[cliffapotamus]

Wait, I'm not alone on this? I absolutely adore the things too — more so than the newer 160s. Nothing beats their late-modern boxiness, and my inner child loves the light up “Push to Open” buttons in them. I mentioned in a comment above, but when E.T.S. finally dumps the old U2’s I hope they offer car 1001 (at the very least) to the E.R.R.S. Allow them to restore it with that "awesome ‘70s livery" and the grody brown carpet interiors.

I FRIGGIN LOOOOVE the U2s. I started taking the LRT in Grade 8, right when Southgate/Century Park opened. at the time the trains were still all-original inside (love the interiors, although they were deffs a biohazard) and some still had the old paint too, if memory serves. My favourite detail of those original interiors was a little sign in the articulated joint. a little thing, eye height, an inch or so tall, a few inches across, grey with red(?) writing: 'High Performance Vehicle; please hold on at all times'. the design, typeface, everything was PERFECT. you could hear the snazzy German voice cooly delivering that little warning as the U2 lauched out of the platform. loved those signs. I was so sad to see the (otherwise very nice) new interiors had them replace with modern yellow 'warning labels' (ugh safety) it was like a bit of the character of the car was gone.
I still love those trains, they look much better than the 160s, and better than the fancy new trains Calgary has too IMO (to bring in a comparison directly compatible with our system) with the round headlights, split windscreens, and lower roofline. I love the sound the motors make when they hit top speeds, like in the Northeast and on the bridge. throaty and powerful. the sound and action of the doors, the lightup signs, THE OPERABLE WINDOWS (i hate the stuffy AC on the new cars, id rather it be windy but with fresh air) everything.
I cant remember where i read this, but i remember seeing that car 1001 is promised to Wetaskawin (i think) upon retirement, they might have more set aside too. I'd love to see one of two of these historic cars (the start of modern new-construction LRT in North America!) preserved somewhere that can actually run them. Wetaskawin, ERRS, ETS, Fort Ed, Heritage Park, i don't care, i just wanna be able to ride one when i'm 40, and be told by the snazzy german warning sign to hold on.

 

[Kaizen]

This is a really sweet half-hour BBC rail clip on Edmonton. I'm not sure if anyone has seen this so I'll post it here. The show really highlights the ERRS but it is also a great showcase for our amazing city overall. I remember seeing this last year I believe, and it was filmed last summer during all the wildfire smoke, unfortunately.
BBC's Great Canadian Railway Journeys "Edmonton" S01 EPISODE 14/15

 

[IanO]

Great to see; I love how much more prominent it will be for tourists, visitors and the like.

Now imagine the Prairie Sky Gondola south terminus beside it and a reformatted bus stop along that block.

 

[CplKlinger]

Great to see; I love how much more prominent it will be for tourists, visitors and the like.

Now imagine the Prairie Sky Gondola south terminus beside it and a reformatted bus stop along that block.

Just out of curiosity, does the city have plans for an improved bus stop in the area?

 

[IanO]

Not to my knowledge, BUT I would expect discussions to fully integrate PSG into the ETS network and as such it would require some consideration.

This also reignites my belief that the 'High Level Line' should move forward with two year-round streetcars (historic to continue to run seasonally) that bridge over Jasper with the old CP bridge and head up the multi-use trail to a terminus at MacEwan's residence. This would then allow for an immediate loop between ETS, PSG and the streetcar, along with a connection to the 112st WLRT.

 

[CplKlinger]

I realized that I posed in the wrong thread, so I deleted my comment and am moving it here.

Looks like work has begun on the platform for the streetcar's Whyte Ave stop! If I'm not mistaken, they have already prepared the ground for the entire platform, so we can gauge its approximate area. These pictures were taken on Sunday, January 10th, 2021.

 

[Daveography]

Sorry I should have moved it earlier, but I brought the rest of the convo over to this thread, so it will look a bit out of order now.

 

[CplKlinger]

Sorry I should have moved it earlier, but I brought the rest of the convo over to this thread, so it will look a bit out of order now.

No worries, it's my bad. If I had simply looked a few comments up, I'd have seen it haha

 

[_Citizen_Dane_]

Some shots from today. They've been laying the new platform over the last week:

 

[Platinum107]

This pics are so awesome!! It's awesome that ERRS was able to do this extension of the streetcar as a mostly volunteer-run effort with grants from the government, and I believe that should stay as a large part of what it is, but I also believe that if the city just took the ERRS under it's wing and gave it more defined and consistent support, it really could really grow and flourish into a year-round functional network of streetcar lines like has been said on here so many times, but I'll sound like a broken record 'cause it's just too cool of an idea to ignore! After this extension, what @IanO proposed should be undertaken, with the streetcar bridging over Jasper, going through Railtown park and ending right at 104th Ave, a few steps away from the future Macewan Arts stop on VL West.

And even before that, a couple of the old Siemens U2's should be converted back to the old paint scheme and used on the line, unless the city has some old ones saved somewhere??

 

[CplKlinger]

And even before that, a couple of the old Siemens U2's should be converted back to the old paint scheme and used on the line, unless the city has some old ones saved somewhere??

As far as I know, there are no old ones in storage. Even U2 car 1001, the first one ever delivered to Edmonton, is still in service!

 

[Platinum107]

As far as I know, there are no old ones in storage. Even U2 car 1001, the first one ever delivered to Edmonton, is still in service!

Really!? That's actually insane, and goes to show how long electric trains can last haha. Like I said though, if the U2's service life is coming to an end within the decade, the city should DEFINITELY donate a few to the ERRS and work with them on a repaint an maybe even try to re-create what the interior looked like in the 70's to give them more of that "vintage" feel. The interior's must've also been updated in the last 45 years they've been around, right??

 

[_Citizen_Dane_]

Really!? That's actually insane, and goes to show how long electric trains can last haha. Like I said though, if the U2's service life is coming to an end within the decade, the city should DEFINITELY donate a few to the ERRS and work with them on a repaint an maybe even try to re-create what the interior looked like in the 70's to give them more of that "vintage" feel. The interior's must've also been updated in the last 45 years they've been around, right??

Yeah, when they were refurbished back in 2007-08(?). Before then they were about the most '70s looking things you could imagine.

 

[CplKlinger]

Yeah, when they were refurbished back in 2007-08(?). Before then they were about the most '70s looking things you could imagine.

That's right. Wikipedia says the refurbishments were completed in 2013, and extended their lifespan by 15-20 years. In their last (publicaly released) long-tern plan, ETS stated that in the next few years they will work on replacing the US. Hopefully they save one or two for the radial railway like Plat suggested, that's such a nice idea.

Just for the heck of it, here's footage of the LRT system in 1992 (~14 years after it opened):

 

[cliffapotamus]

Really!? That's actually insane, and goes to show how long electric trains can last haha. Like I said though, if the U2's service life is coming to an end within the decade, the city should DEFINITELY donate a few to the ERRS and work with them on a repaint an maybe even try to re-create what the interior looked like in the 70's to give them more of that "vintage" feel. The interior's must've also been updated in the last 45 years they've been around, right??

yup, i remember the original interiors being in almost every U2 when i started riding in 2010. Citizen Dane's photo does not do them justice. the burnt orange was MUCH brighter in person, even after 30-odd years of wear. that being said, the blue interiors are super clean and refreshing. I don't mind the refurb at all really.
I remember reading an info page that said the refurbishment was intended to last until replacement in 2023-2025, although said document was pre-valley line SE construction. A lot of financial/expansion goals have shifted over the last few years, with expansion happening faster than was expected when that projection was made, i believe. I'm betting with the new car requirements created for the Metro Line extension into Blatchford (meaning Metro Line trains will be 5 cars during peak) and the South extension that is up next for construction (meaning more trains needed to maintain frequency on the longer line) that we will be keeping the U2s running well past that 2025 date; simply because we can't buy enough new trains to run the whole line AND replace all 37-38 U2s at the same time. IDK, we'll see.
I love the U2s. i wanna see them run forever, and if not on the actual LRT, somewhere where they get used often and get to get up to speed. ERRS maybe, Fort Ed maayyybe, idk where else is an option? Or would ETS keeping a U2 mean the train is accessible to the public consistently, not just on special occasions?

Also, hot take: the ETS pac man roundel Logo is 1000x better than the drab "let's make our logo just our name in Arial-Heavy-Bold-Italic, the more generic the better" thing we have now. I genuinely, not at all being crazy or funny here, think we could slap a silver Pac Man logo on our existing trains and buses and they would look more modern and characteristic than they do now. Bring back the Pac Man!