Nice pictures! We used the trolley a couple of years ago while sightseeing in SD. Took train down from LA, walked to hotel downtown. Used trolley to get to Old Town and back. Too bad it doesn’t go to Balboa Park. We walked there, but took taxi back. Attempting buses was too confusing for a tourist. (as it is most places)
The San Diego Trolley system gets credit for kicking off the current US light rail boom, am I right? And is one of its first success stories, too. In my Navy days, late 60s, early 70s, I took buses from the Pacific Fleet base out to El Cajon. Sure wish I’d been able to do that on the SDT back then. Nice photos! If possible, please post some of SDT ops in La Mesa and El Cajon.
Time of day methinks it was me and not BarryS. I relieved him @ 10:01am at Imperial when these pics were taken. Seeing “Gus” on train ahead of me also puts it after Imperial relief. A lot of folks take photos - first time I’ve seen myself.
Current US light-rail boom, yes I believe so. We took our lead from Calgary. I believe the Winter Olympics and subsequent “Stampeed” prompted them to go with Light Rail.
Any Canadian Light Rail types out there want to weigh in and educate us?
The current electric locomotives are actual working with more than 20 years of service. Are they replacing any of those Red Trolley to different model instead of the German maker?
We have eleven low-floor (S70) 90 foot cars working exclusively on our Green Line. Green Line runs from Old Town (Blue Line Terminus) to Santee Town Center via Mission Valley shopping, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego State University, Alvarado Hospital, and overlaps with Orange Line to Santee. Only a few days ago, several hundred-million dollars was approved to purchase more low-floor shorty cars (about 80 feet long) and the grand plan is to raise the level of the platforms to where the low-floor cars can have self-loading wheelchair riders. Only the Green Line and overlapped Orange Line have the raised platforms at this time.
The old U2 cars are wearing out / worn out. Many parts are not available and have to be made to order here in the states. I operate the U-boats four days a week and regularly experience repeated door malfunctions, minor electrical faults, parts falling off of undercarriage, coupler shocks worn out making clunking noises under the cab when negotiating the not-so-smooth trackage, and other defects. Yet we operate 22hrs per day on the Blue Line with nine 3-car trains every 15 mins and place an additional eight 3-car trains during the a.m. and p.m. rush hours for 7 1/2 min service. The first three trains out of the International Border 5:00am, 5:15am and 5:30 am are special 4-car trains from the Border to Imperial Transfer. They depart with standing-room-only!
To watch the San Diego Trolley is an experience in itself. This series photo-documents a recent visit to a part of the system, and will be chronicled on a south to north basis.
12th and Imperial is a key station location, where management offices are located. View is from the south. Note the yellow “05” sign on the lower right.
The above switch is barely visible in the below view (by the “05” yellow sign on the right).
A descriptive sign in front of the building (north side).
Immediately south of the station stop the two lines junction out, one south (right, Blue Line) to the Mexican border, the other (left, Orange Line) heads east. The shop for maintenance is in the photo top background.
A key super, super active junction switch is clearly marked “DANGER.”
A southward view of the above switch (shot from a pedestrian pathway that crosses the tracks). The counterpart second-track is on the top right.
A beautiful setting for admin and the station.
Some trains go north through the above highlighted 12th & Imperial station, then go just south of the downtown old Santa Fe Depot, and loop back around counterclockwise to the southwest side of the 12th and Imperial station as the end of the line, which briefly is single-track. Then, the trolleys reverse and head back clockwise. Some trolleys are not in standard system red.
That brief single-track section (photo right bottom to the left top) crosses the two-track “Blue Line” (that goes to the Mexican Border).
… and junctions into (bottom far right) the “Orange Line” (that heads east). Just beyond the cross street (marked by the center orange marker) is a single crossover.
A single-track connecting curved track (in background) with much less usage.
A view of the connecting track (right) that junctions into the looping around track mention previously above. A crossover leads into the yard trackage.
Continued in Part II, also on the 12th and Imperial stop. It also looks from the street at the maintenance shop. Part II is scheduled to be posted Friday, December 25, 2009.
A system map is linked below for those wishing to better visualize the San Diego Trolley system.
