Silverliner

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Silverliner
WABCO Model N-2

Silverliner is the name given to a series of

Reading Railroads between 1915 and 1936. Applied to the first large production order in 1963, the cars made such an impression that the name has since been applied to all subsequent MU classes purchased by SEPTA for the Regional Rail
services.

Silverliner I

Main article:
Pioneer III (railcar)

What came to be known as the Silverliner Is were a set of 6 pilot EMUs making use of Budd's prototype Pioneer III railcar design. The 6 Pioneer III cars were purchased in response to the increasing age of the PRR's

disc brakes, while the odd-numbered cars had cast steel truck frames and tread brakes. The PRR initially had hopes to MU cars such as the Pioneer IIIs in intercity service along its electrified routes and the cars were split between long distance and suburban duties. However, as testing went on they were soon limited to suburban service in the Philadelphia area when a full-scale production order of 38 PRR "Silverliner" cars were delivered in 1963.[2]

The Pioneer III cars suffered from a low capacity main transformer as well as gearbox issues and a complex propulsion system that coupled highly sensitive mercury arc

Wayne Junction. Although there were plans to convert the cars into locomotive-hauled coaches, SEPTA finally decided to dispose of the fleet due to the expense it would have taken to deal with PCBs in the transformers and the lack of ADA compliance. Of the 5 surviving cars, three were sent to the AAR/FRA test site in Pueblo, Colorado for use in crash tests, while the remaining 2 Pioneer III/Silverliner I cars, 246 and 247, were donated to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg
, but were scrapped in 2014.

Silverliner II

Main article: Budd Silverliner
Chestnut Hill West
in 1974.

In 1963 the financial condition of the

Reading Railroads was such that neither was able to upgrade their money losing commuter operations on their own. As a result, state and local government stepped in to purchase new cars that would be in turn used by the private railroads to run the required commuter operations through an entity known as the Passenger Service Improvement Corporation.[3] The new cars would be a production order based on 6 1958 Pioneer III type cars with improvements based on the lessons learned from the earlier design.[2] A total of 38 cars were purchased for the PRR with the remaining 17 going to the Reading. While some referred to the new vehicles as "PSIC Cars", the modern stainless steel body shells quickly defined the fleet and the name "Silverliner" was soon adopted.[3]

Differences from the earlier Pioneer IIIs included a single arm

cab signals, with the Reading cars being fitted with a cowcatcher and twin overhead luggage racks. The first set of PRR cars, #201-216, were also equipped with bathrooms in place of a 3-person bench seat in the 'F' end of the car to enable the cars use on longer runs to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or New York City
.

Interior of SL-II #9016 of the "Ketchup and Mustard" style that was fitted to most of the Silverliner II and III fleet.

With the delivery of the second set of "Silverliners" in 1967, the original Budd Silverliners were renamed "Silverliner II" with the Pioneer III cars becoming Silverliner I.

Penn Central
"Worms" in 1968. After 1976 the service continued to be operated under Conrail, but was fully branded as SEPTA and would operate as such until the end of their careers.

In 1989 the entire fleet was sent to the

dynamic brakes and manually worked doors were presenting growing operational headaches. However a prolonged procurement process as well as delays in delivering the replacement Silverliner V cars resulted in the Budds lasting in service well into 2012, a run of nearly 50 years. The final run took place on June 29, 2012 with former Reading car #9010 running with Silverliner III #235 on the Cynwyd Line
.

Experimental Silverliners

As part of the

High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 the United States Department of Transportation placed an order for 4 additional Silverliners for use as test vehicles to explore the feasibility of a high-speed rail line in the United States. Numbered T-1 through T-4, the cars were modified for operation up to speeds of 150 mph and were outfitted with various instrumentation to document the effects of rail travel at such speeds. The most visible modification was a slightly streamlined slab end applied to the T-1 car to reduce drag during the high-speed runs. After the tests at least one of the cars was de-powered and used as a USDoT rail testing vehicle for some years afterward. The experimental Silverliners reached a maximum speed of 156 mph and were instrumental in the development of the Budd Metroliner.[2]

T-1 was purchased by a private buyer in 2015 and moved to the South Carolina Railway Museum, to be converted into a lounge car. T-2 exists as an office for the AAFES warehouse in Lee Hall, VA. T-3 and T-4 are presumed scrapped, but T-4 is unaccounted for. Its whereabouts are unknown.

Silverliner III

Cornwells Heights Station
.

In late 1967

letterboards, wider stainless steel fluting, fiberglass
cladding on portions of the car ends, full-length overhead luggage racks on both sides of the cars, and rectangular interior door windows in place of round portal windows seen on the Budds. Since a letterboard was omitted, railroad identification on the car sides was provided by PRR keystone decals (later covered by Penn Central decals) at each end of the window band.

SEPTA Silverliner III #235 showing the customized interior for Airport service.

Numbered 220 through 239, for their first eight years the Silverliner IIIs worked trains running into

SEPTA Airport Line. The Airport IIIs were wrapped in a bright yellow band (the color of the Airport Line on SEPTA signs and timetables at the time), and emblazoned with the logo of the Philadelphia International Airport on the fronts. Inside, larger luggage racks were provided along with a wider central aisle made possible by the use of plush 2+2 seating instead of the standard 3+2.[5][failed verification] The Airport IIIs were used in this service for a few years before being dispersed for general service to give SEPTA more flexibility in routing trains between routes. In the early 1990s the Silverliner III fleet was rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen in a similar fashion to the Silverliner IIs.[5][failed verification
]

While able to run in multiple with the later IVs, SEPTA preferred to run the IIIs either as solid sets or in conjunction with the IIs, the latter being more common due to that classes' larger size. By the late 2000s the Silverliner IIIs began to find themselves in the same position as the Silverliner IIs with increasingly unreliable components and leaking roofs. Starting in 2011 with the first deliveries of the new Silverliner Vs, those IIIs not already sidelined by mechanical issues began to be retired, a process completed by June 2012. The final run of a Silverliner III took place on June 29, 2012 with former Airport car #235 running with Silverliner II #9010 on the Cynwyd Line.

Silverliner IV

Main article:
GE Silverliner IV
Paoli Station
, in 1993.

The 232-car Silverliner IV order was the largest order in the Silverliner series to date. Delivered between 1973 and 1976, the Silverliner IV cars allowed for the retirement of most of the Reading electric multiple units and PRR MP54 cars, which dated from at least the 1930s. Three times as numerous as the previous Silverliner trains put together, the Silverliner IV has been SEPTA's most common passenger railcar since 1976. Like the Silverliner II and III cars, the IV cars were owned by SEPTA and provided to the private railroads for use in their state-supported commuter rail operations until SEPTA assumed direct operation in 1983.[5][failed verification]

Features

The cars were ordered from

married pair configuration, although a minority of cars were outfitted as single units. The delivery of the Silverliner IVs allowed SEPTA to replace most of its remaining round front windowed pre-war PRR MP54s
and Reading's MU car fleet save for the 38 rebuilt "Blueliner" cars. Although being fitted with an updated propulsion system from General Electric, the Silverliner IVs were nevertheless still delivered with Ignitron tube rectifiers (necessary to convert the overhead (catenary) wire high voltage AC to DC required to operate the traction motors) which were later replaced with silicon controlled rectifiers.

A readily apparent external feature of the Silverliner IV is a windowed body panel plug in the middle of the cars on each side, a provision for high-platform-only center doors which have never been installed, in contrast with

New Jersey Transit's similar, contemporary Arrow II and III cars which were built with such operating center doors. Internally, pairs of seats occupy this partitioned area which was intended for passenger flow.[7]

Delivery

SEPTA Silverliner IV at Fern Rock Transportation Center

The Reading got the first batch of Silverliner IVs in the form of 14 single unit cars produced during 1973. The first two (#9018 and #9019) were unveiled to the press on Thursday, February 21, 1974.[6] These were numbered in series with their existing Silverliner IIs, 9018 through 9031. In 1974-75 the Penn Central took delivery of 34 single units numbered 270 through 303. Delivery of the Silverliner IVs was briefly interrupted by the production of 70 Arrow II cars for the New Jersey Department of Transportation before the Penn Central received 96 pairs numbered 304 through 399.[6] Finally in 1976 the Reading took delivery of a final batch of 88 pairs numbered 101 through 188.[5][failed verification] All the IVs were delivered with the circular SEPTA logo on the left, and the Penn Central or Reading logo on the right, of all car sides and ends, although the Reading black diamond logo was omitted (and the space left blank) on cars 129-188 which were delivered after the Reading Company was absorbed into Conrail on April 1, 1976. These logos remained mostly intact until 1983, when SEPTA took over commuter rail operations from Conrail and quickly began applying its current rectangular logo over all the others.

Modifications

The Silverliner IVs have never been officially rebuilt, but there have been a number of modifications to the class. The propulsion system was initially upgraded from the original mercury arc–based Ignitron rectifiers to more reliable solid state

Market East Station (now Jefferson Station) and others on the former PRR "side" of the system. In the late 1990s the fleet received its most noticeable upgrade with the original "ketchup and mustard" colored interior replaced with a softer gray motif as well as softer seating. Around 2004 SEPTA began to replace the cowcatcher pilots equipped on the original Reading cars with a bar type pilot to match those on the PRR cars. Starting in 2009 SEPTA began to replace the original Faiveley pantographs with more modern Schunk
type units.

Service history

The Silverliner IV fleet has provided service on all of SEPTA's Regional Rail routes, providing the backbone of SEPTA's service plan with older equipment tending to be used on peak services only. Most SEPTA trains consist of a single pair of Silverliner IVs, with longer trains made up as needed. The single units are most frequently coupled to pairs to make 5 or 3 car trainsets, although single units are run alone on

North Wales station in 1980, which damaged the car beyond repair.[8]
On August 29, 2018, car #144 was heavily damaged by an electrical fire at Glenside station.[9]

Silverliner V

Main article: Silverliner V
SEPTA Silverliner V approaching Hatboro station.

A total of 120 new Silverliner V cars were built by Hyundai Rotem of South Korea, with the first three entering service on October 29, 2010.[10] The cost for all 120 cars was $274 million, and they were constructed in Hyundai Rotem facilities located in South Philadelphia and South Korea.[10][11] The last of these cars was received by SEPTA in March 2013, three years behind schedule due to a variety of production problems, resulting in contractually specified delay penalties against the manufacturer totaling over $20 million.[12]

Resembling a "stretched"

LED panels on both the front and sides of the train, and improved PA systems allows the automated system to announce station names. The new trains feature enhanced security, with CCTV
cameras that are able to broadcast over a proprietary wireless network to the Command Center at SEPTA's headquarters. There are three basic Silverliner V car types: 38 single cars, numbered 701–738, and the 82 single-cab "A" and "B" cars which make up the 41 two-car married pairs, numbered 801–882.

All of SEPTA's Silverliner V cars were taken out of service due to fatigue cracks in the trucks on July 1–2, 2016. This caused widespread disruption of SEPTA's Regional Rail Lines.[13] As of October 5, 2016, the Silverliner V's have returned to normal service and SEPTA continued to reinstate every Silverline V car by November.

Silverliner VI

In 2017, SEPTA announced that, along with procurement of the new

New Jersey Transit board meeting agenda, procurement of 113 EMUs from Bombardier Transportation based on the Bombardier MultiLevel Coach was discussed. Included in the board meeting agenda was an option for SEPTA to purchase an additional 250 EMUs from the order. These cars will have USB charging capabilities, and be equipped with the same media displays that adorn the Silverliner Vs. The VIs will be the replacement for GE's older Silverliner IVs running since the 1970s.[15] In November 2023, SEPTA put out an expression of interest for contractors to build the Silverliner VI cars. They will be single level EMUs, either in married pairs, triplets, or quadruplets.[16]

Summary

Built Manufacturer Model Numbers[5][failed verification] Total Built Rebuilt Weight
(Ton/t)[2] 		Seats[2] Remarks
1958 Budd Pioneer III / Silverliner I PRR: 150-155
PC 294-298
PC/SEPTA: 244-248 from 1974 		6 N/A 85,000 lbs 127 #155 destroyed in accident prior to 1973. Lightest railroad MUs built in North America.
1963–1964 Silverliner II PRR: 201–219, 251-269
Reading: 9001-9017
USDoT: T1-T4 		59 1989 101,400 lbs 124–127 #210 destroyed in fire in the 1970s, #257 destroyed in fire on November 4, 2009,[17] #265 retired after rear-end collision Angora PA October 16, 1979. 269 carried PENNSYLVANIA name on letter boards until retirement.
1967–1968 St. Louis Car Silverliner III 220-239 20 Early 1990s 105,504 lbs[18] 122 (Airport cars: 90) Originally used on what is now the Keystone Service with left-side cabs; 232–239 formerly dedicated cars for the R1 Airport Line.
1973–76 GE/Avco[1] Silverliner IV Original:
101–188 (Reading Pairs),
274-303 (PC singles),
304-399 (PC pairs),
9018-9031 (Reading singles)
Current:
101–188, 306–399, 417–460
(married pairs)
276–305, 400–416
(single cars) 		232 Late 1990s interior refresh 120,600 lbs[8] 125 400-series units are cars renumbered from lower series or from Reading Railroad cars 9018–9031 when PCB transformers were replaced. Original PC car series #276 through #399 is no longer continuous. Car #9020 was destroyed in rear-end collision at North Wales July 17, 1980. Car #144 heavily damaged by fire at Glenside August 29, 2018.
2010–13 Rotem Silverliner V 701–738 (single cars)
801–882 (married pairs) 		120 N/A 125,000 lbs 110 Replacements for 68 Silverliner II/III cars with remainder to add capacity. Placed in service between fall 2010 and spring 2013. All units temporarily withdrawn due to cracks on the components in 2016. However they returned to service in November 2016.

References

  1. ^ a b Carleton, Paul (1982). Under Pennsy Wires. D. Carleton Railbooks Publication. p. 246.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0944513050
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 1878887335
    .
  4. ISBN 0962084433
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-9621541-7-1
    .
  6. ^ a b c "Silverliner IV: New Commuter Cars for Philadelphians". Headlights. 36 (4): 14–15. April 1974.
  7. ISBN 0-9602080-0-3
    .
  8. ^ a b "ICC North Wales Accident Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  9. ^ "VIDEO: SEPTA train catches fire at Glenside, Pa. station - 6abc Philadelphia".
  10. ^ a b "SEPTA's new railcar model makes inaugural trip". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 30, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  11. ^ "SEPTA unveils first Silverliner V train". Progressive Railroading. November 3, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  12. ^ Nussbaum, Paul (March 20, 2013). "SEPTA completes lineup of new Silverliner V cars". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  13. ^ Bohnel, Steve; Laughlin, Jason (July 5, 2016). "SEPTA urges rail riders to look into workweek alternatives". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  14. ^ "SEPTA Fleet Upgrades". Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  15. ^ Zuczek, Joyce (December 12, 2018). NJT Final Board Meeting Agenda (PDF) (Report). Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  16. ^ "Bid Item: Expression of Interest - SEPTA Silverliner VI Procurement | SEPTA". Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  17. ^ R5 train fire not sabotage
  18. ^ ICC 1979 West Chester Branch Accident Report

External links

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