November 2008 Sightings

[Tritransit Area]

I'm pleased I can actually contribute to the observations!

First, I must say that this trip to the area is the first one I took in a long time (if ever) without touching Montgomery County at all!

1) This was interesting.  An out of service train pulled into L'Enfant Plaza in the direction of Greenbelt, then stopped right past the station.  The flashing lights for the interlocking signal came on, and the train switched tracks and headed in the direction of Virginia.  This was right in front of my Yellow Line train.  Later, the train apparently was back tracking into the pocket track at National Airport (since the interlocking was rearranged).  Wonder what that was about.

2) I spotted PG THE BUS's 63129 without a destination sign...at all.  Fortunately the Chimp had a nicely printed sign available (probably from a retired ODV.

3) Apparently Fairfax Connector has been rehabbing their Orion Vs.  I saw quite a few, including a 30fter, in the new paint scheme.  I had the pleasure of riding 7771 on the 950 to Reston Town Center...which is the long way to get there from the Metro...  There are newly reupholstered seats (in the old brown frame) that are soft and fabric covered.

4) In Old Town, I noticed that the "DASH About" buses are still around and wrapped.  I'm not sure if that PTO operation is still in effect.  This wonderful Gillig was on "LUNCH LOOP" duty.

5) Apparently Sherry Wilson & Co. run a shuttle to West Falls Church Station, using a Champion CTS with an LED sign.  What a sight!

6) WMATA could reconsider it's 6 car policy for Veteran's Day.  Getting onto the already full Red Line train at Metro Center was a challenge.  It brought me back to the days of rush hour in NY, where you just squeeze your way onto the trains and make sure you lean in enough so the doors can close.    I never rode Metrorail that packed before...I guess ridership's growing!

7) The flags looked great on all buses that had them.

I didn't realize 9489 was still running around in it's old scheme.

Sorry if these observations were repeats, but they sure were new to me!

[WMATAGMOAGH]

6) WMATA could reconsider it's 6 car policy for Veteran's Day.  Getting onto the already full Red Line train at Metro Center was a challenge.  It brought me back to the days of rush hour in NY, where you just squeeze your way onto the trains and make sure you lean in enough so the doors can close.    I never rode Metrorail that packed before...I guess ridership's growing!

This comes up on this or other boards every single year.  Metrorail ridership on Veterans Day, Columbus Day, MLK Day, and Presidents Day is about half of that of a normal weekday, so they run about half as much service.  Yes, it means that the trains are a bit "crowded" during what would otherwise be rush hour, but fares only entitle you to service, not to a seat.  Just because the train was "crowded" does not mean they need more service.  Ridership on these federal holidays has increased in recent years, and they ran full service on the holidays for a year which was silly in my opinion, but there simply are not enough riders to justify full rail service on those 4 days.

On the other hand, I do think it makes sense to run the suburban buses systems on a weekday schedule since those jurisdictions tend to not be closed on these days.  But with OPM and DCPS both closed on those days, running full service on Metrorail is overkill in my experience.

[Tristan]

DASH About no longer really exists - that was replaced with the King Street Trolley, run by Gray Line until our new facility is done.  Gray Line owns the vehicles - we'll most likely be getting Gillig Advantage trolleys (I know they're ugly, but they're much better than any other trolley-on-crack product sold today).  The wrapped buses only do service on Lunch Loop, charters, and one of our school runs (we do 3 shuttle trips for St. Mary's - 1 AM, 2 PM).

[ChristopherF]

RIDE ON:
995412 on the 10 (Twinbrook)
995421 on the 10 (Hillandale)

METROBUS:
4208 on the 83 (Rhode Island Avenue Station)
2096 on the K6, remains unrehabbed
2412 on the R2 (Calverton)
2380 on the R2 (Calverton)

[Tritransit Area]

6) WMATA could reconsider it's 6 car policy for Veteran's Day.  Getting onto the already full Red Line train at Metro Center was a challenge.  It brought me back to the days of rush hour in NY, where you just squeeze your way onto the trains and make sure you lean in enough so the doors can close.    I never rode Metrorail that packed before...I guess ridership's growing!

This comes up on this or other boards every single year.  Metrorail ridership on Veterans Day, Columbus Day, MLK Day, and Presidents Day is about half of that of a normal weekday, so they run about half as much service.  Yes, it means that the trains are a bit "crowded" during what would otherwise be rush hour, but fares only entitle you to service, not to a seat.  Just because the train was "crowded" does not mean they need more service.  Ridership on these federal holidays has increased in recent years, and they ran full service on the holidays for a year which was silly in my opinion, but there simply are not enough riders to justify full rail service on those 4 days.

On the other hand, I do think it makes sense to run the suburban buses systems on a weekday schedule since those jurisdictions tend to not be closed on these days.  But with OPM and DCPS both closed on those days, running full service on Metrorail is overkill in my experience.

You have a good point about running full service on the trains, but they could have run reduced service with longer trains.  There's a difference between crowded, standing room only trains and literally not being able to fit everyone that's on platform into the train, which ended up being the case last night (I only made it on board because I wouldn't take no for an answer...and this was the 1st or 2nd car, which is usually emptier).  Otherwise, service seemed to be frequent enough I guess.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

They might need an 8 car train at the peak of the peak.  Still not sure if running them is justified.  You sure there wasn't some type of delay going on?

[ChristopherF]

RIDE ON:
965380 on the 10 (Hillandale)
995411 on the 1 (Friendship Heights)

METROBUS:
9322 on the 83 (Cherry Hill)
9771 remains @ Montgomery.
9773 remains @ Montgomery.
9781 remains @ Northern.
9783 remains @ Northern.
4310 remains @ Northern.
2056 on the S2 with an "N" block, remains unrehabbed
2111 on the H8 & is no longer wrapped in the MINI ad
6140-6178: LANDOVER
6179-6217: MONTGOMERY
2411 on the 86 (Calverton)
2304 on the R2 (Calverton)

[LandoverDivision]

RIDE ON:
965380 on the 10 (Hillandale)
995411 on the 1 (Friendship Heights)

METROBUS:
9322 on the 83 (Cherry Hill)
9771 remains @ Montgomery.
9773 remains @ Montgomery.
9781 remains @ Northern.
9783 remains @ Northern.
4310 remains @ Northern.
2056 on the S2 with an "N" block, remains unrehabbed
2111 on the H8 & is no longer wrapped in the MINI ad
6140-6178: LANDOVER
6179-6217: MONTGOMERY
2411 on the 86 (Calverton)
2304 on the R2 (Calverton)

BTW, Bladensburg has 9376 (which is btw the cleanest Metro-B I have ever seen. =D

[NewFlyer9736BCT]

RIDE ON:
965380 on the 10 (Hillandale)
995411 on the 1 (Friendship Heights)

METROBUS:
9322 on the 83 (Cherry Hill)
9771 remains @ Montgomery.
9773 remains @ Montgomery.
9781 remains @ Northern.
9783 remains @ Northern.
4310 remains @ Northern.
2056 on the S2 with an "N" block, remains unrehabbed
2111 on the H8 & is no longer wrapped in the MINI ad
6140-6178: LANDOVER
6179-6217: MONTGOMERY
2411 on the 86 (Calverton)
2304 on the R2 (Calverton)

BTW, Bladensburg has 9376 (which is btw the cleanest Metro-B I have ever seen. =D

I have a picture of 9375 also looking fresh and new, also a Bladensburg bus.

[79MetroExtraMD]

Metrobus

4398 F6/ @ College Park

Ride On
5729 AD TEST @ Silver Spring
5730 15 @ Silver Spring
572x 14 @ Piney Branch/University

[LandoverDivision]

Metrobus

4398 F6/ @ College Park

Ride On
5729 AD TEST @ Silver Spring
5730 15 @ Silver Spring
572x 14 @ Piney Branch/University

4398 on the F6? Odd. Isn't 4398 a Montgomery bus?

Anyways here are my sightings as of yesterday:

Metrobus
5311 on the 70 (Finally saw this bus)
5220, 5306, 5308, 5312, and 5315 on the 70
6035 on the J2
4098
5203 on the Y8
2009 on the F6
2801, 2807, 28XX, 28XX, 2814 all on the 79.
9835 on the Z11
4231 on the Z8
4326 on the Q2
9408
9411 on the J1
9345 on the F8
9312 on the F8
9744 on the A12
9761 on the S4
2154 on the S4

The Bus
8033 (Orion V) on the 18 to Langley Park

Shuttle UM
I never knew Shuttle UM had CL960s. I have a picture of it.

Ride On
5726 on the 15
965385 on the 4 I think.

I forgot the rest but yeah...

[LandoverDivision]

RIDE ON:
965380 on the 10 (Hillandale)
995411 on the 1 (Friendship Heights)

METROBUS:
9322 on the 83 (Cherry Hill)
9771 remains @ Montgomery.
9773 remains @ Montgomery.
9781 remains @ Northern.
9783 remains @ Northern.
4310 remains @ Northern.
2056 on the S2 with an "N" block, remains unrehabbed
2111 on the H8 & is no longer wrapped in the MINI ad
6140-6178: LANDOVER
6179-6217: MONTGOMERY
2411 on the 86 (Calverton)
2304 on the R2 (Calverton)

Isn't 2056 a Western bus?

[OrionFlyer]

Yeah, why is an Orion VI on a Northern route with an N block? Are they still testing low floor buses?

[ChristopherF]

RIDE ON:
975409 on the 34 (Friendship Heights)
995410 on the 34 (Wheaton)
995411 on the 10 (Hillandale)

METROBUS:
9303 on the 28A (King St Sta)
9326 on the 3T
9347 on the 28B (Tysons Corner)
9405 remains @ Montgomery.
9409 remains @ Montgomery.
9411 remains @ Montgomery.
9764 remains @ Montgomery.
4311 on the J2 (Montgomery Mall)
4310 remains @ Northern.
4331 on the 31 (Friendship Heights)
4330 remains @ Montgomery.
4351 -- back to a Royal bus -- on the 28A (King Street Station)
4399 remains @ Montgomery.
2078 on the L8, remains unrehabbed
2111 on the H8 & is no longer wrapped in the MINI ad
2552 on the 23A (Crystal City)
2563 on the 3B (Falls Church Sta)

[Scrabbleship]

Yeah, why is an Orion VI on a Northern route with an N block? Are they still testing low floor buses?

This isn't as uncommon as you'd think. Probably a loaner from Montgomery or Western, take your pick.