Last Run of the Blueliners

[@7fixsfj3]

I grew up in North Philadelphia. There was a terminal three blocks outside of my neighborhood at 9th & Columbia.

[@trainzguy2472]

1:54 There's something special about the hum of those old traction motors as they accelerate out of the station.

[@albertcarello619]

Trainzguy: That hum you hear is like Chicago's old CTA'S 4000SERIES L CARS built between 1915-1924.

[@KevinCNYC1991]

Most of those Blueliners were saved. They also run, but not under power, pulled by a locomotive. IDK if SEPTA removed the traction motors or not, but at least they are preserved for real. Thanks for posting.

[@fredpohl1372]

Better a museum than the scrap yard

[@DTD110865]

Fred Pohl What would be even better would be to restore them to their previous color scheme.

[@rwboa22]

SEPTA still has them at the Wayne Junction train yard, both in the SEPTA colors and in the older Reading color scheme. The single-car train (quite common back when SEPTA treated the Regional Rail system like a rapid-transit network) was a Silverliner II: them and the Silverliner IIIs have since been scrapped (much like, except for one, which is at the Railroad Museum in Strasburg, the Pioneer III/Silverliner I cars).

[@WWIIREBEL]

Too costly to maintain and were already outdated by the at the time standards for rail safety and operation i would assume. Though sometimes i wish Septa could have at least have a set of 4 or 6 cars restored and set aside for anything, like maybe a special run for occasions around the city and surrounding areas.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

New Hope & Ivyland has the 9125 in horrible condition.

[@davidjerrido5096]

If it wasn't for ADA compliance rules, SEPTA would have probably kept them in service a few more years

[@josephheston9238]

Not only these outlasted the MP-54s, they even ran on the Pennsy Main Line.

[@michaeldowning1815]

A single car train on the Norristown Line. How things have changed.

[@stevezulin9993]

I remember riding over that stick rail on that trip.

[@TajmirTheRandomFan]

those trans were really old

[@tomod4173]

Used to take the Blueliner from Suburban Station to Sommerton back in the 80's

[@Ih8kone]

Reading Railroad Heritage Museum preserved a few. And so has the West Chester Railroad, but they have had their traction motors and pantographs removed.

[@warrencrosby2620]

I can imagine these today speeding on continuous welded rail!!!

[@angelamosee8338]

Ok..I'm dumb..how does continuous rail work...erred the room for expansion and contraction

[@elirosen1391]

Great video! I didn't even know you'd uploaded this! I'm really grateful for it.

[@Honeydwarf85]

Rode septa earlier this year and saw one in the same paint in a yard and managed to snap a picture

[@nathancorcoran5347]

Pretty good video of this. It is sad that it’s the last run.

[@IcelanderUSer]

I absolutely love how you could put the windows down and sit there with the wind in your face. I hate that you can’t do that anymore. I ride the njt from nyc to Newark everyday and the windows are now sealed shut.

[@Ih8kone]

That's for safety.

[@gregorymontgomery6666]

I miss the sliverliner ii and sliverliner iii trains.

[@ajjj4wood1]

where did the blueliners begain service

[@fmnut]

The "Blueliners" were a series of 38 cars rebuilt at the Reading Shops from 1963 to 1965 numbered 9101-9138. Upon completion and testing they began service out of Reading Terminal and saw use on all Reading routes. The final train out of RDG Terminal in 1984 was a set of Blueliners. They continued in Conrail/SEPTA service until 1990, and found some use on ex-PRR lines after completion of the Center City tunnel.

[@ajjj4wood1]

ok

[@RedArrow73]

In their heyday these Ex-RDG cars were FAST! They could sprint down the Jenkintown- RDG Term mainline at 70-plus, held a crap-ton of people, bus bars between cars such that two pans would supply an entire eight-car train with power and, best of all, had Dead Man Pedals, sum'm MP54's did not have. MP54's were a BOOGERBEAR to operate compared to these

[@davidlevy3092]

On the MP-54s, the dead man feature was incorporated into the controller. The handle was under about 45 lbs spring pressure. If you let the handle go to vertical, the train went into emergency.

[@angelamosee8338]

Don't lie to me...did u realize how good this video is when u were making it..?

[@scpiedmontvideoproductions878]

Thanks for sharing!

[@adelgado75]

Great video. Thanks

[@elirosen1391]

What is the date of this video?

[@fmnut]

+elirosen1391 June of 1990. Sorry I can't pin it down any better. The cars were written off the books the following month.

[@elirosen1391]

I would have been born six months later! Haha. Never thought I'd hear a 1930s Wabco horn in my lifetime.

[@jmream2618]

fmnut Did u hear that phase 2 heritage unit P42 #66 was scrapped because it was involved in a accident & it had cracked frame it was beyond repair $ P42 # 130 is the new phase 2 heritage unit

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

@@elirosen1391- Philadelphia's Broad Street subway cars use the same WABCO A2 horn.

[@elirosen1391]

@@fmnut strangely enough, that was within the range of 22 years before the last run of the Silverliner IIs and IIIs. A strange, yet sad coincidence.

[@LibertyRailfan]

Great video

[@RedArrow73]

214 = Ex-PRR.

[@WWIIREBEL]

I just wish someone had the chance to setup recording equipment onboard a set before they stopped operating the old blues. I'd have loved to have made a sound font package to install in a sound card/decoder for my scale model Reading MU's,lol.

[@GLee-oe3op]

I feel like they were replaced by the cars also used on NJ Transit

[@physetermacrocephalus9986]

You nean the Silverliner IV's? They weren't used on NJ Transit, but the Arrows that NJT used are very similar to the Silverliner IV's

[@wicaksononurahmad9162]

Hongeeeeeng

[@yaraihan]

Kereta Api Indonesia

[@eddy3306]

Rip blueliners

[@Ih8kone]

They make replicas of them though.

[@nyshortline]

Great video!!!