SEPTA Trolleys after an ice storm

#13 trolleys have slid to a halt going up the hill eastbound at 43rd and Chester in West Philadelphia. The drivers solve the problem by backing up and making some speed over the rails they have already sanded. This brings the trolley all the way up the hill. Even so, there are some spectacular sparks from the iced wire.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• trolley
• tram
• SEPTA
• Philadelphia
• West
• Philly
• Ice
• storm

[adelgado75]

Here's a question for all: Why do you suppose people are fans of trolleys or trains? I can't explain it but I just think their cooler than buses.

[HowardFair]

Thanks for commenting adelgado. To my surprise I have found that there are bus fans too!

[adelgado75]

Really cool. But why is the operator doing that? I would love to get a job operating a trolley or streetcar.

[HowardFair]

Thanks for watching Adelgado. I think that what was happening was that the trolley was not getting traction on the icy rails, and that ice on the wire was causing it to lose power. The operator can dispense sand on the rails, but only on rails they've already gone over. So I think that the driver was sanding the rails, backing up and then getting up as much speed as possible on the sanded rails in order to make it up the hill. That's my guess. Perhaps a trolley driver will comment for us.

[Jayayess1190]

That, is awesome. :)

[HowardFair]

Thanks for your comment, Jayayess! Those were some pretty huge sparks. Those trolleys have a lot of acceleration when they floor it like that.

[reeko14]

nice vid love the sparks

[TheStreetcarnut]

This was spectacular.........I have seen this once (believe it or not) in New Orleans. It had snowed one Friday afternoon during rush hour, made an awful mess of traffic, but once out on St. Charles Ave in the private right of way, streetcar were OK, except for ice on the wires. Neat video, thanks for sharing. BTW it snows here in New Orleans about once every 20 years. I have seen snow maybe 3 or 4 times in my lifetime and I am 60.

[SirezX]

I don't know why but I found this amusing...I wonder what the operator was thinking... :D

[donsande2]

There lots of huge sparks!

[TankDunnGamer]

I caych the 13 every day

[randomforum]

@HowardFair I am a tram and trainfan!

[PHILLY2727]

Nice vid,but 43rd and Chester is Southwest Philly not West.

[ianjohn05]

@ianjohn05

I am an American, native English Speaker. I now live in Moscow. You can type in English to me. The transit network in Moscow in my opinion is the best on the planet. It is one area where the USA is grossly behind the rest of the world.

[schizzie345]

@ianjohn05 Это лед на рельсах, это трудно извлечь с трамом удаления снежка.

[schizzie345]

@ianjohn05 Это была бы хорошей идеей.