CSX And SEPTA At Woodbourne Road

CSX comes out from behind the bushes and switches tracks to go into Woodbourne Yard. Once he passes, SEPTA comes right into the station with Silverliner IV’s. All trains must sound their horn for the crossing when going forward. When reversing, if the train consists of more than a couple of coaches, the horn is NOT required, unless the conductor believes it is necessary due to safety concerns It is important to note that the Silverliner IV’s and potentially the Silverliner V’s may all be getting replaced. SEPTA’s contract has a base order of 234 cars, but there is also an option to add up to 96 additional cars. If that number gets expanded, we will know the Silverliner V’s are also getting replaced. Will that happen? I suspect yes, only because of how badly the cars have behaved since they arrived. SEPTA desperately wants to achieve there, “Accelerate”, plan, which requires reliable equipment. The Broad Street Line cars, the Silverliner IV’s, the Silverliner V’s, the EXO coaches from Montreal, the MARC cars, the bombardier push-pull coaches, as well as the Norristown High Speed Line coaches are all on their last days. SEPTA has, by far, one of the oldest, if not the oldest running commuter rail fleets in the United States. The only contracts that are currently out right now are for the Trolley’s and the Market Frankford Line. I expect to see the contractors announced for all of those within the next few months given the severity of the issues. The Silverliner V’s also caught on fire at Allegheny, so they are not, “Immune”, to the fire issues, like the push-pull coaches have proven to be. I was on a Silverliner V when it tore a tree down outside of 30th Street, completely destroying the car and caught the entire train on fire. They are NOT reliable in any way, shape, or form. The crews tell me they are an absolute nightmare to run given the constant faults lights, door issues, and major PTC issues. Another common complaint is how badly the manufacturer screwed up the cabs. The cabs are so small most of the engineers can barely fit in it. The FRA cited the manufacturer because the front row was not up to FRA standards. I could go on and on, but I have proved my point