8350-series Nova LFS - Updates

[Busjack]

36 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

And we know 8401. 8420 and 8421 are at FG.  The question is will CTA even bother to do the necessary swaps to align the blocks, considering they could have just sent these buses to the "right" garage from jump.

@andrethebusmanindicated CTA won't. With all buses trackable on the computer, there really isn't a reason to do so. There are already some 7900s and 8325s scattered around.

CTA is probably allocating on the basis that by Feb. 2023, there will be 200 new Novas and 41 electric buses.

[YoungBusLover]

After going to the boneyard I found #8405,#8408,8413, #8444 and #8446 sitting back there with no license plates so that's 5 right there. I'm sure someone gave a head count for the #8350s on the SS fence already. 

[BusHunter]

103rd #8350's are now tracking on maths tracker. 

It was stated #8386 was recently a bus at SS (like last week) so fg has received #8350"s even though most are going to 103rd now.  In a way it would be fair to give 103rd less because they have more #8325's than the Glen about 18 versus the Glensi 7 buses but late deliveries will throw a wrench in their total for now.

BTW noticed the destination signs on #8355 have stopped working, all 3 destination signs. Can you say warranty. 

[Guest ChicagoRail]

33 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

103rd #8350's are now tracking on maths tracker. 

It was stated #8386 was recently a bus at SS (like last week) so fg has received #8350"s even though most are going to 103rd now.  In a way it would be fair to give 103rd less because they have more #8325's than the Glen about 18 versus the Glensi 7 buses but late deliveries will throw a wrench in their total for now.

 

Most??

[pudgym29]

I think this is a possibility. Forest Glen sends more low 1000s to Kedzie, and gets Kedzie's sparse number of 7900-series Nova buses. I looks to me like there is movement to send all FG's New Flyer buses to other garages. ?

[jajuan]

1 hour ago, pudgym29 said:

I think this is a possibility. Forest Glen sends more low 1000s to Kedzie, and gets Kedzie's sparse number of 7900-series Nova buses. I looks to me like there is movement to send all FG's New Flyer buses to other garages. ?

That particular trade is highly doubtful when one considers and remembers that the biggest reason Kedzie, and 103rd for that matter, got Novas out of the overall 7900 series before CTA bought and even started receiving 8350s was because they wanted more garages to have buses with the bigger and heavier shields that could be sent out as night cars on owl routes due to an increase in attacks on bus operators at the time. Since then, a majority of owl runs have been done with Novas. 

[pudgym29]

3 hours ago, jajuan said:

That particular trade is highly doubtful when one considers and remembers that the biggest reason Kedzie, and 103rd for that matter, got Novas out of the overall 7900 series before CTA bought and even started receiving 8350s was because they wanted more garages to have buses with the bigger and heavier shields that could be sent out as night cars on owl routes due to an increase in attacks on bus operators at the time. Since then, a majority of owl runs have been done with Novas. 

Kedzie has _only one_ Owl Route, the #60 Blue Island-26th. That requires three vehicles for Owl service.

7903 - Hasn't run later than 10:50 pm all month. (Route #39 - 2 Aug. A baseball extra?)
7904 - Hasn't run later than 10:40 pm all month. (Route #39 - 19 Aug. A baseball extra?)
7905 - Hasn't run later than 11:20 pm all month. (Route #126 - 5 Aug.)
7906 - Hasn't run later than 7:00 pm all month. (Route #82 - 24 Aug.)
7908 - Hasn't run later than 6:30 pm all month. (Route #120 - 23 Aug.)
8100 - Hasn't run later than 10:20 pm all month. (Route #35 - 8 Aug. A baseball extra?)
8101 - Hasn't run later than 10:30 pm all month. (Route #82 - 4 Aug.)
8102 - Ran until 12:10 am on Route #35 on 17-18 Aug. (A baseball extra?)
8103 - Ran until 12:00 M (24:00 hours) on Route #21 on 11 Aug. Had been previously on Route #39.
8104 - Ran until 1:50 am on Route #82 on 7-8 Aug. Had been previously on Routes #21 & #60. (It was running all day.)
8105 - Hasn't run later than 6:00 pm all month. (Route #121 - 9 Aug.) Has not run in service since 11 Aug.
8106 - Hasn't run later than 10:40 pm all month. (Route #124 - 24 Aug.) Had been previously on Routes #120 & #125.
8107 - Hasn't run later than 7:40 pm all month. (Route #124 - 8 Aug.)
8108 - Hasn't run later than 6:50 pm all month. (Route #125 - 11 Aug.)
8111 - Actually assigned to Chicago Garage.

The ponderance of these buses' assignments after the P.M. rush seem to be tied to the nights of baseball games at the new Comiskey Park.
The routes on which these buses are getting the most assignments are #120 & #121, the commuter train station shuttles. Those do not run late at night.
I am lousy at snark. But the data I reproduced above certainly seems to refute a perception that Kedzie Garage has these new Novas for late night runs. They are not running that late. They are not being preferred by operators of Route #60 Owl runs. So these fourteen buses could positively be sent to Forest Glen Garage in return for New Flyer buses 1010-1023.

[jajuan]

15 minutes ago, pudgym29 said:

Kedzie has _only one_ Owl Route, the #60 Blue Island-26th. That requires three vehicles for Owl service.

7903 - Hasn't run later than 10:50 pm all month. (Route #39 - 2 Aug. A baseball extra?)
7904 - Hasn't run later than 10:40 pm all month. (Route #39 - 19 Aug. A baseball extra?)
7905 - Hasn't run later than 11:20 pm all month. (Route #126 - 5 Aug.)
7906 - Hasn't run later than 7:00 pm all month. (Route #82 - 24 Aug.)
7908 - Hasn't run later than 6:30 pm all month. (Route #120 - 23 Aug.)
8100 - Hasn't run later than 10:20 pm all month. (Route #35 - 8 Aug. A baseball extra?)
8101 - Hasn't run later than 10:30 pm all month. (Route #82 - 4 Aug.)
8102 - Ran until 12:10 am on Route #35 on 17-18 Aug. (A baseball extra?)
8103 - Ran until 12:00 M (24:00 hours) on Route #21 on 11 Aug. Had been previously on Route #39.
8104 - Ran until 1:50 am on Route #82 on 7-8 Aug. Had been previously on Routes #21 & #60. (It was running all day.)
8105 - Hasn't run later than 6:00 pm all month. (Route #121 - 9 Aug.) Has not run in service since 11 Aug.
8106 - Hasn't run later than 10:40 pm all month. (Route #124 - 24 Aug.) Had been previously on Routes #120 & #125.
8107 - Hasn't run later than 7:40 pm all month. (Route #124 - 8 Aug.)
8108 - Hasn't run later than 6:50 pm all month. (Route #125 - 11 Aug.)
8111 - Actually assigned to Chicago Garage.

The ponderance of these buses' assignments after the P.M. rush seem to be tied to the nights of baseball games at the new Comiskey Park.
The routes on which these buses are getting the most assignments are #120 & #121, the commuter train station shuttles. Those do not run late at night.
I am lousy at snark. But the data I reproduced above certainly seems to refute a perception that Kedzie Garage has these new Novas for late night runs. They are not running that late. They are not being preferred by operators of Route #60 Owl runs. So these fourteen buses could positively be sent to Forest Glen Garage in return for New Flyer buses 1010-1023.

Okay you pulled out the data, but CTA's rationale is what I stated and that was what they had been using the buses for earlier on after receiving them. But your proposed trade is still unlikely because for one thing they would have done it already by last weekend for the current fall pick that they're in now if they so desired 1010-23 to go to Kedzie. Heck they would have just moved more low numbered New Flyers back to 103rd for that matter instead of holding on to them to instead move 1500s from there to NP and some 1300s to 74th and 77th. Another knock against your proposal is Kedzie actually increased its Nova count in the prior picks before this one that came after that one that sent 7903-7908 from 77th to Kedzie. The last knock against it is that with the 8350s now coming on the scene, and it becoming ever more likely that CTA will order 600 of them rather than make another request for bids for 500 further diesels from a different manufacturer because of the vast majority of 1000s being of retirement age. Kedzie is going to get 8350s at some point, and the operators there are going to need to know how to handle them when that occurs. And mechanics will need to know how to repair them. What better way to do that than to keep the 7900s at Kedzie from the blocks they currently have right where they are since most of the differences between the 7900s and 8350s are more cosmetic than mechanical.

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, pudgym29 said:

So these fourteen buses could positively be sent to Forest Glen Garage in return for New Flyer buses 1010-1023.

@jajuan implied the real answer: Why transfer buses that should be retired?

[Mr.NewFlyer1051]

3 hours ago, pudgym29 said:

So these fourteen buses could positively be sent to Forest Glen Garage in return for New Flyer buses 1010-1023.

1010-1023 already at FG remember FG has 1010-1025 1028-1049 in the 1000-1099 range

[BusHunter]

They finally got the tracker working on #8420, so it tracks now. Noticed in the last few days #8353, #8389 and #8387 show up too. #8379 and #8356 I think are still ghost buses. Hopefully they can get those working. 

[BusHunter]

#8381 popped up on the #76 yesterday for its debut. So fg now has 51. 103rd seems to be running the same 5 or 6 buses they have. 

[Bus1883]

1 hour ago, BusHunter said:

#8381 popped up on the #76 yesterday for its debut. So fg now has 51. 103rd seems to be running the same 5 or 6 buses they have. 

Hey they better send down that one bus that’s at FG to make it evenly?

[jajuan]

On 8/28/2022 at 9:52 PM, Mr.NewFlyer1051 said:

1010-1023 already at FG remember FG has 1010-1025 1028-1049 in the 1000-1099 range

No, he was actually advocating Kedzie send it's current small allotment of 7900s to FG in return for FG sending 1010-1023 to Kedzie. And I pointed out reasons for that being unlikely top among them being that Kedzie is likely to get 8350s eventually, if the current standard logic of them exercising all options and getting the full 600 plays out given their committing themselves to going all electric by 2040 puts them in a time crunch that makes putting out another request for bids for the other 500 replacements for some of the 1000s from another unlikely. And Kedzie will need to keep 7900s on its roster to keep operators and other relevant staff update on Nova operations and maintenance given the difference between 7900s and 8350s is more cosmetic than mechanical due to the 8350s being the same exact model of the Nova diesel LFS as the 7900s, but under a different cosmetic variant.

[YoungBusLover]

#8417 has popped up at 103rd currently tracking on the #6.

[Policeman]

8400 106

8402 26

8396 29

[BusHunter]

1 hour ago, Policeman said:

8400 106

8402 26

8396 29

Guess that's it for the Glen. 

[Policeman]

8407 hit service on the 71

[Mr.NewFlyer1051]

4 hours ago, BusHunter said:

Guess that's it for the Glen. 

yea i’m guessing that as well…….FG also might just end up giving 103rd 8403 8418-8422

[BusHunter]

#8406, one of the missing 10 Novas is at the sw corner of the SS lot. It has no plates on it. #8414, #8427, #8425 and I believe #8442 was by it. There were a few others on the fence #8410 was one I remember. There are no longer any #8350's by the west side of the shop building just the 3 proterras hidden by some artics. 

[Mr.NewFlyer1051]

4 hours ago, BusHunter said:

#8406, one of the missing 10 Novas is at the sw corner of the SS lot. It has no plates on it. #8414, #8427, #8425 and I believe #8442 was by it. There were a few others on the fence #8410 was one I remember. There are no longer any #8350's by the west side of the shop building just the 3 proterras hidden by some artics. 

100% all of those left is 103rd’s crap

[Shannoncvpi]

8389 & 90 is over at C

[Javi75]

The only thing I have to get used to is the 8350s not having the front caps that the 7900s have. It reminds me of how that cosmetic difference was between the 4300s and 4333s, except the two novas are separate series altogether. 

[YoungBusLover]

1 hour ago, Shannoncvpi said:

8389 & 90 is over at C

Correction #8380 & #8398 are at C.

[Guest ChicagoRail]

37 minutes ago, YoungBusLover said:

Correction #8380 & #8398 are at C.

????