Silverline Trolleybus (or Bus?) in Boston, USA 2018

the silverline is made up of vehicles that run on electricity through poles, just like a trolleybus but runs on diesel as a bus once exiting the underground portion of its journey.
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[@BrianWebb0222]

Reminds me of when Seattle had a similar setup with the “bus tunnel” underground which now has light rail service instead

[@gandalf7292]

Still a trolleybus for me even if the trolley wires are only on a small section, it’s sad that not the entire line is electrified...

[@reinemenda1393]

L A D I D A D I D A S L O B O N M E K N O B hzhhhh

[@humansavages832]

Ah non Monsieur je suis un Mirage-2000 Sad, that sounds ridiculous, it's not dying.

[@bmxxgaming4748]

Ah non Monsieur je suis un Mirage-2000 Silver line is a trackless trolley even though some of it isn’t using electricity

[@cosmo5164]

Yes, until MBTA decides to install overhead wires in the Ted Williams Tunnel. One day

[@davidpomeroy7594]

The silver line is just a bus, not light rail. Watching a video of a bus route is no more exciting than watching paint dry.

[@pearlyhumbucker9065]

Nice. Duo-Bus-Revival of an old german system of the 80ies from the last century..... ;)

[@mrsbrillhart247]

Awesome set up on the Silverliners! Part electrical, part diesel...better than the CNG buses!

[@andyhughes5885]

When Glasgow, Scotland had them, they were known as the ` Silent Death` after the trams disappeared.

[@Geno2733]

It's odd the buses have the dual poles, whereas LRV's with overhead power use a springboard pantograph with a contact bar that runs along the wire (Acela Express is a good example). You'd think the buses would use the same type, so that they can avoid lane obstructions in the city without losing contact with the wire.

[@borispopov7095]

Rail vehicles are grounded thru the steel wheels/rail. Rubber tire vehicles require a second wire to complete the electric circuit.

[@RRansomSmith]

Bus has to return the negative current and that's why it has a second wire. Pantograph would short out both wires.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

And, if the coaches use a pantograph, the body would become electrically live as there is way too return the negative current to the power system which is why they have a second wire.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

@@alden5931 Old style poles have wheels. Newer poles have a rectangular slider with a groove in it that sits under the wire.

[@AdiposeExpress]

Old trolleys also used a pole. I think poles are also better for changing lanes, since they can pivot and remain attached to the wire even if the bus is in a different lane, while pantographs would probably lose contact more easily.

[@roybanks7886]

California needs to take notes!!!!!!! Awesome!!!!!

[@MIKEJ788]

Also, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, & New Jersey Transits should Take notes 2

[@waynewright2886]

You may Trolleys on Muni in San Francisco, But in Other Parts of California, I don't know? Here in L.A. There was Some kind of Talk to Bring Back Trolley Busses Back to L.A. that were Killed Off with the Streetcars on March 31st 1963, that was Back in the 90's but Never got Off the Ground. & Because B.E.B Busses are Coming into Life California Transit Systems are Focusing on B.E.B.'s, Mainly because of a State Mandate by the California Legislation for Transit Systems to Convert their Busses to B.E.B by 2040, here in L.A. Metro Just Started Putting the 1st of its 40 New Flyer 60 Foot B.E.B Artics on the G Line (Orange Line here in the San Fernando Valley this Summer. Another 5 B.E.B. 60 Footers From BYD will be Added to the G Line also, Along with 60 40 Foot BYD B.E.B's for the J Line (Silver Line). Also BYD & Proterra have B.E.B Bus Plants in L.A. County, About 80 Miles Apart, BYD in Lancaster, 70 Miles from Downtown L.A. & Proterra in the San Gabriel Valley, 25 Miles E. Of Downtown L.A. in Which Foothill Transit had Proterra Busses Built for Them for their Fleet. In Addition, Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus has 1 Gillig B.E.B in its Fleet & Another 20 to 25 Rolling in Within the Next Year or So, that are Being Built by Gillig Up in the Bay Area. So this is Going to Be Interesting with California Transit Systems Turning to B.E.B. Busses in the Future.

[@DandamanV]

They're hybrids! That's amazing!

[@ariver7491]

OMG. It's a bus!! For fkin God's sake

[@shanewalters2565]

@@ariver7491 What's your problem?

[@jesusse9757]

Interesting system of transport. Very good video!!. Greetings from Spain

[@ksenia588]

®одобрилтобоюбцеллюлозышподцшт

[@joshuajoe1419]

Hola

[@PSVfanaat]

The city of Arnhem in the Netherlands still has trolley buses, it's the only remaining city in the country to have them.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

It would have been nice to show other parts of the Silver Line besides the South Station stop, the tunnel, the point where the trackless trolleys switch to diesel and back, and the airport.

[@luismoreira3711]

Is It truu

[@danielsamuels5857]

I just realized something. Why can't the MBTA order 60ft hybrids that uses hush mode systems or even electric articulated BYD buses?

[@brett8706]

I wish our Philly New Flyers had automatic pole lowering and application to the catenary. Every time a 59, 66, or 75 bus goes out of service or experiences an obstacle, the driver has to get off the bus and lower the poles or reapply them to the wires.

[@kennysbusdrawings]

Wowo I wish I saw footage of the BReda trolleys in Seattle doing this

[@johntravis3463]

How do they connect so effortlessly to the overhead wires?

[@blue9multimediagroup]

Plastic guides on the wires. Look at the wires where they stop at before they enter the tunnels. The poles have hydraulic lift mechanisms on the roof of the coaches that lift them up to the wires. As long as the driver parks at the correct spot on the ground, the guides will push them onto the wires.

[@yixnorb5971]

These look like the buses I saw while visiting Vancouver. They can run on battery power. They sound like vacuum cleaners. In San Diego the roof line stores compressed natural gas (CNG). Are some of these buses hybrids?

[@RRansomSmith]

No. They're dual mode. That's all electric equipment on the roof

[@blue9multimediagroup]

Diesel engine and electric motor powered

[@itskevinjustkevin]

They don't make trolleybuses like they used to, back in the eighties in the seventies they were everywhere now look good today there are very limited

[@wangwayne9649]

yep

[@ABCforXYZ]

Wat are those things hooking to the electric power wire

[@RRansomSmith]

Pole collectors. That's how they get their power

[@TonVerkleijT3]

What's the high pitched- and blowing noise ?

[@arifakyuz7673]

Friction against the cables

[@RRansomSmith]

High pitch is the electric motors. Hissing is the pneumatics used to raise and lower the poles.

[@RRansomSmith]

@@arifakyuz7673 that's not what it is

[@johnny_salmon]

5:23 on the left. what is this thing? :)

[@ethancampbell6076]

That's a building they're working on

[@pearlyhumbucker9065]

Its a bus of the "Old Town Trolley Tours of Boston". "Old Town Trolley Tours" is a company you may find in several american towns, they offer sightseeing tours in buses which are looking somewhat "trolley-ish".

[@davidjames8613]

@@pearlyhumbucker9065 yea like Philadelphia

[@RRansomSmith]

@@davidjames8613 we don't have those in Philly. Similar vehicles but not those

[@yixnorb5971]

Must have good aim to connect to these cantenary lines.

[@RRansomSmith]

Nope. Markers on the ground. Just line the bus up with them, trigger the pneumatic system to raise/lower the poles and the hangers on the wires do the rest.

[@moishglukovsky]

It’s a bus. Sometimes an electric bus. Problem with the SL is that there are no dedicated lanes in the tunnel, so going to/from airport gets you stuck in the same traffic with the cars. Whatever advantage may have existed using transit dies.

[@BasterTV]

How much does a trolleybus driver in USA (for example in Boston) make an hour?

[@ivandemyanov9398]

www.indeed.com/career/bus-driver/salaries Согласно этому сайту, автобусник 23$ в час зарабатывает (рабочий день длится 8 часов). Думаю, зарплата троллейбусников не сильно отличается

[@ariver7491]

@@ivandemyanov9398 WRONG. WAY MORE THAN THAT.

[@ariver7491]

Im not going to be specific. Here's an idea in 5 years from 30 to 39 dollars an hour. That's why people hate them in Boston. Haters!!!!

[@MladenVass]

Its a hybrid system but is still trolleybus, there are also with 1 horn too.For me look stupid to have diesel too cuz the point is to have vehicle only on electricity and keep the hature clean! In the hybrid you got power but also keep making polution!I prefer torlleys,tramps,eleveted trains, monorails and lifts cuz that save us and the nature!

[@kevinhoward9593]

how the hell do the poles just fling themselves to the wire? Must be a magnet or something in that one spot. why do they switch to diesel if there are wires everywhere?

[@happy--user]

The poles have springs attached to them so they are always trying to stand up vertically when not connected to the wires or held down by the ropes.

[@RRansomSmith]

Air powered. There are hooks that hold the poles down and are controlled by air pressure.

[@RRansomSmith]

Once the hooks release, the springs pull the poles at their bases which makes them pop up and the ropes on the back keep the poles from flying straight up

[@RRansomSmith]

And there aren't wires everywhere. Only in the tunnel. Outside, they run as buses.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

@PETER KAMARU that's what I said

[@lol-ug2ry]

Cool

[@karlaramirez8225]

QUE CHIDO CAMION

[@dramatic5293]

What's the point of being a trolleybus in a tunel but being a diesel bus after the tunel???

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Because it's entering an interstate highway tunnel a short distance away and the Feds won't allow trackless trolley wires inside it.

[@tionstav5799]

I was thinking more about carbon monoxide poisoning in tunnel stops.

[@TIMBOWERMAN]

That was going to be my reply, you do not want to be poisoned by carbon monoxide from diesel fumes and gas fumes in a tunnel.

[@FrostyAUT]

@@edwardmiessner6502 More importantly, the max speed of trolley buses when they are connected to the overhead wires is about 70 kph. For higher speeds, they have to be disconnected.

[@RRansomSmith]

@@FrostyAUT not true. All depends on the wire construction.

[@riddnic]

bout time

[@sixpackpilot]

I am curious why they did not go for the full electric trolleybus system, but chose a hybrid form. As if the city did not fully trust trolleybuses. It might strengthen the perception of (some) Americans that do not like to let go of the combustion engine.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

No overhead wires on an interstate highway per USDOT and FHA

[@Staticlyy]

Are theses the Neopolitan buses there using

[@RRansomSmith]

Neoplan

[@waynewright2886]

Yes... but Neoplan went out of Business the Early Part of this Century, they had a Plant Based in Lamar Colorado, Transit Systems Like Here in L.A. Metro & Then RTD Bought a Hoard of Neoplans, Starting With Double Decker Busses in the Mid 70's & Early 80's & 415 40 Footers from then RTD in 84 in Time for the 84 Olympics, Over 700 40 Foot CNG Busses from Now L.A. Metro Between 95 to 99. Also San Francisco Got Neoplans, Articulated, 40 Footers & Trolley Busses for the Muni Fleet. Pittsburgh & Philadelphia also Bought Neoplans in their Fleet in the Past Like Boston's T System also. Why they Fell Through the Bottom & Shut Down Just After the Turn of the Century I Can't Explain?

[@transitnetwork3049]

So it has a diesel engine too???

[@Virre737]

Yes. It is a hybrid

[@higamitakaro]

It has reminded me this clip: 【ｱﾙﾍﾟﾝﾙｰﾄ4K前面展望】東芝VVVF搭載の関電トロリーバス　扇沢→黒部ダム

[@nicomiauroblox2014]

el primer trolebus articulado del mundo es de ecuador

[@Bobrogers99]

These (expensive) hybrid vehicles are really just a stopgap. In the end, they'll have to either electrify the whole route or come up with the money to put it all underground. Maybe they're waiting for a workable battery system.

[@martinwright970]

The latest development is a battery- trolleybus hybrid. The trolleybus only needs 50% of the route with wires. It charges its batteries on that half of the route, then runs on batteries on the unwired part of the route say up to 20 miles on batteries before it needs to recharge. Unfortunately in Boston the tunnel section with wires is quite short, so to make the battery-trolleybus system work, they would have to wire up some of the overground section too.

[@Bobrogers99]

Good to hear of that hybrid development! As the cost of fossil fuel creeps up, it may become economically feasible to wire more of the route.

[@EpicThe112]

@@martinwright970 well said but the one going to Logan Airport has to stay in diesel engine because it uses Interstate 90 New York State Thruway Indiana East-West toll road Illinois tollway's Massachusetts and Ohio turnpikes Ted Williams Tunnel.

[@waynewright2886]

Seattle's King County Metro had Artic Trolleys from a Italian Maker in the 90's & were Retired Off Last Decade & it was a Love & Hate with Their Dual Powered Artic Trolleys, One because the Busses were Heavier Because of the Engines, Now All Replaced by New Flyer Trolley Artics Today.

[@laureanoarantesnetto8893]

sensacional o condutor não precisa descer do ônibus para ligar ou desligar o trólebus a rede área de energia , alô ambiental transportes

[@transitdude3352]

Those busses need a serious cleaning

[@edsoncanal]

Why?

[@sgt.eclair]

Edson Canal Why not?

[@southshorerailvideos1122]

What stop was that? 1:35

[@southshorerailvideos1122]

@CrappyDreams No shi* the stop name lol

[@southshorerailvideos1122]

@CrappyDreams fair enough

[@seanfish17]

I wonder why the power seems totally be switched off when the bus is changing power source like the screen is switched off

[@RRansomSmith]

Can't run both together

[@RRansomSmith]

Defeats the purpose

[@glebash1360]

Whot in the sity only bus

[@maninredhelm]

I like the low tech solution to guiding the poles back to the wires. Nowadays someone might propose roof-mounted 3D laser scanning devices and multiple motors to articulate the poles with robotic joints. Keep it simple, stupid.

[@laureanoarantesnetto8893]

não tem catracas como toda cidade Europa e USA

[@user-wr5ro6cj9s]

Здорово, а у нас закрыли депо

[@r-labs9357]

The transit looks cool but the busses are too old

[@topphatt1312]

Personally I prefer bolley trusses

[@kwokmanlam6836]

It looks like Indian made Tata buses with Tata logo.....

[@danivanon]

i don't understand; why not just use gasoline or diesel? Installing all these lines seems like it would mitigate the cost savings.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

Electric is cheaper. Plus, can't use fuel underground as it would pollute the tunnel without adequate ventilation, which would drive the cost of operation up.

[@waynewright2886]

Hybrid, CNG, or B.E.B.is Better, Mainly B.E.B. cause it Don't Pollute, but Transit Systems also have Concerns with the Battery Range on the B.E.B Busses, Mainly if their Stuck in Traffic.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

@@waynewright2886 CNG is no go in tunnels except certain situations because they do still give off fumes. Hybrids have to stay below 30 to keep only the battery working and the diesel fumes down, but the fumes could still come out on idle. Battery, it works, but not so much with stop and go and really all depends on range. Trackless-Trolley (or trolleybus) really makes the most sense since there is no pollution problem and it lasts as long as the powertrain and overhead equipment are intact.

[@antonnovotny4499]

@@waynewright2886 Nowdays in cities with trolleys is very clever and sustainable to operate dual/hybrid trolleybuses that which charge battery during road under wire...

[@EpicThe112]

The answer here is a dual mode bus because it has to use Interstate 90 Massachusetts and Ohio Turnpikes Illinois Tollway Indiana East-West toll road New York State Thruway Boston Harbor tunnel to reach Logan Airport. For these Neoplan buses XT60 with a Diesel engine can replace them

[@RRansomSmith]

Just say I90. All that extra stuff is irrelevant.

[@EpicThe112]

@PETER KAMARU ok then but XT40 with diesel engine might work for the Harvard Bus Tunnel routes like the 77,71 & 73. Since they can be rotated between Harvard Bus tunnel and I-90 Silver Line

[@eriskaeriska7036]

Tu

[@joseosorio4682]

Es un camión de pasajeros con opción a cambio de tracción eléctrica para el modo trolebús. La idea es fascinante y también sería un transporte muy rentable en muchas ciudades del Continente Americano. 👍🏻

[@osmariobrito7776]

If the purpose of an electric bus is not to pollute, why do drivers lower the pantograph?