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TTC: Flexity Streetcars Testing & Delivery (Bombardier)

^In the last couple of months, Bombardier has in fact obtained more flat cars, mostly because more delivered cars are going more places.... the rewelding program, Kingston coming on line as a TTC car builder, and the shipment of one car to the US have all resulted in need for more transporters. But the real story just now is just how congested CP is, due to winter conditions.
CP pretty much stopped returning transporter cars to Thunder Bay after unloading in Toronto. Its yards and mainline operations are in free fall. It may in fact be more expedient to set up and supply new transporters in Thunder Bay than to attempt to return the old ones directly from Hillcrest. The transporter that took the flood-damaged car to NY just turned up at Thunder Bay, possibly getting there via Chicago.
Same with deliveries. TTC 4527 is still out there someplace, having come down from Thunder Bay around Valentines' Day. 4403 left Hillcrest around the 20th, and only reached Montreal yesterday.
Things have improved a little in the past few days, but it's a cold snowy jungle out there. Let's hope for an early spring so operations get moving again.

- Paul

So the number of flatcars needed would be used not only for the delivery of Outlooks from Thunder Bay to Toronto, but also from Kingston to Toronto, Outlooks taken back and returned for welding repairs & flood damage. Also some of the flatcars would be needed for Flexity Freedom delivery to the Mt. Dennis yard.
 
By "delivery", could mean they don't have enough flatcars for the Flexity Outlooks available up to today? Could the "delivery" pickup if they had more flatcars?
It doesn't take long to get extra flat for BBD, but is CP shipping them when they free up?? Then, how much space is available in TB Yard for storage for them??

Cars going to the US and Quebec could see 3-4 week turn around.

AS noted, Flat cars aren't the issue when there are no cars to be ship in the first place, As far as I know, Metrolinx still waiting for the their 3 late Feb 1st cars.

BBD production and supply line is the problem. I have no hope at all TTC cars will be here by Dec 31 as promises last year. BBD has yet to meet any promise delivery date since 2012.
 
I saw 4572 on Queen, they must have really sped up delivery.
Hmm. Gonna go out on a llimb here.

Actually Thunder Bay is stil delivering around number 4529 one-by-one from 4400. This unit came from La Poctiere, QC and is the first of about 30 to come from there. Between the unit you saw and the most recent delivery are still missing about 40 cars.

In other words, we still have about 70 to go to get to 204.

Make sense?
 
4527 was (finally) offloaded at Hillcrest.

No word if anything more has shipped from Thunder Bay or Kingston.

- Paul
Odd that it only was off loaded today considering it was seen on Feb 25 or sooner in Toronto. 4529 was off loaded on February 26, 2019 and the last car that week. 4528 was off loaded February 22 and some big gaps between delivery.

As we head home today, I said it was odd that 4525 was still not here since it was seen in Feb. It was either CP lost it in the yard, was damage in transit and sent back to TB for repairs or CP had too much spotting to do that there was no room for it until today/weekend.

With 131 cars here now, still leaves 72 more cars to be delivery this year. At the rate of delivery so far this year, especially from Kingston, no hope in hell seeing all 204 cars here this year. To do it, TTC needs to see 8 cars a month.

Then TTC will not see 204 for service for a few years because there are 4 cars out for rewelding now and another 63 to be done. The earliest TTC may see all 204 cars in service will be about 2023.
 
As we head home today, I said it was odd that 4525 was still not here since it was seen in Feb. It was either CP lost it in the yard, was damage in transit and sent back to TB for repairs or CP had too much spotting to do that there was no room for it until today/weekend.

I don't know if TTC was consulted or gave instructions on deliveries this past month, but certainly CP just hasn't been in a position to do much to spot the deliveries in any logical sequence. Their yards have been stuffed with delayed trains, and there has been a shortage of crews, when trains are delayed it takes a second crew to get them over each subdivision.
The local trains, when they have run, have been running out of hours - just about every delivery to a local siding takes longer because of snow and ice blocking the siding, requiring clearing out switches, etc. Hundreds of railcars have just been sitting around until CP can handle them.
Two of the empty transporter cars ended up in London because it was the only place where there was room to hold them until they could be put on a train back to Thunder Bay. Two are now sitting in a siding up north, because the train they are on had to be parked until it can be recrewed. That could be several days.
There may be new streetcars in Thunder Bay ready to be shipped, once CP can get the transporters over to the Bombardier facility. Time will tell.

- Paul
 
I don't know if TTC was consulted or gave instructions on deliveries this past month, but certainly CP just hasn't been in a position to do much to spot the deliveries in any logical sequence. Their yards have been stuffed with delayed trains, and there has been a shortage of crews, when trains are delayed it takes a second crew to get them over each subdivision.
The local trains, when they have run, have been running out of hours - just about every delivery to a local siding takes longer because of snow and ice blocking the siding, requiring clearing out switches, etc. Hundreds of railcars have just been sitting around until CP can handle them.
Two of the empty transporter cars ended up in London because it was the only place where there was room to hold them until they could be put on a train back to Thunder Bay. Two are now sitting in a siding up north, because the train they are on had to be parked until it can be recrewed. That could be several days.
There may be new streetcars in Thunder Bay ready to be shipped, once CP can get the transporters over to the Bombardier facility. Time will tell.

- Paul
Bombardier is definitely backlogged. Even CN is having issues.
 
So most of the old streetcars are being decommissioned this year. I think it would be nice if citizens would be able to get first dibs on them for adaptive reuse, rather than the majority going to the scrap heap.

 
So most of the old streetcars are being decommissioned this year. I think it would be nice if citizens would be able to get first dibs on them for adaptive reuse, rather than the majority going to the scrap heap.


Like reusing them as homeless shelters
 
Photo on Twitter tonight shows 4531 loaded and 4532 ready for loading in T Bay.

- Paul
Does that mean 4530 is in route or ready to be loaded???
 

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