[thettctransitfanatic]

4401 is tracking currently in the service bay, and might go testing tonight judging from this. Meanwhile 4404 is out and about going down to Long Branch for it's 9th day of testing.

 

[drum118]

4401 is tracking currently in the service bay, and might go testing tonight judging from this. Meanwhile 4404 is out and about going down to Long Branch for it's 9th day of testing.

4401 has been the service bay for days and tracking as well. Who knows when it will do its 2nd test run.
4404 could be been prep for service based on the number of trips it has done. It was last seen 30 minutes ago
4403 still in the service bay
4405 still on the yard service track

4402 was moved from Leslie in service to track 18 in Russell yard around 9 am. It is now back on track 15 at Leslie. It was on 509 yesterday.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

4401 has been the service bay for days and tracking as well. Who knows when it will do its 2nd test run.
4404 could be been prep for service based on the number of trips it has done. It was last seen 30 minutes ago
4403 still in the service bay
4405 still on the yard service track

4402 was moved from Leslie in service to track 18 in Russell yard around 9 am. It is now back on track 15 at Leslie. It was on 509 yesterday.

4402 is out near College and Bay now as a RAD car.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

4405 has been moved from Lesile to Russell Carhouse, looks on track to enter service tomorrow. The other three are all at Lesile, and have stopped tracking except 4401

 

[drum118]

4405 has been moved from Lesile to Russell Carhouse, looks on track to enter service tomorrow. The other three are all at Lesile, and have stopped tracking except 4401

It is in the Russell Carhouse now
4402 is on Track 19 in Russell Yard at the front. It was on 506 today. It more in service these days than a month ago, let alone 6 month ago. Look like the fix the issues that was keeping it on the sideline.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

505 is schedulded to return on April 20th (Monday), with buses going onto 511 on the same date. Only 4403 and 4405 track now and both are in the service bay.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

4405 has entered service this morning on 511 (511Abus)

 

[drum118]

4405 has entered service this morning on 511 (511Abus)

It only arrived February 3, 2020 and that makes it 76 days since arriving to reenter service. It hasn't seen service in 375 plus days since I don't know when it did its last trip.

4404 last seen 8 days ago and arrived March 13, 2020 = 37 days
4403 on the yard service track and arrived February 27, 2020 = 52 days
4401 last seen 6 days ago and arrived March 23, 2020 27 days

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

It only arrived February 3, 2020 and that makes it 76 days since arriving to reenter service. It hasn't seen service in 375 plus days since I don't know when it did its last trip.

4404 last seen 8 days ago and arrived March 13, 2020 = 37 days
4403 on the yard service track and arrived February 27, 2020 = 52 days
4401 last seen 6 days ago and arrived March 23, 2020 27 days

It's last trip according to my notes was April 5th, 2019 and into the early hours of April 6th, 2019 on the 510/310 Spadina

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

Cars back on Dundas with Pantos!

Yes, I posted about it in the Catch All thread. I'm glad to see them back along Dundas! However poles still have to be used east of Parialment, so they change between pans and poles there

 

[W. K. Lis]

Maybe it is just me, but I would like to see the TTC put back the green “bull’s eyes” light on the new streetcars.

From link.

From link.

The story of Toronto’s streetcar “bull’s eyes”

From link.

In 1891, the Toronto Railway Company (TRC) was created, taking over the city’s streetcar system from its predecessor, the Toronto Street Railway. The TRC quickly began electrifying Toronto’s transit network, operating fifteen routes across the city. Electric streetcars were faster than horse-drawn trams, and passengers had difficulties figuring out which streetcar was theirs at night.

This was a problem as many streetcar routes overlapped. For example, Dupont and Avenue Road streetcars operated on Yonge Street south of Bloor, and Belt Line and Yonge streetcars both ran on Front Street. While the TRC had metal signs on the top and sides of each streetcar to denote the route, they weren’t illuminated. With electric light still in its infancy — arc lamps were too intense while early incandescent lamps were too dull to adequately illuminate route signs — the TRC developed an ingenious solution: uniquely coloured glass bulbs mounted on the roof, lit by interior lights. These lights became known as “bull’s eyes.”

Under this scheme, the Yonge Streetcar could be identified by one blue light, while the Broadview Streetcar could be identified with red and green lights. This system required passengers to memorize their route’s colours, and as new routes were introduced, changed, or withdrawn, it became cumbersome. Eventually, lighting technology caught up: while back-lit destination signs were possible by 1910, the TRC became hesitant to spend any capital funds to modernize its fleet or expand the streetcar railway network. The City of Toronto was forced to start its own streetcar system, the Toronto Civic Railway, to serve outlying neighbourhoods.

Though the Ontario Railway Board (predecessor to the Ontario Municipal Board) refused to force the TRC to expand the street railway network beyond the 1891 boundaries, it ordered the TRC to install backlit route signs. These new signs were introduced in February 1913, and those unique coloured bulbs disappeared by 1915. Six years later, the TRC’s franchise was up, and the city-owned Toronto Transportation Commission came into being.

In 1935, the TTC re-introduced “bull’s eyes” to its streetcar fleet. Officially known as an advance light, a single roof-mounted light, which gave off a blue-green hue, was designed to let waiting passengers know a streetcar was on its way. At the same time, the TTC installed dash lights, which both illuminated advertising cards and provided additional lighting, a useful safety feature.

New PCC streetcars, which began arriving in 1938, were built with the advance lights already installed. By 1940, all streetcars, including the remaining wooden cars acquired from the Toronto Railway Company, were equipped with advance lights. After the Second World War, PCC streetcars purchased from cities such as Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Kansas City, were similarly fitted with the roof-mounted lamps.

By the 1970s, the TTC decided to maintain its street railway fleet after planning for their eventual replacement with buses and subways, and sought a replacement fleet for its ageing PCCs. The new Canadian Light Rail Vehicles (CLRVs) and Articulated Light Rail Vehicles (ALRVs) were designed with dual advance lamps, mounted within the streetcar body, immediately above the destination sign.

Advance lights were introduced to TTC buses starting in the mid-1990s, as new wheelchair-accessible vehicles were added to the fleet, starting with high-floor Orion V and Nova RTS buses, and continuing with newer low-floor vehicles. Blue lights indicated that the bus was accessible. As a bonus, when combined with new digital orange LED destination signs, the bus advance lights served to further improve the visibility of approaching transit vehicles.

The new Bombardier Flexity streetcars are similarly equipped with new blue LED lights, as they too are fully accessible vehicles. While blue advance lights are unique to TTC buses, the new light rail vehicles for Waterloo Region’s ION LRT, also built by Bombardier, sport similar blue lights.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Maybe it is just me, but I would like to see the TTC put back the green “bull’s eyes” light on the new streetcars.

I fail to see any reason why they would, there doesn't really seem to be any reason for them to have green bulls eyes, they have now become standard to have blue ones even the subway trains have blue bulls eyes at the top of them as well now too.

 

[Towered]

I fail to see any reason why they would, there doesn't really seem to be any reason for them to have green bulls eyes, they have now become standard to have blue ones even the subway trains have blue bulls eyes at the top of them as well now too.

The blue is much better because it's easier to distinguish a transit vehicle from green traffic lights at a distance.

 

[W. K. Lis]

The blue is much better because it's easier to distinguish a transit vehicle from green traffic lights at a distance.

The buses have yellow lights on their roofs, so streetcars should have one green light on their roof.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

The buses have yellow lights on their roofs, so streetcars should have one green light on their roof.

Buses have blue ones too. Unless you are thinking of the device used for traffic light priority?