Author Archives: Oren

Bus Photo of the Month: May 2021

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RoutemasterRoutemaster

Location: Trafalgar Square, London, England
Operator of Vehicle: First London under contract to Transport for London
Date of Photo: May 21, 2008

When you think of London transport, the iconic image of a red, double-decker bus comes to mind.  For many years, these red double decker buses were a mainstay on the streets of London.  Over 2,900 Routemaster buses were constructed, and many are still in existence today.  However, most of them have not seen revenue service since 2005.  In that year, the last Routemasters were retired due to their lack of accessibility.  A “heritage service” was established on two routes to keep about 20 Routemasters in regular service.  These short turns of regular routes ran through Central London and were largely used by tourists.  One of these routes was discontinued in 2014, but the other continued to operate.  In 2019, the remaining heritage route was cut back to operate on weekends and bank holidays only between Easter and the end of September.  Service did not operate in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and last month, it was announced that the service will not resume as the tender has expired and it was not put up for renewal.  

I have been to London twice and consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to ride on the original Routemasters, both in regular service in 2003 and also on one of the heritage services in 2008.  I have yet to visit London since the “New Routemasters” entered service in 2012, but look forward to experiencing a low-floor, handicapped accessible Routemaster the next time I find myself there,

For more photos of London’s Routemaster buses, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: May 2021

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Genesis P42 52Genesis P42 52

Location: Tucson Station, Tucson, AZ
Operator of Vehicle: Amtrak
Date of Photo: January 20, 2020

On May 1, 1971, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (NRPC), better known as Amtrak, assumed operation of most of the passenger trains within the United States.  Prior to this date, passenger trains were operated by railroads, but due to the increasing affordability of automobile and air travel for larger segments of the population, ridership on the nation’s passenger trains decreased significantly in the 1950s and 1960s.  However, railroads could not abandon unprofitable passenger services without the approval of teither a state public service commission or the federal Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), and this permission was rarely granted.  With the railroads facing likely financial devastation if they could not shed their passenger services, Congress began to hold hearings about how the national rail network could be preserved in a sustainable manner for both passengers and freight.

The result of this work was the creation of the NRPC. Key provisions at the time of NRPC’s establishment were as follows: 

  • Any railroad operating intercity passenger service could contract with the NRPC, thereby joining the national system, 
  • Participating railroads bought into the NRPC using a formula based on their recent intercity passenger losses. The purchase price could be satisfied either by cash or rolling stock; in exchange, the railroads received NRPC common stock.
  • Any participating railroad was freed of the obligation to operate intercity passenger service after May 1, 1971, except for those services chosen by the Department of Transportation (DOT) as part of a “basic system” of service and paid for by NRPC using its federal funds.
  • Railroads that chose not to join the NRPC system were required to continue operating their existing passenger service until 1975 and thenceforth had to pursue the customary ICC approval process for any discontinuance or alteration to the service.

The thought was that NRPC would continue to operate intercity passenger trains for about three years, and then due to the continue unprofitability of these services, they would cease to exist.  However, it has been 50 years since it began operations and Amtrak continues to operate to this day.

The official celebration of this anniversary took place yesterday in Philadelphia and was attended by a very prominent railfan, President Joe Biden.  Amtrak is also marking the anniversary in other ways, including through the sale of special merchandise and painting special liveries on six locomotives.  

While I haven’t been on Amtrak in over a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I am looking forward to returning to the rails soon.  While most of my travels have been in the Northeast Corridor, I have had the opportunity to travel on five of Amtrak’s long distance services and several state supported corridor services as well.  Amtrak may not be the fastest way to get from coast to coast, but taking the train gives you the opportunity to see parts of the American landscape that you cannot see from 30,000 feet above the ground while flying.  There are even some places of the country that are only accessible if one travels by train, such as portions of the Colorado River gorge west of Denver that the California Zephyr travels through (aside from the train, the only other way to see this remarkable scenery is by whitewater raft).  Through the “family style” seating in the dining car on long distance services, every meal is an opportunity to meet and converse with other travelers.  It is a truly unique experience that I would recommend to anyone assuming the circumstances are right.

To mark the occasion, I’m sharing a photo from my last Amtrak trip on the Sunset Limited in January of 2020.  Fittingly, the Sunset Limited is one of the routes that Amtrak has operated since its inception 50 years ago.  

For more photos of Amtrak trains and stations from across the entirety of the United States, please click here.

For further reading about Amtrak’s 50th anniversary, check out any or all of the following:

Bus Photo of the Month: April 2021

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MAN ETB 4037MAN ETB 4037

Location: Pine Street at 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA
Operator of Vehicle: King County Metro
Date of Photo: August 13, 2004

Yesterday, King County Metro announced that it launched the “Infinity Bus.”  Here is an excerpt from the agency’s blog post about its newest vehicle:

King County Metro, the region’s largest transit agency, launched a capstone mobility and engineering achievement in Seattle. The new “Infinity” articulated bus, a roughly 3-mile-long transit vehicle, forms a full loop encircling the completely-redesigned Downtown Seattle Third Avenue Transit Corridor.

 

The Infinity Bus provides service to destinations throughout downtown—as well as connections to other transit services—for employees, residents, and visitors. Third Avenue is Seattle’s most heavily-used transit corridor and moved more than 100,000 daily passengers in 2019.

 

The Infinity Bus embodies Metro’s commitment to sustainability and is part of the agency’s move to a 100% zero-emission fleet by 2040 or sooner. The new 15,840-foot vehicle is trolley-style, allowing it to pull current from overheard wires and be fully electric.

 

Responding to commuters wanting to travel at different times of day and not only during traditional rush hour periods, the Infinity Bus is designed to deliver highly-frequent—constant, actually—service. The bus offers arrivals and departures at all times, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

So if you haven’t figured it out yet, this was an April Fool’s Day joke, so you won’t be seeing any photos of the Infinity Bus on Oren’s Transit Page anytime soon.  So instead, I am offering a photo of a bus that actually ran in Seattle at one time, a MAN electric trolleybus that was retired in 2007.  I haven’t been to Seattle in over 12 years, so I am pretty confident in saying that none of the buses I photographed there on my prior visits are still in service.  I certainly hope to (and expect to) visit Seattle again someday, even if there won’t be an Infinity Bus to check out on my next visit.

For more photos of King County Metro buses, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: April 2021

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Kawasaki 7000 SeriesKawasaki 7000 Series

Location: Union Station, Washington, DC
Operator of Vehicle: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Date of Photo: September 4, 2019

Last weekend, the Washington Metrorail marked its 45th anniversary.  Metrorail opened on March 27, 1976.  For the second year in a row, ridership on anniversary day did not resemble the crowds that excitedly rode the trains between Rhode Island Avenue and Farragut North on day one of operation.  However, there is much to look forward to despite the hardships of the past year.  For one, vaccines for Covid-19 are becoming more readily available in the Washington area (please get yours when it is your turn and continue to abide by CDC guidelines and recommendations both before and after receiving your shot so we can truly get back to normal).  In addition, WMATA announced about two weeks ago that Hitachi Rail has been selected to build the 8000 Series cars, expected to arrive starting in 2024.  The base order is for 256 but up to 800 cars could be ordered if all options are exercised.  The cars will improve upon the 7000 Series cars like the one seen here, and will replace the 2000 and 3000 Series cars.  Metro as it looked 45 years ago is not going to be the look of Metro for much longer.

For more photos of the WMATA 7000 Series cars, please click here.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

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LU 1996 Tube Stock 96121
Today is International Women’s Day.  To mark the occasion, I want to share the following article about the history of women working in the transit industry in London, England.  In the late 19th century, it was illegal for women to hold many jobs in England, including most roles in the transport sector.  While women filled in certain roles during World War I and World War II, they were not able to serve in operational positions and were paid less than men to do the same work, leading to a successful strike for equal pay in 1918. 

In the 1970s, the Equal Pay Act and Sex Discrimination Act came in to effect.  Jill Viner became the first woman to drive a bus carrying passengers in 1974.  Four years later in 1978, Hannah Dadds became the first woman train operator, working in tandem with her sister Edna, a train guard, forming the first all-female Underground crew.  

The article notes that even though many women have been hired in the past 40-plus years, women and especially Black and ethnic minority women are underrepresented in London’s transport workforce when compared to the overall population, and that they are paid lower median wages.  

Read the entire article about the history of women working in London transport on the London Transport Museum’s website by clicking here.  In addition, you can read more about Jill Viner’s story here, and you can read Hannah Dadds’s story here.  

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Bus Photo of the Month: March 2021

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Gillig Advantage Trolley Replica 922Gillig Advantage Trolley Replica 922

Location: Central Avenue at 6th Street, Saint Petersburg, FL
Operator of Vehicle: Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
Date of Photo: March 13, 2019

Yesterday, I wrote about advertising wraps on transit vehicles and how reactions to them in the transit enthusiast community can be mixed.  If there is one topic on which there is a certain amount of consensus, it is the general derision for buses that are made to look like trollies.  While there may be a certain aesthetic charm and appeal to the population at large with these vehicle designs, transit fans tend to prefer authentic trollies, streetcars, and trams over buses such as these.  The bus featured here is manufactured by Gillig.  Basically, Gillig offers a version of its standard Advantage low floor bus that is “[o]utfitted with solid oak seats, “brass” stanchions, cupola lighting, and cow catcher.”  Agencies that purchase these trolley replicas generally operate them on tourist oriented services.  In PSTA’s case, they advertise four “trolley routes” on their website where these vehicles can be found.

What do you think of trolley replica buses?

For more photos of Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority buses, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: March 2021

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S70/Avanto LRV 211S70/Avanto LRV 211

Location: Mall of America, Bloomington, MN
Operator of Vehicle: Metro Transit
Date of Photo: April 9, 2017

Advertising wraps on transit vehicles can be controversial among transit enthusiasts.  Some argue that they are ugly, make it difficult to see out from inside the vehicle, and there’s already too much advertising on transit properties.  Others argue that they change things up and make an otherwise uniform fleet of vehicles have some variety among them.  I think some wraps look good, and others I could do without.  However, who doesn’t like Pacman?  This wrap, advertising a new Minnesota lottery scratch-off game in 2017, features Pacman and the ghosts from the eponymous video games.  I certainly think it is an eye catching design since these characters are so well known (who hasn’t heard of Pacman?).  The train itself is at the Mall of America station, the southern terminus of the METRO Blue Line, which was renovated in 2019.  

Are there any transit advertising wraps that you particularly like or dislike?  Share your answer in the comments below!

For more photos of the Metro Transit Light Rail, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: February 2021

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Alstom Citadis 302 008Alstom Citadis 302 008

Location: HaDavidka Station, Jerusalem, Israel
Operator of Vehicle: Citipass
Date of Photo: December 16, 2013

Despite the trend of milder winters in the Washington, DC area, scenes such as the one I featured in the Bus Photo of the Month for February 2021 aren’t all that uncommon.  You’ll find plenty of photos of DC transit operations in the snow on this website (as well as others).  On the other hand, significant snow in Jerusalem is a much more uncommon occurrence.  Like Washington, Jerusalem has had more mild winters recently.  Usually, the city would get one dusting of snow each winter, which would grind the Israeli capital to a halt as the city’s snow removal infrastructure borders on non-existent.  After several winters with no snow accumulation at all, there were significant snowstorms in both January and December of 2013.  In this photo, the light rail right-of-way through the center of the city has been cleared to allow train service to resume, mostly by pushing it to the sides of the tracks.  As a result, the accumulation appears to be much larger than the actual 16 to 28 inches (40 to 70 centimeters) that actually fell, but regardless, this photo captured a sight one rarely sees most winters in Jerusalem.  

For more photos of Jerusalem Light Rail Rolling Stock, please click here.

Bus Photo of the Month: February 2021

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New Flyer XDE40 7225New Flyer XDE40 7225

Location: 16th Street, NW at Hemlock Street, Washington, DC
Operator of Vehicle: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Date of Photo: January 25, 2016

The Washington, DC area got its first measurable snowfall since 2018 this past weekend.  If you’re a winter weather lover, the nation’s capital has not been a great place to be in recent years, with the daily high temperature in excess of 32 degrees Fahrenheit for nearly two years.  That also means if you like getting or seeing transit photos dashing through the snow, you’ve been out of luck (at least in the DC area).  With this past weekend’s storm, there were finally a few inches of measurable snow in the WMATA service area to photograph vehicles in, if that is how one wished to spend his or her Sunday snow day.  (Those in Philadelphia, New York, and other points to the north and east have even more snow to photograph, but fewer transit vehicles to see running through it, as service was significantly curtailed as a safety precaution.)  Given the circumstances, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight a photo taken during the last really big snowfall in the District of Columbia.  In 2016, a blizzard dumped over two feet of snow in the DC area, forcing the suspension of all WMATA bus and rail service for two days on January 23 and 24.  This photo was taken when service resumed, albeit on a limited basis with many routes remaining suspended and many of those that were able to operate being detoured at points along their routes, on January 25.  

For more photos of WMATA’s New Flyer XDE40 buses, please click here.

Enough Teases, Here’s What’s New and Updated for the Start of 2021!

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Ventura County Railway No. 2
Anyone who knows where I’ve traveled or has visited the site with some frequency over the years may have noticed that the Bus Photo of the Month for January 2021 was from a city that had not been included on Oren’s Transit Page before, and that I’ve been highlighting a number of new website sections over the past few weeks. 

The biggest and most noteworthy additions are the brand new sections for Baltimore, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Austin.  As I noted in a recent post, there was a certain amount of irony to the fact I grew up 40 miles from Baltimore and am an avid Orioles fan, yet the city had not been featured on this site until recently.  Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Austin were destinations that I traveled to in late 2019 and early 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic, and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to make those trips when I did.  

I also took advantage of some time I had recently to move some photos that had been on the Uncaptioned Photos page for quite awhile and put them in more appropriate places on the website, most notably, the photos of the Pikes Peak Cog Railway now have their own page.  Perhaps you found the new material on your own, but if not, here is the full listing of where new photos were recently added to the site, with new sections highlighted in bold and italics.