What Flxibles Have Been Retired as of Late?

[Annex4421]

4046,4047,4048,4049,4050,4051 all are at CET and had went to Bladensburg

Anymore 9700s and 9800s? Some parts from these two fleets were used to rebuild the 9300s/9400s which are still in service.

~Ben

Oh yeah 9755,9777,9762,9763,9781,9782,9489,9492 and 8704 was sitting beside 4379 at CET

[WayneNYC]

4046,4047,4048,4049,4050,4051 all are at CET and had went to Bladensburg

Anymore 9700s and 9800s? Some parts from these two fleets were used to rebuild the 9300s/9400s which are still in service.

~Ben

No, I doubt went like that.  Yes, some of the 93/9400 series Metro-Bs got the destination signs (which I think is a good idea), but I doubt they got any other parts from the Metro-D and Es.  Perhaps they may have gotten parts from some of those Metro-Bs that were sent to NIMCO, but I'm sure that's the extent of it.  Many of those buses were retired (with some being put into storage) when the Orion VII, D40LFR and DE40LF/R came along.

[Scrabbleship]

Anyone have the odd feeling that all the Metro D's will be gone before they start retiring the Metro B's?

[Annex4421]

Anyone have the odd feeling that all the Metro D's will be gone before they start retiring the Metro B's?

Yes I have that feeling, and the sad thing is the Metro Es will be right behind the retiring Metro Ds.

[Scrabbleship]

Anyone have the odd feeling that all the Metro D's will be gone before they start retiring the Metro B's?

Yes I have that feeling, and the sad thing is the Metro Es will be right behind the retiring Metro Ds.

What is keeping the Metro B's going while younger buses get retired? Are they the new Fishbowls for the fleet, totally unretireable until pretty much they can't run any further? Or is this typical WMATA incompetence?

I'd keep the E's and retire the B's. The B's can't last much longer...

[Annex4421]

Anyone have the odd feeling that all the Metro D's will be gone before they start retiring the Metro B's?

Yes I have that feeling, and the sad thing is the Metro Es will be right behind the retiring Metro Ds.

What is keeping the Metro B's going while younger buses get retired? Are the new Fishbowls for the fleet, totally unretireable until pretty much they can't run any further? Or is this typical WMATA incompetence?

I'd keep the E's and retire the B's. The B's can't last much longer...

The fishbowls are in the historic fleet, and I agree keep the Metro Es.

[Scrabbleship]

Anyone have the odd feeling that all the Metro D's will be gone before they start retiring the Metro B's?

Yes I have that feeling, and the sad thing is the Metro Es will be right behind the retiring Metro Ds.

What is keeping the Metro B's going while younger buses get retired? Are the new Fishbowls for the fleet, totally unretireable until pretty much they can't run any further? Or is this typical WMATA incompetence?

I'd keep the E's and retire the B's. The B's can't last much longer...

The fishbowls are in the historic fleet, and I agree keep the Metro Es.

I meant to say are they the new Fishbowls of the fleet given their amazing longevity.

[Annex4421]

Anyone have the odd feeling that all the Metro D's will be gone before they start retiring the Metro B's?

Yes I have that feeling, and the sad thing is the Metro Es will be right behind the retiring Metro Ds.

What is keeping the Metro B's going while younger buses get retired? Are the new Fishbowls for the fleet, totally unretireable until pretty much they can't run any further? Or is this typical WMATA incompetence?

I'd keep the E's and retire the B's. The B's can't last much longer...

The fishbowls are in the historic fleet, and I agree keep the Metro Es.

I meant to say are they the new Fishbowls of the fleet given their amazing longevity.

Yes they are.

[WayneNYC]

You guys are forgetting that WMATA had a few hundred Metro-Bs.  Most were retired and many of those you're seeing today were in storage.  The Metro-Ds have lived a long hard life and I'm not at all suprised that they're going now.  With the exception of a few being at Four Mile for some time, most of them spent most of their years doing hard work at Northern, Montgomery and Landover.

[OrionFlyer]

Were the 35fts in storage too?

[WayneNYC]

Were the 35fts in storage too?

It's possible, but I'm not sure.   I rarely saw them as they spent their entire time (until recently) in NaVA and I live in Maryland.  Then there were also a few of them that were leased to PG The Bus a couple of years ago.

[Scrabbleship]

You guys are forgetting that WMATA had a few hundred Metro-Bs.  Most were retired and many of those you're seeing today were in storage.  The Metro-Ds have lived a long hard life and I'm not at all suprised that they're going now.  With the exception of a few being at Four Mile for some time, most of them spent most of their years doing hard work at Northern, Montgomery and Landover.

And the B's in question have led an easy life? Wasn't the point of the LFA order to replace the B's and D's and move the E's into contingency, not to retire the D's and E's and keep the B's going.

[WayneNYC]

You guys are forgetting that WMATA had a few hundred Metro-Bs.  Most were retired and many of those you're seeing today were in storage.  The Metro-Ds have lived a long hard life and I'm not at all suprised that they're going now.  With the exception of a few being at Four Mile for some time, most of them spent most of their years doing hard work at Northern, Montgomery and Landover.

And the B's in question have led an easy life? Wasn't the point of the LFA order to replace the B's and D's and move the E's into contingency, not to retire the D's and E's and keep the B's going.

You guys are forgetting that WMATA had a few hundred Metro-Bs.  Most were retired and many of those you're seeing today were in storage.  The Metro-Ds have lived a long hard life and I'm not at all suprised that they're going now.  With the exception of a few being at Four Mile for some time, most of them spent most of their years doing hard work at Northern, Montgomery and Landover.

And the B's in question have led an easy life? Wasn't the point of the LFA order to replace the B's and D's and move the E's into contingency, not to retire the D's and E's and keep the B's going.

No, I'm not saying the B's led an easy life, although those 35-footers did.  I'm saying that it's understandable that some Ds, NABIs (and even Es) are going first.  When you compare any of these three... for most of their time in service, they've largely been at divisions getting heavy usage.  Again, not that the B's didn't work hard, but some did have the benefit of storage.  Not to mention in recent years a number of them spent a significant amout of time at divisions like The Annex when it was a Mon-Fri operation and Royal and/or doing peak service. 

The Ds have been nothing less than seroius workhorses.  Northern has always had a bunch of them.  Same for Montgomery and landover worked them out quite a bit too. 

The Es have worked quite hard over the years mainly for Montgomery, Western, Southeastern and now the Annex as a 7-day operation.

The NABIs:  Agan - they worked long and hard at the hardest divisions.  Luckily for them WMATA usually let them stay in the house on Sundays.

Also - There's probably like 50 or so Metro-Bs around.  Remember, WMATA had a few hundred  of them.  So, IMO, having a small amount of them around doesn't quite they've "outlasted" the others buses without there being an asterik in place.

[Tritransit Area]

I see what you mean, but the Bs are 3 to 4 years older than both the Ds and especially the Es (and NABIs!).  Did they get a rehab right before going into storage?  Otherwise, I'd think the wear and tear would just about average out.

Not that I'm complaining that they are still on the street, by the way.

[Annex4421]

Ok it seems just like ALL the Metro D's are retired and the Metro Es numbered 4018, 4022, 4032, 4039, 4040, 4046-4051 are sitting at CET possibly waiting retirement or getting stored.