noticed 4155 has different seats than the rest of the stimulus paid artics 4150-4207. Here are a few shots:

IMG_20140401_013233_9661.jpgIMG_20140401_013248_4191.jpgIMG_20140401_013602_9011.jpgIMG_20140401_013615_4921.jpg

Also a few shots of the RTA style intermodal bus stop signs I took at the southbound Michigan/Van Buren-Congress stop:

IMG_20130816_192432_3701.jpgIMG_20130816_192448_2321.jpgIMG_20130816_192510_6411.jpg

Kevin mentions what kind of seats they are in the photos section of that particular bus model. The question I have is are those the same seats as what's on #6409? They look the same.

[jajuan]

Kevin mentions what kind of seats they are in the photos section of that particular bus model. The question I have is are those the same seats as what's on #6409? They look the same.

Ok. I haven't looked at the bus section pictures in a while so I obviously forgot about the difference until I was on 4155 this past Monday night. Moving to your question though, they do look like what's on 6409 but I haven't been on 6409 in a while even after it moved to 74th. (74th doesn't put this one on the #9 much, the route I ride most from that garage since I live up near Rogers Park lol) So I can't say with full certainty if they are despite the similarity.

[BusHunter]

Yeah, I had mentioned it when #4155 was new, but it's not a big deal. Both #6409 and #6445 are on my to do list. I want to see both of those before they are scrapped.

[garmon757]

Kevin mentions what kind of seats they are in the photos section of that particular bus model. The question I have is are those the same seats as what's on #6409? They look the same.

Ok. I haven't looked at the bus section pictures in a while so I obviously forgot about the difference until I was on 4155 this past Monday night. Moving to your question though, they do look like what's on 6409 but I haven't been on 6409 in a while even after it moved to 74th. (74th doesn't put this one on the #9 much, the route I ride most from that garage since I live up near Rogers Park lol) So I can't say with full certainty if they are despite the similarity.

Have both of you forgotten that I uploaded the seat pic of #6409 a couple months ago in this topic??? They both are CitiPro seats but different models.