3200-series - Updates

[artthouwill]

44 minutes ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

This reply isn't to call you out, but it touched on something i'd been thinking about for a while. I find it interesting that no one focuses on how the West side may be affected by the current crisis affecting the Blue line. Is it because of new station improvements? Pink line being less than a mile south? No one vocally representing the West side on this forum?

 Think the issue is the O'Hare branch is has very heavy ridership compared to the Forest Pk Branch. Also the Forest Park  branch is flanked b the Pink Line to the south and the Green Line to the north.  Both of those lines have 5000 series railcars.  The O'Hare branch has no alternate rail service.

[Guest]

The OHare branch has been bursting at the seams for years!  Ever since the revitalization of Wicker Park, Humboldt and Logan Square neighborhoods  Those areas have seen a huge spike in population. The Blue line was no doubt the beneficiary of it. And thats how CTA in most cases predict how to provide current or future service. Sadly, CTA dropped the ball on this one. These were projects that were years overdue. Now it seems theyre having to play "catch up"  One more proof of the negligence at CTA with the Blue line 

[BusHunter]

2 hours ago, CTA5750 said:

The OHare branch has been bursting at the seams for years!  Ever since the revitalization of Wicker Park, Humboldt and Logan Square neighborhoods  Those areas have seen a huge spike in population. The Blue line was no doubt the beneficiary of it. And thats how CTA in most cases predict how to provide current or future service. Sadly, CTA dropped the ball on this one. These were projects that were years overdue. Now it seems theyre having to play "catch up"  One more proof of the negligence at CTA with the Blue line 

One reason I think the blue line is getting repaired is because cta has no where else to go with the money. Green pink yellow brown half of red orange are all in good shape. I question projects like the Garfield green line cause come on guys that is already pretty new and it's not seeing the traffic of its cousin down the street. Another thing is consolidation which makes no sense. For one line to be consolidated means you have to crap on the other line which is not fair. In the old days all lines got something. It's not like Rosemont has the best shop at cta either. If they really want to do that they need to invest in blue line maintenance. As far as the surprise of 3200s on blue cta has no choice. It's either that or hire barney rubble and fred flintstone to come pick you up!! Consolidation has bit them in the butt and now is proven not to work. 

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, BusHunter said:

One reason I think the blue line is getting repaired is because cta has no where else to go with the money. 

So now, after crying lack of funds, saying it needs billions for the RPM, more billions for the Red South, a state capital bill, etc., it is doing merely cosmetic work on the Blue Line because it has nowhere else to spend surplus money? Makes lot of sense.

[artthouwill]

3 hours ago, BusHunter said:

One reason I think the blue line is getting repaired is because cta has no where else to go with the money. Green pink yellow brown half of red orange are all in good shape. I question projects like the Garfield green line cause come on guys that is already pretty new and it's not seeing the traffic of its cousin down the street. Another thing is consolidation which makes no sense. For one line to be consolidated means you have to crap on the other line which is not fair. In the old days all lines got something. It's not like Rosemont has the best shop at cta either. If they really want to do that they need to invest in blue line maintenance. As far as the surprise of 3200s on blue cta has no choice. It's either that or hire barney rubble and fred flintstone to come pick you up!! Consolidation has bit them in the butt and now is proven not to work. 

Actually consolidation has worked, at least in respect to rail service.  The Blue Line is still predominately 2600s and runs well for the most part.  The Orange Line is  all 2600s and also is running well.  The Brown Line is  predominantly 3200s and is running well.  The Brown and Blue Lines have to store parts for two separate series of cars while all other lines only have to stock for one series. There's a  cost savings that comes with that.

[Sam92]

I'm still more on the thought that while all of the other system is more connected the blue was isolated so they decided to do everything that's easy to access.  Come on,  red got new cars but up till the 2013 rebuild red was also running 2600s just like the blue and had HORRIBLE infrastructure...  The red line got it's major repair in 2013 then in 2014 work started on your new blue so I wish we could stop this "cta is playing favorites" BS when they basically bought a secondhand 100 year old system.  Tbh orange line riders were the spoiled ones with the newest track and 3200s if you really wanna press the issue that bad ??

[Sam92]

Also taking dates into consideration you have: 

Blue- constant tie replacement on forest park from 2001-2012

O hare tie replacement -2007-2008

Blue line subway - 2009

Your new blue -2014

Red line - A more vibrant red (2004-2007)

Subway track replacement (2008)

Dan Ryan track- 2013 

And RPM related work so if you want to compare blue and red they got work and repairs on a similar timeline only thing that's standing out with red line getting new cars is that considering fleet compatibility and the number of 5000s, someone was gonna have something to complain,  logistically Howard became the better choice due to 3 lines sharing one yard

[BusHunter]

6 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Actually consolidation has worked, at least in respect to rail service.  The Blue Line is still predominately 2600s and runs well for the most part.  The Orange Line is  all 2600s and also is running well.  The Brown Line is  predominantly 3200s and is running well.  The Brown and Blue Lines have to store parts for two separate series of cars while all other lines only have to stock for one series. There's a  cost savings that comes with that.

Well I have 3 sets of 5000s and 100 3200s that would seem to differ from your opinion. From what I hear uber does a killing on all these blue line mishaps because if something is unreliable you stop using it.

CTA goofed when they put 2600s all on a major line. They should have spread those on the lighter lines. You know Pink line had some of the best later conditioned 2600s I have seen. Is it because the pink line shop is that good? No its because the cars got a rest. These tired 2600s cant take all the stress. They are going to fail and they did. 

[BusHunter]

7 hours ago, Busjack said:

So now, after crying lack of funds, saying it needs billions for the RPM, more billions for the Red South, a state capital bill, etc., it is doing merely cosmetic work on the Blue Line because it has nowhere else to spend surplus money? Makes lot of sense.

So you propose that they rehab the dan ryan again. Now that makes sense. Keep drinking the kool aid, I'll pour you a glass to toast yourself. 

[artthouwill]

7 hours ago, BusHunter said:

Well I have 3 sets of 5000s and 100 3200s that would seem to differ from your opinion. From what I hear uber does a killing on all these blue line mishaps because if something is unreliable you stop using it.

CTA goofed when they put 2600s all on a major line. They should have spread those on the lighter lines. You know Pink line had some of the best later conditioned 2600s I have seen. Is it because the pink line shop is that good? No its because the cars got a rest. These tired 2600s cant take all the stress. They are going to fail and they did. 

How did they fail when the majority of the cars running n the Blue Line still  are 2600s?   The Orange Line is 100% 2600s

The 3200s would total 8 trains and 4 spares.  At peak you still have over half of the  trains being 2600s.  You can blame CTA for not accepting the Bombardier bid for 7000s which may or may not have expedited delivery of that sries. But it was okay for the 2400d to run forever on the west and south sides. And Evanston.   

 

 

 

[Busjack]

10 hours ago, BusHunter said:

So you propose that they rehab the dan ryan again. Now that makes sense. Keep drinking the kool aid, I'll pour you a glass to toast yourself. 

You can cut both the insults and the misrepresentations. I guess you never heard about the extension to 130th St.

[NewFlyerMCI]

10 hours ago, BusHunter said:

So you propose that they rehab the dan ryan again. Now that makes sense. Keep drinking the kool aid, I'll pour you a glass to toast yourself. 

That was clearly a joke . In all seriousness, even if it is just cosmetic work, which it isn't, there are still meaningful improvements being made.

[Sam92]

I still think no part of the city is being favorited.  People just worked up over trivial matters far as this is concerned,  I just laid out that Red was never really a winner over blue as much as ppl convince themselves ??

[Busjack]

20 minutes ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

That was clearly a joke 

I doubt it. Maybe the "they don't have anywhere else to spend the money" was, as he didn't defend it.

11 minutes ago, Sam92 said:

I still think no part of the city is being favorited.  People just worked up over trivial matters far as this is concerned,  I just laid out that Red was never really a winner over blue as much as ppl convince themselves ??

On your first and third sentences, MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL consistently said that the Red Line was the core of the system. Used to campaign repeatedly at 95th. I don't think he cared about cars, but he certainly cared about the station and tracks, such as assuring that all stations on the Dan Ryan segment were accessible. Again, I don't think that the average passenger knows the difference between a 2600 and 3200, but there sure are a number who care that most of the stations on the Blue Line are not accessible, and when CTA says it will take until 2040 to make the whole system accessible, the last part will be the Blue Line. That's why I said the improvements (at least the station improvements) are cosmetic, as I said when people complained that the Damen and California stations were not made accessible. Whether the people in Wicker Park care,I don't know.

Of course, since MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL isn't running in 2019, he no longer cares. I don't have a vote in the Feb. election, but I haven't heard any of the 22 candidates take any position on CTA, just on police and schools.

[BusHunter]

8 hours ago, artthouwill said:

How did they fail when the majority of the cars running n the Blue Line still  are 2600s?   The Orange Line is 100% 2600s

The 3200s would total 8 trains and 4 spares.  At peak you still have over half of the  trains being 2600s.  You can blame CTA for not accepting the Bombardier bid for 7000s which may or may not have expedited delivery of that sries. But it was okay for the 2400d to run forever on the west and south sides. And Evanston.   

 

 

 

Because on the orange they are resting. Do they need all those cars? nope. Can they repair those cars more effectively. Yes. So the orange line is the vacation the cars need. As far as the blue line not failing, a majority is a majority it's not all the cars. I tell you what when you take a trip on cta do you tell them i only have 1.50 so you can give me a ride because I have the majority of the fare. Same concept. Not mixing the #3200 on the Orange is not smart, but they must feel the maintenance is stronger than the brown.

[BusHunter]

5 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

That was clearly a joke . In all seriousness, even if it is just cosmetic work, which it isn't, there are still meaningful improvements being made.

Yeah a joke it is. I questioned at one time the rehab of 95th but it might be pretty smart because by the time an extension goes to 130th Busjack will need his Alzheimer's medication. How long have we been talking about 130th??? The blue line is here now and it needs help. Are the citizens of the north side less worthy? Are they getting the quality service they deserve? I hope I don't have to remind everyone all stations south of the Forest Pk branch are handicapped accessible and in a state of good repair. So why fix it if it isn't broke?

[artthouwill]

33 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

Because on the orange they are resting. Do they need all those cars? nope. Can they repair those cars more effectively. Yes. So the orange line is the vacation the cars need. As far as the blue line not failing, a majority is a majority it's not all the cars. I tell you what when you take a trip on cta do you tell them i only have 1.50 so you can give me a ride because I have the majority of the fare. Same concept. Not mixing the #3200 on the Orange is not smart, but they must feel the maintenance is stronger than the brown.

Bad analogy.  If I have the full fare, even if it includes half of them being pennies, I can still ride.  The Blue Line has surplus of 2600s so they all aren't  running 24/7. Lookat the Forest Park and Rosemont Yards off peak.  Those cars ar resting as you say. 

[BusHunter]

16 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Bad analogy.  If I have the full fare, even if it includes half of them being pennies, I can still ride.  The Blue Line has surplus of 2600s so they all aren't  running 24/7. Lookat the Forest Park and Rosemont Yards off peak.  Those cars ar resting as you say. 

Last night there was a high concentration of 3200s on the blue line. It's good they are getting road miles and getting something out of the rehabs. They need to stretch the miles of the 2600s. I think they were trying to do that with the occasional orange line swap but there only so much you can do. It beats having newer cars parked in the yard. That does nothing for the lacking. 

[artthouwill]

6 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

Last night there was a high concentration of 3200s on the blue line. It's good they are getting road miles and getting something out of the rehabs. They need to stretch the miles of the 2600s. I think they were trying to do that with the occasional orange line swap but there only so much you can do. It beats having newer cars parked in the yard. That does nothing for the lacking. 

Most early predawn mornings I see mostly 2600s on the Blue Line.  Even though the 2600s and the 3200s are compatible , CTA is choosing not to mix the series together in any consists. Its easier o break up the 2600s into 4 car consists  and re-pair them with another 4 car consist of 2600s on the other end of the line if need be.  Its possible  with the 3200s but more difficult  since there ar less of those cars. Hence the 2600s run Blue Line owl service.

 

 

[Sam92]

20 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Most early predawn mornings I see mostly 2600s on the Blue Line.  Even though the 2600s and the 3200s are compatible , CTA is choosing not to mix the series together in any consists. Its easier o break up the 2600s into 4 car consists  and re-pair them with another 4 car consist of 2600s on the other end of the line if need be.  Its possible  with the 3200s but more difficult  since there ar less of those cars. Hence the 2600s run Blue Line owl service.

 

 

Wonder if running all 3200s off peak Is taxing on the power.  You seen the latest slow zone maps?  I lot of power slow zones popping up

[artthouwill]

6 minutes ago, Sam92 said:

Wonder if running all 3200s off peak Is taxing on the power.  You seen the latest slow zone maps?  I lot of power slow zones popping up

Not sure

  The last time I rode the Blue Line, o rode a 3200 series from downtown to  ORD.  The most notable slow zone was from Grand to Chicago.  The rest of the  trip seemed  fine.  There may be more slow zones inbound, but I wouldn't blame the 3200s for the slow zones.  I think the slow zones are more tack or infrastructure related.

[Busjack]

58 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

The most notable slow zone was from Grand to Chicago.

...where the Milwaukee substation is under construction.

[artthouwill]

1 minute ago, Busjack said:

...where the Milwaukee substation is under construction.

Which is a power issue but it's not caused by the 3200s running on the Blue Line. Sam92's post wondered if running all 3200s off peak was taxing power.  The answer is no.

 

[ThirdRailVision]

4 hours ago, Sam92 said:

You seen the latest slow zone maps?  I lot of power slow zones popping up

Where can we access these slow zone maps? 

[Aiden Tabucic]

15 minutes ago, ThirdRailVision said:

Where can we access these slow zone maps? 

CTA website under Slow zone I will post a picture