SEPTA: 'Significant structural defect' sidelines 120 railcars

[PRR 60]

The replacement equalizer beams for the Silverliner V's are said to be coming from Canton Drop Forge. It is also my understanding that Canton was an approved alternate supplier in the original Silverliner V bidding spec.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

ok here is latest ? with first cars returning to service.

The replacement beams are made by PennFab, Inc., in an industrial

park off Byberry Rd. in Bensalem, PA:

> PennFab Inc., a Bensalem-based company, has cut 340 of the 480
> equalizer beams needed to replace the flawed parts. The 380-pound,
> 9-foot-long beams are cut from plates of T1 high-strength steel with
> a white-hot plasma cutter, then are machined, tested, and painted.
> The company has been making 60 equalizer beams a week, said PennFab’s
> president, Michael Mabin.
>
> “We commit the entire resources to our company, and that’s what makes
> it get done,” he said.
>
> The beams have feet from Hyundai Rotem attached at either end with
> pins and then are sent to Kinkisharyo International in Jersey City,
> where the beams are attached to trucks. The last step, attaching the
> repaired trucks under the Silverliner V cars, happens at SEPTA’s
> Overbrook maintenance facility. The process, from factory to finished
> car, takes about 12 days, Knueppel said. He expected all 120
> Silverliner cars to be back in service by mid-November.

-Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/SEPTA-rail-cars-return.html

 

[Bob Dylan]

Thanks Dutch! That's the way it should be done in All factories, instead of the take forever and turn out shoddy stuff system that we mostly have in this Country now!

 

[PRR 60]

PennFab is also the supplier that provided the replacement catenary structures for Amtrak following the #188 derailment in record time. I worked with PennFab, and they are a first-rate vendor.

 

[fairviewroad]

In other news, with the start of the school year and busier fall travel season, SEPTA is supplementing its currently-limited Regional Rail service with bus service between select stations and (in most cases) the Orange Line subway. Depending on where someone is ultimately headed, this could actually be a more convenient option.

http://septa.org/service/contingency.html

 

[Philly Amtrak Fan]

ok here is latest ? with first cars returning to service.

The replacement beams are made by PennFab, Inc., in an industrial

park off Byberry Rd. in Bensalem, PA:

Good old Bensalem I lived there for a long time.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

http://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/09/01/septa-silverliner-v-repair-return/#mmFwQZf2qdWuh7P0.01

 

[fairviewroad]

Enough of the cars are back in service that SEPTA is resuming its full regional rail schedule starting Monday, October 3rd. Some trains will still be shorter than normal, but the full schedule is back in effect.

http://septa.org/service/rail-service-returns.html

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

This is very good news for the commuters I travel with from Princeton Junction who connect from NJT to SEPTA at Trenton . They have sorely missed their 4:16 out of Trenton, which is usually a good connection, and have had to wait at Trenton for nearly 45 minutes for the next SEPTA train.

 

[Thirdrail7]

They could get spoilt with the idea of having toilets on trains

Here's a question I have. What did the passengers think of the leased equipment? Did they prefer it to the Silverliners or Bombs? 

 

[Dutchrailnut]

really!!!   opening up a tread from over 2 years ago ???

 

[Ryan]

Thanks for your valuable contribution to the discussion.

 

[jis]

I only have very faint memory of what transpired back then, so cannot really give an informed answer to the question posed.