Market Frankford Subway cars

[Fred W. Schneider III]

Continuing yesterday's discussion about car longevity, I talked to a
shop manager for SEPTA today.  Name must remain anonymous for obvious
reasons.

I asked what specifically was wrong with the Almond Joy Budd cars from
1960?

>>>>>"The were thirty years old."

Were they in bad shape owing to their age?

>>>>>"There were some frame cracks developing."

If they were owned by a private operator with no government funding,
would they have been fixed or would new cars have been purchased?"

>>>>>"Fixed.  Those cars were more reliable in their last years than at any time before."

And the new cars?

>>>>>"Many of them are out of service." 

Why?

>>>>>"Warranty work on trucks."  

How do you keep a schedule?

>>>>>"Large spare ratio."

I hope this helps to explain that car logevity and maintenance practices
are more often than not dictated by conditions other than cost of
maintenance.