User:Tuckertwo/sandbox

Martinez Subdivision

PATCO Speedline

Lackawanna Cutoff

WP:Overlink crisis

PATCO Speedline stuff to fix up and add eventually

Operation

The 15–16th & Locust station in Philadelphia, below ground (left) and exit onto street above (right)

PATCO was one of the first transit systems to incorporate automatic train operation for regular service. The PATCO ATO is an analogue system that makes use of pulse code cab signaling supplied by Union Switch and Signal. The cab signals supply one of five different speeds (20 mph or 32 km/h, 30 mph or 48 km/h, 40 mph or 64 km/h, 65 mph or 105 km/h and 0 mph or 0 km/h) and the on-board ATO gear will supply maximum acceleration or maximum braking force to reach that target speed. The frequent use of such high acceleration and deceleration rates makes for a quick ride, yet one that can occasionally be perilous for non-seated passengers. Automatic station stops are handled by track mounted transponders and can be overridden by the operator for non-stopping trains.

The system suffers from problems handling slippery track conditions and human operators are required to take control in any sort of precipitation. Because of the ATO limitations, drivers must make one trip per day under manual operation to stay in practice and are not penalized for running their trains manually at any time of their choosing. In practice, most operators prefer automatic operation as not only is it less effort, but it also tends to result in faster trips.

The system was designed for one person train operation, also known as OPTO by exclusively utilizing island platforms and right-handed operation with operators sitting on the left side of the vehicle where they can open their window and monitor the boarding process. Where trains have to use the "wrong" side, mirrors are provided to give the operator a proper view. Prior to the rebuild, the operator was not isolated from the passenger cabin, instead being surrounded by a low partition. Operators wishing privacy could pull a curtain closed during operation, but were still on call to answer inquiries from passengers and when the booth was not in use, a lockable cover slid over the console controls. As of 2018 all of the legacy vehicles have been rebuilt with modern controls and full width cabs. The Operators are still responsible, opening and closing the doors, sounding the horn, starting the train from station stops and full manual operation of the train (when necessary). The rebuild also replaced the manual announcements with automated announcements.

Trains operate at a maximum of 65 mph (105 km/h) on the surface portion of the system and 40 mph (64 km/h) in the subway portion and over the bridge. Trains used to have a top speed of 75 mph (121 km/h) on the surface portion, but this caused excessive wear on the traction motors and was cut back to 65 mph (105 km/h) in the 1970s.

PATCO runs the majority of its trains in 2-, 4- or 6-car configurations. Before the Alstom rebuild, single-unit trains were occasionally seen late at night, while 3- or 5-car trains were encountered only when not enough cars are available to meet the load line. All stations are capable of handling 7- or 8-car trains, but these lengths have never been run except for brief testing and for the annual holiday "Santa Train" special for children. In an effort to contain costs, PATCO actively manages its consist length as opposed to running trains in fixed sets. Train length is matched to the demand level for that particular time of day. In peak periods trains are 6 cars long, on "shoulder" periods they are 4 cars long, off peak they are 2 cars long, and overnight sometimes single units were run alone (this is no longer possible as the single units have since been converted into 2-car married pairs as part of the Alstom rebuild). Due to recent capital improvements, weekend and mid-day headways have grown, prompting PATCO to run 4-car trains all day, albeit less frequently than the 2-car trains.

Cabin

Original 1968 PATCO car interior.

PATCO maintained the same interior styling in its vehicles from their introduction in 1969 through the end of the rebuilding process in 2018 with the 1980 PATCO II cars receiving the exact same look. The color combination was a base of cream with an avocado green fill. The rebuild replaced this with a grey and white interior with brighter fluorescent lighting. Seating is a 2+2 arrangement, with half of the seats in each car facing the direction of travel, and half facing the opposite direction. Seats originally ran the full length of the car, with the front seats next to the operator's booth having the benefit of a large picture window. However, the newly refurbished cars now have full-width operator's cabs, resulting in the loss of four passenger seats, in addition to a number of folding longitudinal seats for ADA compliance.

Each PATCO car has a pair of doors on each side with a foyer area inside the doors for standing passengers. There are also hand-holds on all seat backs for standing passengers the entire length of the aisles. Car end-doors are unlocked, but inter-car movement is discouraged because of the extreme motions between cars. Interior cabs are halved to free up the space for passengers, however both cabs at the front and rear of any train are left in their full width configuration.

Refurbishment

PATCO announced plans for the complete refurbishment of the entire fleet with work expected to begin in 2009. The contract for rebuilding the rolling stock was awarded to Alstom, at a cost of $194.2 million, beating Bombardier's bid by $35 million, though Bombardier claimed the contract was incorrectly awarded. PATCO began to ship the railcars with their trucks removed and replaced with highway tires for the road trip to the Alstom facility in Hornell, New York, in March 2011.

The refurbishment consisted of a completely new interior with more modern colors, wheelchair access and more reliable HVAC systems. The rollsigns were replaced with digital displays, and the cars received automated announcements. These changes reduced seating by eight seats, from 160 to 152. The refurbishment also saw the replacement of the propulsion and automatic train operation systems, which used technology last updated in the early 1980s; the camshaft resistance type motor controller was replaced by a new solid state unit using IGBTs and the relay based ATO unit was replaced by a computerized system. The General Electric DC motors, Pioneer III trucks and gearboxes were not replaced, but rebuilt by Alstom as well. Also, Alstom purchased many extra GE 1255 A2 motors from retired Metro-North Railroad M-1A's from a scrap dealer in Ohio, and rebuilt them to provide PATCO with extra DC motors for future replacement if needed, or required.

The first rebuilt cars were redelivered to PATCO's Lindenwold, New Jersey Shops on November 12, 2013, and were tested accordingly before going into service. Rebuilt cars are being renumbered into the 1000 series instead of their former numbers. The formerly single unit cars were converted into married-pair type cars instead of their former singles status, with the former single-leaf door behind the train operators position removed and sealed-off. The rebuilding is expected to extend the lives of these cars by 20 years, similar to the rebuilds received by many of the New York City Subway's cars from R26's thru the R46's. On May 28, 2015, after over a year and a half of exhaustive testing, and after a brief ceremony, along with a public unveiling for the rebuilt cars was held at the Woodcrest Station for all interested parties, passengers or persons alike, the first four (4) of the rebuilt cars (1095-6 & 1101-2, formerly or ex-295-6 and ex-101 and 102 the former single units respectively) were finally placed back into service, as Alstom has worked to iron-out most of the teething bugs and problems with the communications, automatic train control, propulsion, braking systems, and other bugs out of the sixteen redelivered cars during their 500 hours of extensive mandatory acceptance testing period, which these cars passed on December 16, 2014. The recorded announcements on the refurbished cars are provided by Bernie Wagenblast.

The interior of a rebuilt PATCO car.

In rebuilding these cars, PATCO and Alstom had struggled to incorporate new computer technology into the operational systems of these 46-year-old train cars, causing computer interface problems between PATCO's old 1969 DC technology, and Alstom's new 2014 AC technologies. Alstom will now proceed with the rebuilding of the remaining fleet of cars at a production and delivery rate of 4 to 6 cars per month until all cars have gone through this overhaul and rebuilding process.

The final run of the non-refurbished "legacy" trains took place on June 10, 2018, with a contest held for a rider to sit in the front row seat for the last time, something that is no longer possible with the refurbished trains. As of March 24, 2019, All 120 cars have been overhauled and accepted back into service, except for one single car #116 which was damaged beyond repair by an arson fire back in 1997, and was thereby excluded from this overhaul, and rebuilding program.

Route identification

As built, one of the six possible routes were displayed on a fluorescent lit piece of glass in the car. The text for the six routes were cut through a dark tinted piece of glass, the light behind the correct one identifying the train route. There were also rolling signs on the car ends and sides displaying this same route. The newly rehabilitated cars had all of their existing front and side signage removed and replaced with Luminator amber colored LED electronic signs.

Signaling

PATCO trains are governed by a pulse code cab signaling system which transmits signal codes to the trains via the running rails. Wayside signals are located only at interlockings and consist of two lamps on a single signal head: one lunar white, the other red. There are three typical signal indications; red for "stop", lunar white for "proceed under cab signals on main route" and flashing lunar white for "proceed under cab signals on diverging route". Historically, a green signal was provided to indicate a clear track to the next interlocking (absolute block), but these were eliminated as reverse direction cab signaling was installed. A yellow signal also existed east of 8th and Market to indicate a route lined for the SEPTA Broad Ridge Spur, but this was removed along with the connection in the late 1990s.

There are 5 cab signals, each corresponding to a speed. The cab signals are displayed to the operator via a series of 5 lamps above the speedometer, red for Stop, yellow/red for 20 mph, yellow for 30 mph, yellow/green for 40 mph and green for 65 mph. These lamps correspond to the same cab signals in use by various northeastern railroads. Even when the Automatic Train Operation System is not in use, the cab signal speed control function is still enabled and if an operator goes above the permitted speed, the power is cut and the brakes are applied until the speed is back within the limit.

The entire PATCO system is run from Center Tower, centrally located above a substation near the Broadway station in Camden, NJ. Center Tower is staffed by two operators at peak periods and a single operator otherwise. Wayside signals are marked with their corresponding lever in the old US&S fashion with R signals indicating a "right" lever motion and L signals indicating "left". Signals and switches are numbered in ascending order from west to east with 15th/16th Locust using levers 1-4 and Lindenwold using levers 73-76. The interlocking at Woodcrest, which was added in 1980, uses levers 87-98.

The following fixed signs are also present on PATCO:

• H - Sound Horn
• T - Trigger Sign - Station stop outer transponder, trains not stopping must cancel automatic stop.
• AB - Approach block, trains operating without cab signals prepare to stop.
• Speed X mph - Speed limit sign in tunnel section and bridge.
• Clear # - Train of # car lengths has cleared sharp curve.

In case of a cab signal failure or the need to disregard them, the cab signal may be cut out by the operator with permission from Center Tower.