General OC Transpo and Ottawa transit news

[OC Transpo/STO Fan]

A few videos I found interesting: https://youtu.be/x9MTPRpn_Ak https://youtu.be/tXIPel5U8lA

First one is about health and safety concerns with the Inveros. Long story short, an OC mechanic of 30 years has spoken out and mentioned that the Inveros have a serious steering defect that OC management did not correct. When going over bumps on the road, the steering wheel sometimes shakes so violently that the driver gets their hand injured while trying to regain control. In the event that the driver is unable to keep control, it can cause a serious crash. For example, the 4299 incident back in 2008 was caused by the driver losing control of the bus and the bus slammed into the Queensway pillars if I recall correctly. A long term solution was considered (putting a lateral radius rod on the steering wheel) but never came to fruition. Instead, OC Transpo has used short term fixes such as replacing the tires on the buses (even though they had nothing to do with the issue) and installing steering dampers which did not work well due to leaking after a few weeks. 

The second video is how the new Nova LFS buses have caused an operator to get constant headaches due to the new bus smell. Management has also decided not to accommodate the operator even though he has had serious issues with the Novas. It took several tries before he was able to find another driver who would trade buses and give him an Invero instead. Several passengers and drivers have also complained about the new smell and ATU is apparently presenting the request to have the Novas tested for air quality, according to the operator.

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by OC Transpo/STO Fan

[reecemartin]

The Confederation Line has been plagued with delays during its first week of full service, much to the dismay of commuters and onlookers alike. We discuss the reasons for the delays, as well as our thoughts on how to turn things around in this video!

https://youtu.be/jkglqm5tbGk

[Herlsone]

On 2019-04-30 at 8:11 AM, occheetos said:

Not sure where else to put this, but the coaches from the Wakefield Steam Train have been scrapped.

https://www.facebook.com/LostOttawa/posts/2249492811816597

This was taken October 10 2019 just north of Chelsea.  Saw 1 other person in 3 hours.   Such a mistake to close that line.  There should be summer heritage tours again and commuter trains.  Only small portions are washed out. Most of it is very good track bed.

I read one article that said 4 out 10 summer visitors to Wakefield came on the train. And the new highway extension did not provide the same amount of people to visit....Because nobody wants to drink and drive.

Edited October 13, 2019 by Herlsone
*drink and drive

[Shane]

A real shame. The track damage occured many years ago now and it seemed like it would eventually be saved on one or two occassions. Nope... it wasn't meant to be.

Ironically, I had always considered riding it in the past but never made the time. Not sure why.

Such a unique touristic attraction for the region.

Thanks for the update @Herlsone

[Herlsone]

The short-sighted-ness with abandoning rail rights-of-way is so astounding.  To hear people say things like "well it stopped being busy so we got rid of it..." is so annoying.  Like, excuse me, how do you propose to buy rights-of-way in the future when the situation changes and the population doubles?"  "oh can't afford it...."

[OC Transpo/STO Fan]

Please delete

Edited October 14, 2019 by OC Transpo/STO Fan
wrong thread

[Nik]

On 2019-10-12 at 4:35 PM, Herlsone said:

This was taken October 10 2019 just north of Chelsea.  Saw 1 other person in 3 hours.   Such a mistake to close that line.  There should be summer heritage tours again and commuter trains.  Only small portions are washed out. Most of it is very good track bed.

I read one article that said 4 out 10 summer visitors to Wakefield came on the train. And the new highway extension did not provide the same amount of people to visit....Because nobody wants to drink and drive.

The worst part of it was the scrapping of the 1940s Swedish rolling stock. Me and a few buddies of mine witnessed first hand what they were doing to the cars in May 2019. This picture below was from my last visit of photographing/salvaging what was left of them.

Regarding the tracks, in early July, the same group of friends went down the trail based on a clue that Chelsea didn't rip up all the tracks they had. What we stumbled upon was where the worse of the washouts occurred. only a 1m width is left of what was the HCW mainline here - to the left, a 3 storey drop to the creek below.

It seemed the city deemed this area too dangerous to rehabilitate into a trail, so it just removed the rails that were in this area, moved them to the side with some ties, and called it a day (they also tried to block this area off with dirty, which wasn't successful).

Seemingly, many of the areas where the washout occurred became more prone to damage, had ties replaced in the previous year. The loose gravel could have played to making what happened in 2011 worse than it could have (we spotted numerous brand new intact ties at the bottom of the ravine).

Hopefully, the track that remains near Wakefield could be used to some extent to at least save what is left.

[Herlsone]

16 hours ago, Nik said:

The worst part of it was the scrapping of the 1940s Swedish rolling stock. Me and a few buddies of mine witnessed first hand what they were doing to the cars in May 2019. This picture below was from my last visit of photographing/salvaging what was left of them.

Regarding the tracks, in early July, the same group of friends went down the trail based on a clue that Chelsea didn't rip up all the tracks they had. What we stumbled upon was where the worse of the washouts occurred. only a 1m width is left of what was the HCW mainline here - to the left, a 3 storey drop to the creek below.

It seemed the city deemed this area too dangerous to rehabilitate into a trail, so it just removed the rails that were in this area, moved them to the side with some ties, and called it a day (they also tried to block this area off with dirty, which wasn't successful).

Seemingly, many of the areas where the washout occurred became more prone to damage, had ties replaced in the previous year. The loose gravel could have played to making what happened in 2011 worse than it could have (we spotted numerous brand new intact ties at the bottom of the ravine).

Hopefully, the track that remains near Wakefield could be used to some extent to at least save what is left.

It just takes will and resolve...and money.  But clearly since the original 2011 washouts, the repairs were not done well.  The city should have hit up the insurance company or sued the company that did the work.

But scrapping those cars... simply somebody being lazy or the metal scrapper gave a kickback as that is quite common in the metal scrapping business.

[Nik]

7 hours ago, Herlsone said:

It just takes will and resolve...and money.  But clearly since the original 2011 washouts, the repairs were not done well.  The city should have hit up the insurance company or sued the company that did the work.

But scrapping those cars... simply somebody being lazy or the metal scrapper gave a kickback as that is quite common in the metal scrapping business.

Yeah, a few people I know have gone down to the old tracks to try and clear out some of the overgrowth on the tracks near Wakefield. Some of the residents beside the abandoned line seem supportive of what they're doing as well.

Regarding the cars, I know for certain one was saved to become a diner. It was the only car body that was not cut into sections when I came both times. It's supposedly being moved to Chez Césare in Cantley, Quebec (a small fries stand by a gas station). When I find some spare time, I'll try to get down there and snap some pics if it's there. Anyways, here's a picture of the car in question back when I visited it - May 11th, 2019.

[Shane]

The City of Ottawa has shared with media a Memo: Assignment of 40 Buses. Within, it gives an idea of how the buses will be placed, staged and utilized across the city.

https://otrainfans.ca/news/memo-assignment-of-40-buses

[OC Transpo/STO Fan]

Nowhere else to post this but 19 new double deckers are coming to Ottawa soon.

8161-8164 are on their way to Ottawa right now and they were on highway 401 coming from the Greater Toronto Area, according to a Twitter post as well as another forum.

I'm not sure what specs these have, but these most likely have the Cummins L9 engine instead of the ISL9s. I don't think they are going for a ZF transmission.

These new buses will also be in the new livery.

Edited February 6, 2020 by OC Transpo/STO Fan

[OC Transpo/STO Fan]

Anyone who's interested in seeing photos of our first six 2020 double deckers, head on over to @Shane's thread titled "Double Decker Bus Order" on the CPTDB forum.

8161-8166 are here (although not on OC premises) and they're in the new livery. 

Link to thread here: https://cptdb.ca/topic/19678-double-decker-bus-order/page/48/

Edited February 10, 2020 by OC Transpo/STO Fan

[STO_1601]

OC Transpo will require all passengers and employees to wear face masks starting June 15th 

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-s-transit-service-making-face-masks-mandatory-for-staff-and-passengers-1.4958933

[Oc4526]

Not news perse, However I recently noticed the once branded R1 Novas are now being used in regular service. 
I rode 4695 (R1 Decals removed) on the 88 Bells Corners this evening .

[Shane]

Very interesting. The Transit Recovery plan calls for the "Standby R1 Buses" to be reinstated, to help with surge demand or Line 1 service interruptions, to mitigate crowds or people gathering too closely.