[PRCo] Re: 3800 Series LOST & streetcar economy etc.

[Boris Cefer]

America has purchased several streetcars from CZ, but these are not PCC 
based vehicles. Portland OR, Seattle and Washington DC. Actually, DC has no 
tracks and the three cars they purchased remain in storage in CZ. Why did 
these cities purchased articulated low floor cars? Because the manufacturers 
showed them these and intentionally drove their representatives on these, 
but they did not show them the best of the CZ streetcar fleets - Tatra T3!

When the streetcar economy was mentioned......I know partly how it works and 
guess the rest with which general public is never familiarized. Do not ask 
how the transit works!

B

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Herb Brannon" <hrbran at sbcglobal.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 7:57 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: 3800 Series LOST


That was a US based comment. The US transit authorities can buy from other 
countries as long as assembly of the car is here in the US and a certain 
percentage of the parts are US made. It is done with the NABI bus. 
Ironically, NABI stands for North American Bus Industries. Cleveland's 400+ 
fleet of NABI low-floors are actually a European product. Some of the parts 
are US manufactured and the bus is assembled in the US. However, some of the 
product is made in Europe and shipped to the US assembly plants to be 
matched up with the the US manufactured parts and then assembled into 
finished buses. Perhaps the European PCC manufacturers did not place bids on 
any cars for US transit authorities. The European manufacturers would have a 
"hard sell" to get US transit authorities to buy their cars, I believe. This 
is do to the mindset, among US transit executives, which says we should have 
over sized cars, utilizing over sized centenary systems and overbuilt 
roadbed. This is not what
 I would propose for a light rail system; it is what the "powers that be" 
dictate. Simplicity of design, in my opinion, creates a more pleasing 
product in the end which is easier to maintain, looks far better, and serves 
it purpose with grace and ease.