A rendering of a Brookville streetcar in Milwaukee's Third Ward. Milwaukee's streetcars will be manufactured by U.S.-based Brookville Equipment Corp.

By Mary Spicuzza of the Journal Sentinel
Nov. 13, 2015

The City of Milwaukee has chosen a company to build the first four vehicles for its streetcar project.

Brookville Equipment Corp., a nearly 100-year-old Pennsylvania-based company that manufactures streetcars as well as locomotives and mining equipment, was picked in a Friday vote by the city's streetcar committee.

The $18.6 million contract calls for Brookville to initially build four cars. The company could be tapped to make a fifth vehicle for the streetcar's Lakefront Line in the near future, and may eventually manufacture as many as 24 total vehicles for Milwaukee.

Mayor Tom Barrett celebrated the news as "another major milestone" for the streetcar project.

"We had a thorough review, and we're moving forward," Barrett said Friday.

Each streetcar will be 66 feet long and 8 feet 8 inches wide, have 32 seats and hold up to 150 passengers. The vehicles will have two doors on each side, provide access for wheelchairs and bicycles to be transported, and at some point could be equipped to offer Wi-Fi. The cars will each weigh about 79,000 pounds when empty.

The contract calls for the first vehicle to be delivered to Milwaukee in about 24 months.

Michael White, a sales manager for Brookville, said the company's streetcar projects include New Orleans, San Francisco, Dallas and Disneyland.

White said 70 Brookville streetcars are in operation.

The car, known as the Liberty Modern Streetcar, is a "very safe car" and is designed to have a "30-year life," White said. The maximum speed is 42 miles per hour, but it could go higher in the future, he said.

The streetcars will be manufactured at the company's Pennsylvania plant.

The vote by the Joint Committee on Downtown Streetcar Implementation to authorize the contract with Brookville came about three weeks after Ghassan Korban, commissioner of the city's Department of Public Works, said the city was close to finalizing a deal with its preferred vendor.

The proposals were evaluated using four criteria: budget, qualifications, technical capabilities and aesthetics. Korban said Brookville's proposal was deemed to be the "best value," and was also the cheapest overall.

He praised the "modern and sleek" look of the cars, and said he was confident in their safety and performance.

"We are very confident that this vehicle will be able to run 365 days a year in Milwaukee," Korban said. "So during the hottest days, and during the coldest and snowiest days."

The agreement came less than a month after the city was awarded a $14.2 million federal grant for construction of a line connecting the streetcar with the lakefront.

The streetcar plan, which aims to connect the Milwaukee Intermodal Station with the city's lower east side, was approved by the Common Council in February. The project's capital budget is $128 million for a 2.5-mile route, with an estimated $3.2 million operating and maintenance budget.

Late last month, local and federal officials announced the city had been awarded a $14.2 million federal grant for construction of the spur connecting the streetcar with the lakefront. The award was from the federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) program. The Lakefront Line, which was approved by the Common Council along with the first phase of the streetcar in February, would connect Cathedral Square to the lakefront using Broadway and Milwaukee, Michigan and Clybourn streets. It will also link the streetcar to the Couture development, which has a stop planned.

Initially, it was anticipated that the city would break ground on the project by late 2015, but the groundbreaking now is expected to occur sometime in spring 2016. The streetcars are expected to start running in fall 2018.

The streetcar project has faced some vocal opponents who question the cost and how many riders it might have. Barrett repeatedly has touted the key role it will play as development projects spring up throughout downtown.

"We think this is going to have a positive impact on property values and economic development," the mayor said Friday.

Barrett added that a millions of dollars in federal grants being used for the project were awarded years ago, and cannot be used for other expenses.

Also on Friday, Jeffrey Kober, the CEO and president of Cudahy-based Milwaukee Composites, announced that his company was donating flooring for the four vehicles.

Brookville was one of four companies that submitted proposals. The three other companies were Inekon Trams, in the Czech Republic, and German companies Siemens and Vossloh, Korban said.

From Railway Age (9-09-15):

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief

El Paso City Lines PCC, circa 1963

Transportation officials in El Paso, Tex., are finalizing agreements with two firms to build a $97 million, 4.8-mile streetcar line approved by City Council in 2014. The state-funded project involves refurbishing and placing back into service historic El Paso City Lines PCC cars that operated until the 1970s.

TheCamino Real Regional Mobility Authority, which is overseeing the project, in late August 2015 selected Paso del Norte Trackworks, a joint venture of California-basedGranite Construction Inc.and New York-basedRailWorks Track Systems, andBrookville Equipment Corp. to build the infrastructure and rebuild the PCC cars, respectively. Paso del Norte Trackworks will be responsible for tracks, maintenance and storage facilities, power stations and catenary wires. Brookville will be responsible for resurrecting El Paso’s old PCCs, which have sat dormant for decades in the Texas desert.

Work could begin on the streetcar line, which was designed byAECOM, as early as January 2016. Last year, the Granite/RailWorks joint venture completed a $197 million modern streetcar line in Tucson, Ariz., that opened in July 2014. That system sparked a downtown renaissance, spurring $1.5 billion in private and public development along the route, Tucson city officials and business groups have said.

The El Paso streetcar will run from the Paso del Norte Port of Entry to the West El Paso neighborhood that is home to a campus of El Paso Community College, the University of Texas at El Paso and several hospitals. Construction will be complex, as the route passes through the arts, business, government, entertainment and shopping districts in downtown El Paso, Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority Executive Director Raymond Telles told local media. “We are going to affect a lot of people with this project, so we want to make it as painless as possible,” he said.

Six of El Paso’s vintage PCCs will be transported to Brookville Equipment’s facilities in Pennsylvania and remanufactured and modernized. Originally, plans called for seven PCCs, but the cost of restoring the streetcars was greater than expected, $3.1 million per car, officials said. They hope to eventually add a seventh car using contingency funds that could be freed up when the project is complete.

Brookville, which has remanufactured PCC cars for SEPTA and other transit authorities, will upgrade the 1938-built vehicles with modern propulsion equipment, air conditioning, and pantographs for current collection. The cars will also be ADA-compliant. PCC No. 1511, which was painted by renowned artist Jose Cisneros, will be restored, artwork and all, according to Telles.

This article is written by Carole Carlson on Aug 4, 2015 of the Merrillville, IN Post Tribune

Aug. 03--The South Shore Railroad is gearing up to carry bicycles on trains next spring, kick starting the transit plan years earlier than a previous timeline.

South Shore General Manager Mike Noland unveiled prototypes of two bicycle racks at Friday's Northern Indiana Commuter Transit board meeting and the board approved a one-year pilot program set to start in April. The racks were designed by SportWorks, a Seattle-based transit design company.

Advocates have been pushing the initiative for about 10 years. Bike supporters say the South Shore is the only commuter railroad in the nation that bans bicycles on its trains because its cars aren't configured to hold them.

The pilot program approved Friday will outfit three cars with specially-made bike racks. Bike owners will sit next to their bikes.

Noland said three cars will be equipped with about 25 to 30 bike racks each. The racks will be attached to the car's metal heating system. Each rack costs $500 to $600. No final cost estimate for the pilot program was available.

The pilot bike program will only run on weekends and cyclists must get on and off at stations with high-level boarding platforms, Noland said. It's also not intended as a permanent solution.

At a public hearing last month, officials presented a bikes on trains plan that's dependent on the purchase of new cars within five years. NICTD then plans to retrofit five existing cars at a price tag of about $10 million. When bike advocates and even some NICTD board members heard the program likely wouldn't start until 2021, they complained and officials began to look for a short-term solution.

"We heard the board loud and clear to accelerate the process prior to the next train car order," Noland said. He said cars purchased in 2009 were finally performing well and anchoring the fleet, allowing the railroad the opportunity to look at modifying its older cars.

Noland acknowledged the South Shore's shortcomings. "Metra has more space than we do. We have no room for anything but seats, that's the fundamental difference."

NICTD board member and Lake County Commissioner Mike Repay thanked Noland for quick action. "I commend you for listening to what was being said. I think this is the right way to do it. I know there are still bugs... Folks who really want their bikes on trains will be hospitable."

Advocates, including Save the Dunes Council and the National Parks Conservation Association, immediately praised the action.

"Save the Dunes has taken a leadership role in the project as part of our desire to increasenon-motorized access to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Indiana Dunes State Park, yetclearly the benefits would be experienced region-wide," the Save the Dunes Council stated in a release.

"This decision has been a long time coming and today's vote by the NICTD board is a welcome change and one that we look forward to seeing through," said LeAaron Foley, an outreach coordinator with the National Parks Conservation Association.

Contact Carole Carlson at ccarlson@post-trib.com.

Copyright 2015 - Post-Tribune, Merrillville, Ind

A Chicago-bound train at Ogden Dunes, Ind.

This article was pulled from http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2015/07/south-shore-declares-express-service-a-success 

July 13, 2015

Brian Schmidt

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District says the South Shore Sunshine Express is a success just four months after its implementation. The express trains get South Bend commuters to Chicago in fewer than two hours by making only two other stops. The agency is now working to add more express trains to its schedule.

According to a NICTD, the South Shore is averaging roughly 100 more passengers per day traveling to Chicago from the served stations. NICTD General Manager Mike Noland says they had hoped the service would attract at least 100 new riders between the three express stops. “So far, I would deem this train a success,” Noland tells WSBT-TV.

“We are hearing from other riders about how excited they are about how there is an express train. They want one on their stop as well. But they understand there are things that we need to put in place to get there,” Noland says.

Among the changes Noland hopes to implement to add more express trains include:

• Moving the South Shore depot to the west side of the South Bend airport, cutting 10 minutes of travel time.
• Adding double track in the areas that are currently single track with the goal of cutting South Bend – Chicago time to 90 minutes.
• Reducing travel time in Michigan City.

The following is from a yahoo groups blog, by "Edward Havens" watsonscruff2000

Sat Jul 11, 2015 8:11 am (PDT) . 

MILWAUKEE will begin construction of its downtown modern streetcar line in
October and changes to the route alignment have reduced utility relocation
costs, the "urban milwaukee dot com" site reports. "Not a single track has
been laid, but final engineering work has already reduced the utilities
relocation bill on the Milwaukee Streetcar project by over $1 million.
During a streetcar task force meeting Friday morning project consultants *Tim
Clancy* <http://urbanmilwaukee.com/people/tim-clancy/> of The Concord Group
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/business/the-concord-group/> and *Ashley Booth
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/people/ashley-booth>* of HNTB
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/businesses/hntb> detailed their firms’ work on
negotiating with the utilities and procuring the vehicles. ... Bids have
been received for the streetcar vehicles. The consulting team declined to
identify how many or who the bidders are. They did announce that they
intend to award the contract in September, following final review and
interviews with the bidding teams." Here is the route map before changes to
lower utility relocaion costs. The article says that a : "more than $1
million reduction in costs was realized from minor route modifications as
well as swapping E. Wells St. for E. Kilbourn Ave. and relocating
north-bound tracks to N. Jackson St. from N. Van Buren St."
< http://www.trolleyville.com/tv/times/may2015/headline05.html>
Here is a later map:
< http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=277190&page=16>
< 
*http://tinyurl.com/ncy53h4 <http://tinyurl.com/ncy53h4>>"*Streetcar
Construction Starts in October
On-going engineering work continues to save millions of dollars. And
anti-streetcar group has given up trying to stop the starter line.
By Jeramey Jannene <http://urbanmilwaukee.com/author/jeramey/>
Jul 10th, 2015 05:48 pm

[image: The streetcar as it meets Broadway in the Third Ward.]
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/rendering2_lg.jpg>

The streetcar as it meets Broadway in the Third Ward.

Not a single track has been laid, but final engineering work has already
reduced the utilities relocation bill on the Milwaukee Streetcar project by
over $1 million.

During a streetcar task force meeting Friday morning project consultants *Tim
Clancy* <http://urbanmilwaukee.com/people/tim-clancy/> of The Concord Group
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/business/the-concord-group/> and *Ashley Booth
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/people/ashley-booth>* of HNTB
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/businesses/hntb> detailed their firms’ work on
negotiating with the utilities and procuring the vehicles.

More work between the engineering team and We Energies
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/businesses/we-energies> has been finalized, and
more than $1 million reduction in costs was realized from minor route
modifications as well as swapping E. Wells St. for E. Kilbourn Ave. and
relocating north-bound tracks to N. Jackson St. from N. Van Buren St.

Now that the route is locked in, pending expected federal approval, design
work is beginning on the overhead contact system.

That work is expected to be completed by November, with contracts for
construction of the system awarded in January 2016.

Construction would start in April and be completed by February 2018.

Following final testing, the general public could start riding the system
in July 2018.

Construction work on the utilities will begin in advance of the track and
overhead wire system, with design work being completed next month for the
public utilities.

Contracts will be awarded for that work in September. The first streetcar
project shovels will go into the ground in October. The utility work is
expected to be completed in August 2016.

Bids have been received for the streetcar vehicles. The consulting team
declined to identify how many or who the bidders are.

They did announce that they intend to award the contract in September,
following final review and interviews with the bidding teams.

Once the specifications of the winning bidder’s vehicles are known,
planning will commence for the construction of the Operations and
Maintenance Facility
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/building/milwaukee-streetcar-operations-and-maintenance-facility/>.

That facility is planned to be built underneath Interstate 794.

The lakefront extension of the streetcar to the Henry Maier Festival
Grounds and proposed The Couture
< http://urbanmilwaukee.com/buildings/the-couture> is also undergoing survey
work currently.

That extension was approved with the starter line, but will be constructed
later than the starter line because of the engineering work still required.
Utilities Cost Issue.

by "Edward Havens" watsonscruff2000

Alan R. Lind

1940 – 2015

We were saddened to learn of the passing of noted transportation historian and former CERA director Alan R. Lind of Park Forest on May 30, 2015, at the age of 75. Mr. Lind was the co-author of From Zephyr to Amtrak (1972) and Monarchs of Mid-America (1973). He was the author of From Horsecars to Streamliners (1978), but is probably best remembered among traction enthusiasts for Chicago Surface Lines: An Illustrated History. First published in 1974, it was revised and expanded over the years culminating in an all-encompassing third edition issued in 1979.

For a city that once boasted the world’s largest streetcar system under one management, there had been surprisingly little material published about Chicago’s streetcars. In 1964 James D. Johnson published A Century of Chicago Streetcars, a nostalgic look at Chicago’s system through the photographs of Tom Desnoyers (credited as “Thomas Hollister” in the book). Published only six years after Chicago’s last streetcar ran, this was largely a photo album that appealed to both the ardent fan and the casual reader whose memories of the cars in their neighborhoods and their daily lives were still fresh. 

Mr. Lind’s work on Chicago’s streetcars was much greater in scope. The first edition appeared in 1974, twenty years after the last of the red car lines had been converted to bus. Not so much a narrative history, it provided a detailed account of practically every component of the Chicago Surface Lines. Written for the serious fan (or “rivet counter” in railfan argot) one found valuable information on all types of Chicago streetcars, their routes, route histories, carbarns, shops, and other facilities. For decades this has been the “go to” book for the Chicago streetcar enthusiast.

Mr. Lind passed away three weeks before the 57th anniversary of the closing of the last streetcar line in Chicago. Many of us who rode these last streetcars as children are now collecting social security and most of the adults who took us on these rides are no longer with us. Alan Lind’s major contribution was to collect and present this wealth of information on Chicago’s streetcars, preserving it for the enjoyment and education of both the traction fan and serious transit historian. Because of Mr. Lind’s efforts, both old and young readers can marvel at the size and magnificence of this once vast streetcar network. The older ones can take satisfaction at having ridden on these cars while the younger ones will wish they had.  

Alan Lind will be missed by all of us.

John Nicholson

Please congratulate Raymond DeGroote, Jr., as he was awarded a Life Time membership on June 26, 2015 in recognition of his contributions to the organization over the years.

For any questions or concerns related to your delivery, please email ceraoffice@gmail.com. 

Thank you,
Jeff