New Metra Electric Cars Unveiled

Trains Magazine General Discussion
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This is off of the METRA website…

[CHICAGO] Friday, May 20, 2005 - Metra today officially unveiled the first of 26 new Highliner commuter cars for exclusive use on the Metra Electric District route, which operates between Chicago’s Randolph Street and south suburban University Park.

Sumitomo Corporation of America, in association with Nippon Sharyo, is supplying the cars as part of a $76.5 million contract with Metra.

Featuring stainless-steel construction and state-of-the-art propulsion, passengers will notice restrooms, larger windows, better seats, brighter lighting, reversible seatbacks for more flexible seating arrangements, non-skid floors, and an improved public address system.

The new Highliners will be gradually phased-into Metra’s car fleet through February 2006, replacing carbon-steel Highliner cars, now reaching the end of their useful life.

“Before these new cars go into service, they will be tested extensively and our employees will undergo vigorous training,” said Metra chairman Jeff Ladd. “The importance of training and technology is at the very core of our customer-driven approach to service and performance. Our customers will benefit from our commitment to ensuring the highest level of expertise in the men and women who service and operate our system.”

This 26-car order is the first phase in a complete replacement of the Metra Electric’s 165 Highliner cars, first introduced into Metra’s system in the early 1970s.

Anybody have any pictures of these cars yet? If these are anything like the newer standard bilevels they ought to be rather nice. Having riden Metra Electric many times it will be sad to see the Highliners dissapearing but it is time for many of them to be replaced.

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Found this article on the subject also…

Electric Line riders get their thrones

New cars, bathrooms have finally arrived on overlooked Metra line

Saturday, May 21, 2005

By Guy Tridgell
Staff writer

Metra’s Electric Line moved into a new era Friday, one that had commuters crossing their fingers — and legs — to arrive.
The first of 26 new Electric Line cars were delivered to Chicago.

The bright, shiny cars feature bigger windows, nonskid floors, electronic messaging signs and public address systems capable of transmitting a clear human voice. The cars even smell new.

But the upgrade that will be saluted by riders most is behind a sliding door next to a row of seats.

The new Electric Line cars have bathrooms.

The rolling lavatories no longer give the line the distinction as the only one of the 11 routes on Metra without facilities for commuters to relieve themselves.

The Metra board agreed to add the toilets after Electric Line customers loudly complained about the discrepancy.

James Dodge, an Orland Park trustee representing the south suburbs on the Metra board, said criticism the agency ignores the south suburban lines is no longer valid.

“If there was a need for special pressure, it is no longer there,” Dodge said.

The 42,000 daily Electric Line riders must wait a few months before taking a seat in the new cars.

Metra crews will require 65 days of training to familiarize themselves with cars outfitted with propulsion systems significantly more powerful than the existing Electric Line cars.

“You probably can’t find a computer chip on these cars,” Metra executive director Phil Pagano said of the existing fleet. “Today you have computer chips all over the place.”

The ca

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Years ago there was a rule that passenger trains running under 30 miles were not required to have restrooms. Chicago to Matteson, then Richton, then University Park just fit under that guideline, so IC electric cars never had johns. It was awfull. The new cars look just like all the other new Metra gallery cars except they have a pan on one end.

I just wi***hey had destination roll signs like the old green IC cars.

Mitch

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Mitch

How much would you want to bet that the even with the cost of the labor to turn the roll signs, they would be significantly less cost to own and operate than “them newfangled” electric signs?

Jay

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Jay,
I’d bet it all. I don’t like the new digital signs as the contrast between lettering and background isn’t great. When the new signs go bad order they spell out things in a strange language. What really gets me is that years ago one of the great transit gurues decided that upper/lower case lettering on signs was easier and quicker to read. As if millions of passengers for the first 80 years of transit riding were lost. Then, when the new fangled signs came out the lettering went back to all capital letters.

And speakin’ of the IC, one of the things I enjoyed about the destination signs was that the reading for “EXPRESS” was on a red background, and that for “SPECIAL” was on an ornage backround. The spacing of letters was aleays readable from a distance. MATTESON, BLUE ISLAND, and SO. SHORE. DIST., all had their distinctive look. I have one right here in the studio. It’s set to “SO.SHORE DIST. SO. CHGO EXPRS.” I have a light behind it so I can look at it from the john at night and think I’m on 71st Street.

Last time I was in New York I stopped by GCT. I saw a Metro North train sitting on one of the tracks and wouldn’t you know it, there was an inovation. At the top of the engineer’s window was a roll sign of the old order. It was set at “New York Express,” complete with white letters on a red background.

Mitch

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Unti you mentioned the signs, they hadn’t come to mind for many years. Nice that at least one was saved. Reminds me of the pretrip procedure. Flip the seats, turn the signs, and in the winter, use a discarded cash receipt to hold a piece of ice on the thermostat so the car heat did not shut off.

The only thing that should have been on the signs is that the Madison Special sign should have had in brackets [THIS TRAIN DOES NOT STOP AT HYDE PARK].

Jay

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With 2 guys per train we could get all the signs on a 6 car bi-level train turned without adding employees. Or they could be motorized like on the “L” and you could just push a button.
Those signs were colorful, distinctive, and quite useful at Van Buren Street, and stations to the south. As for not stopping at Hyde Park all they would have to ad is a red circle with a slash over the outline of a cappucino cup and a book. Oh, the letters would pour in, but what fun.

Mitch

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Jay,
One last thing…When you worked on the IC electrics, were you a flagman with silver trim, or a collector with gold trim? When would you be able to make the switch?
I really wish I had worked there when you did, although I rode the thing as often as any trainman, usually with the engineman. The late, great C.D. “Hyya Babe” Lindenburg used to let me run the doors.

Mitch

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Art

It seems to me that I always had silver buttons and Flagman on the cap. I really can’t remember if there was any formal point when the gold trim was authorized. For the time I was there, I was at least a dozen spots out for any regular assignment, but I would get one trip or all day assignments for collector slots as often as flagman.

I took the uniform off for good in 1962, put on a tie and went to work in the IC Freight Traffic Department. Heaven only knows what happened to the uniform and buttons, and the Hamilton pocket watch probably got sold to a new comer. WHAT WAS I THINKING? LOL.

Jay

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I rode the old green mu cars many times. Intersting distinction. The ONLY mu cars anywhere that had both rapid-transit-like pantograph gates on the ends AND regular passenger coach diaphrams for walking between cars. It gave those cars a very businesslike balanced appearance that I liked a lot.

The old Lackawanna dc mu cars which I also road a lot out of Hoboken were very similar but lacked both pantograph gates and diaphrams.

I also know that on a few occasions the old IC mu’s were used off wire behind steam, without lights or heat.

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Dave,
Those IC cars did have a heavy duty look about them. Part locomotive, part railroad coach, part subway.
I remember the first time I saw a photo of an IND R-9 subway car. I thought that in New York they ran IC suburban cars in the subway. It was those same pantograph safety gates that I recognized.

Jay…Oy, You sold the watch? Ya know how much they’re going for on eBay? It seems a lot of IC men carried Waltham watches. My uncle did. He said the company jeweler, underneath the main line, next to the 63rd Street station always had them in stock. I always would compare watches with the train and enginemen and I remember a lot of Walthams, a whole bunch of Hamiltons, and a sprinkling of Illinois.

Mitch

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Finally a picture of the new cars. They look like short standard bilevels. Certainly will be a new look in old IC territory. Heres the link.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=107239

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I like the fireman’s compartment.
And now once again we may ride with our noses against the fron vestibule window.
Mitch

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Metra’s new Highliner stainless steel bi level cars are awsome. I’m sure Metra’s passangers are going to appreciate that. I wish Septa would invest in something like that. But they’re not going to in the financial (spelling) situation that they currently in. Septa doesn’t even have bathrooms on it’s trains, some of the cars also don’t have the non skid material. Heck Septa doesn’t even know what bi level cars are ther so lost. really lol.