Busjack Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 He didn't say excactly what time he saw the bus, but I assumed it was in the afternoon. Sine there is a 3:15 p.m. departure from Norridge with no corresponding arrival, that bus had to deadhead there, presumably via the Kennedy and Harlem (which is only 1 1/2 mile east of Cumberland. As we noted above, possible, except that this is usually a Niles bus, as BusHunter also noted. More likely explanation is that it could have been going from NW to the Niles Public Service Garage roughly at 6800 W. Touhy, sort of similar to the sightings of Highland Park buses in Waukegan for maintenance (I think Railway Modeler said to have radios installed*). We'll have to see if it is back in Niles. The other thing is that if still in Niles configuration, it wouldn't have a fare box (it did not the last time I saw it). ________ *That bus didn't get the radios when Aurora was upgraded. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 He didn't say excactly what time he saw the bus, but I assumed it was in the afternoon. Sine there is a 3:15 p.m. departure from Norridge with no corresponding arrival, that bus had to deadhead there, presumably via the Kennedy and Harlem (which is only 1 1/2 mile east of Cumberland. About 9:30 in the morning. I thought myself, maybe it was an equipment move, but it's too far west to be coming from Niles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted October 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 Today I rode 6323 on the 270. Interesting that the stops were made by a MALE announcer instead of the femaie voice I'm accustomed to hearing on Pace. The signage was correct on the bus which makes me wonder if 6323 will stay permanently at NW. That also begs the question, if and when Pace will receive more of these Eldorado Axxess buses? This bus is the only one of the non-expresses to have tinted windows. I wonder if Pace will consider or reconsider adding tinted windows to its transit fleet again? As far as the 270 goes, I know it is a posted stops only route, but now that the 56A is gone, it appears the 270 has taken over the city stops as well. But I noticed the 270 has two stalls at Jefferson Park, one marked for rush hour use only. The Pace schedule doesn't indicate any expresses, so I can only assume that the other stall was for the former 56A route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 .... As far as the 270 goes, I know it is a posted stops only route, but now that the 56A is gone, it appears the 270 has taken over the city stops as well. But I noticed the 270 has two stalls at Jefferson Park, one marked for rush hour use only. The Pace schedule doesn't indicate any expresses, so I can only assume that the other stall was for the former 56A route. On the last point, there was (at one time) a 56A/270 stall and a 270 only stall only for the rush hour. Apparently someone just taped over the 56A part of the first one. Otherwise, 6323 is still up at NW, although WebWatch has also had it on 208 and 250. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 Just saw an Axess express come into rosemont CTA at 9:30am. Are they running those now on something other than #610. I was on the train and could've swore it said #600 express. I have yet to see working destinations on the #610 on the axess'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 Just saw an Axess express come into rosemont CTA at 9:30am. Are they running those now on something other than #610. I was on the train and could've swore it said #600 express. I have yet to see working destinations on the #610 on the axess'. One would have to check if 600 is strictly NW or also shared with River. Obviously, 610 is shared between the garages, so one isn't assured an Axess on that, either. The route descriptions on pacebus.com are not adequate in that regard, but the schedule pdfs say both garages under carrier information (600 610). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroShadow Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 One would have to check if 600 is strictly NW or also shared with River. Obviously, 610 is shared between the garages, so one isn't assured an Axess on that, either. The route descriptions on pacebus.com are not adequate in that regard, but the schedule pdfs say both garages under carrier information (600 610). Inbound 610 Signs read: 610 Express 610 Rosemnt CTA Inbound 600 buses only read: Rosemnt CTA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 Well then I guess it was a #610, because i definitely saw the word "express". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Scanning NW for 6323 turned up 6392 and 6393. It appears that the next order is coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Those are some ugly bus models! Not a fan at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Those are some ugly bus models! Not a fan at all! It is a matter of taste. I think they are way better looking than the 6000s they apparently will replace, especially with all the open vents in the 6000s. Maybe it is the extreme blue paint and decals, but those have been around since 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Actually, I just spotted 6393 EB on Dempster at NW Hwy/Rand Rd within the last 15 minutes or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted November 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 Based on those spottings of 6392 and 6393, it appears that NW will continue to get the new buses. If they are slated for apprx. 43 new buses, which of those will be slated for the Milwaukee Ave ART line (Rt 270)? I guess they shouldn't need any more than 8 to 10 buses for that, including spares.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 Based on those spottings of 6392 and 6393, it appears that NW will continue to get the new buses. If they are slated for apprx. 43 new buses, which of those will be slated for the Milwaukee Ave ART line (Rt 270)? I guess they shouldn't need any more than 8 to 10 buses for that, including spares.. That's a good question. One of them is now on 270, the other on 223. However, in that these have already been on other routes, I doubt that they are distinctive enough for a branded service. The better question seems to be how many there will be and how many 6000s will be displaced, although apparently none yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTRSP1900-CTA3200 Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 Those are some ugly bus models! Not a fan at all! It is a matter of taste. I think they are way better looking than the 6000s they apparently will replace, especially with all the open vents in the 6000s. Maybe it is the extreme blue paint and decals, but those have been around since 2005. They're alright in my opinion, though I'm going based on outside looks since I never ride Pace. I'm mostly critical of the rearmost windows. They look too small. Also the dual pipes in the back look a bit odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 They're alright in my opinion, though I'm going based on outside looks since I never ride Pace. I'm mostly critical of the rearmost windows. They look too small. Also the dual pipes in the back look a bit odd. Apparently one is for the preheater. Insides on both the 2600s and transit 6323s are about the same, the most notable thing being the Pace logo woven into the seat inserts, and the only difference being if they have the scoop or Aries seats. But, pretty much, any bus built after about 1998 is about the same on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 Scanning NW for 6323 turned up 6392 and 6393. It appears that the next order is coming. 6392.jpg 6393.jpg Looks like the Orion VI buses are going to be starting some form of retirement soon or at the minimum displaced from NW hearing of that discovery and depending on how many they get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted November 23, 2013 Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 However, in that these have already been on other routes, I doubt that they are distinctive enough for a branded service.That hasn't stopped the CTA on the 14, as there are as many 4300s that are non wrapped buses on that route as there are wrapped 4000s...then those interline to the 192...yeah, real distinctive and dedicated use !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted November 23, 2013 Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 That hasn't stopped the CTA on the 14, as there are as many 4300s that are non wrapped buses on that route as there are wrapped 4000s...then those interline to the 192...yeah, real distinctive and dedicated use !! Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 23, 2013 Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 That hasn't stopped the CTA on the 14, as there are as many 4300s that are non wrapped buses on that route as there are wrapped 4000s...then those interline to the 192...yeah, real distinctive and dedicated use !! Exactly. I see your point, but also that Pace will/has fanc(y/ied) up its buses on the I-55 and I-90 services, so I would expect a little more from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted November 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 Looks like the Orion VI buses are going to be starting some form of retirement soon or at the minimum displaced from NW hearing of that discovery and depending on how many they get there. By my math, if they get all 43, that should retire the oldest 6000s (6000 - 6039), which would then put the oldest 6000s at West (roughly 6040 and up tp 6071). The question that arises for me is when South expects to receive its CNG buses? Supposing 2014, then we may see some of South's NABIs back at West to retire their Orion VIs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 23, 2013 Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 By my math, if they get all 43, that should retire the oldest 6000s (6000 - 6039), which would then put the oldest 6000s at West (roughly 6040 and up tp 6071). The question that arises for me is when South expects to receive its CNG buses? Supposing 2014, then we may see some of South's NABIs back at West to retire their Orion VIs. I don't know where you get 43. The 2012 budget (as amended) was for 156, of which they got (up thru 6391) 69. That leaves 87 by my count, which about equals the number of year 2000 6000s. The specs for the CNG buses said first deliveries in June 2014, but since Pace has not posted the contract award, and its budget indicates that it hasn't received the state bond money, nor has issued its own bonds for the garage building conversion, I don't know if that is still valid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted November 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 I don't know where you get 43. The 2012 budget (as amended) was for 156, of which they got (up thru 6391) 69. That leaves 87 by my count, which about equals the number of year 2000 6000s. The specs for the CNG buses said first deliveries in June 2014, but since Pace has not posted the contract award, and its budget indicates that it hasn't received the state bond money, nor has issued its own bonds for the garage building conversion, I don't know if that is still valid. The Pace 2014 Budget states 43 "fixed route' buses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 24, 2013 Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 The Pace 2014 Budget states 43 "fixed route' buses. That's probably for delivery in 2016. As I indicated, they have to go through the 2012 and 2013 budgets first. When the 2012 budget was passed in 2011, Pace claimed that they had the money for 172 buses, but that was amended to deduct 16 transits for the 13 OTRs. As I noted above, the 2014 budget put some doubt whether the state bond money allocated in the 2013 budget for the CNGs will actually come through. If payment is due on delivery, the 2014 budget is too late for this order. The real question, so far not disclosed on the public record, is how many Year 2 options Pace exercised on the 2011 contract for between 9 and 416 diesel buses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted November 24, 2013 Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 So has anyone seen these buses in person? Are they exactly the same as the 2013 models? How many Orion vii's were ordered in the first year of that contract may shed some light on how many buses they are getting. If the 2014 budget says 43 buses, it's not yet 2014, so I would think that they are not counting those yet. Are we missing any buses off the 2013 budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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