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Passenger Trains > BART subway cars go for a long distance trip


Date: 01/28/25 17:01
BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: march_hare

Well, BART's new subway cars may be destined for a boring life in tunnels and urban overpasses, but man, when they were young, they did some traveling!

As I understand it, the bodies are delivered from Europe in the port of Philadelphia, then trucked up to Plattsburgh, NY to have their innards installed. That's a pretty drive once you get out of the urban grunge. Here we are, riding up I88 into New York's Capital District. There's a clearance restriction in there somewhere that has required each shipment to jump off I-88 and traverse surface streets to get to what should be a routine interchange onto I-87 north. 








Date: 01/28/25 17:10
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: march_hare

Once they're off the interstate system, the cars take various routes through the western Albany 'burbs.

There's a joke in here somewhere about how long your California subway ride has to be to reach affordable housing. Is 2800 miles enough?  Albany homes sell for what a small garage would cost in the Bay Area. Maybe an intermodal subway service could make a go of it?

As a state capital and a multi-college town, Albany has some pretensions as a technology hub. We're not there yet, but with subway service, who knows?








Date: 01/28/25 17:31
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: boejoe

Thanks for taking us along for the ride.
jb



Date: 01/28/25 21:12
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: coach

To haul those new cars by truck all the way across the U.S. has got to be expensive.  BART's receiving yard in Hayward, CA (where these cars are delivered and tested before acceptance) has a major rail spur off UP's Hayward line.  It seems it would be much cheaper to ship them via rail, and it  would be a profitable long-haul for UP and the Eastern carrier.  Anyone know why BART chose trucking?



Date: 01/28/25 21:34
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: atsf121

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To haul those new cars by truck all the way across
> the U.S. has got to be expensive.  BART's
> receiving yard in Hayward, CA (where these cars
> are delivered and tested before acceptance) has a
> major rail spur off UP's Hayward line.  It seems
> it would be much cheaper to ship them via rail,
> and it  would be a profitable long-haul for UP
> and the Eastern carrier.  Anyone know why BART
> chose trucking?

There was an article about the trucking of the BART cars, can’t remember if it mentioned why a truck over a train.

Posted from iPhone



Date: 01/28/25 21:36
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: atsf121

Cool photos of their very interesting trip. We see them in Utah occasionally, they come in on I-80 from Wyoming, but instead of heading due west to the Bay Area, they head south on I-15 to Barstow and then go over Tehachapi. It sure is a strange routing.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone



Date: 01/29/25 05:37
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: DutchDragon

These shells certainly travel the USA. I have seen these cars on IH-35 in Texas coming out of Mexico. And also on Interstate 70 EASTbound in Indiana.



Date: 01/29/25 06:06
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: OldPorter

Great series!  Enjoyed the photo retrospective. 



Date: 01/29/25 06:56
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: mbrotzman

I caught one heading up the main drag in Catawissa, PA on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. 



Date: 01/29/25 07:17
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: mcdeo

I've caught two of them on I-70 in Cheyenne, WY over the last year. Didn't get photos in time. 

Mike ONeill
Parker, CO



Date: 01/29/25 11:16
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: symph1

mcdeo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've caught two of them on I-70 in Cheyenne, WY
> over the last year. Didn't get photos in time. 

If it's Cheyenne, it's either I-80 or I-25. I-70 is through Denver.



Date: 01/30/25 16:18
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: NSDTK

If i remember right they were worried about impact / shock damage from freight train slack action



Date: 01/30/25 19:57
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: filmteknik

Or just look at the stored Caltrain cars!



Date: 02/01/25 10:23
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: chuba

Wanna see something strange?  On Google Streetview, go to where US 50/6 goes across the UT/NV state line. The imagery along the road is up-to-date and from September of last year, so it has that hot and dusty desert highway look to it. But if you follow the little turnout just a little ways in that goes into the Border Inn Motel parking lot, presto, there's a trailer there with a new BART car on it.

With the advent of Streetview, I've developed a habit of occasionally retracing my steps from previous journeys I've made to wherever and I stumbled across this totally by chance.



Date: 02/09/25 08:13
Re: BART subway cars go for a long distance trip
Author: RRaburn

One correction, the empty shells--sans trucks, interiors, and electronics--are shipped to NY from the Alstom plant in Sahagun City, Mexico.



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