Variotram 2107 arrives at Loftus

[matthewg]

After much work and several delays, 2107 was finally delivered to Loftus in the early hours of this morning (11th October 2018)

It will be moved to the depot during the day, after the ramp crew come back and remove the loading ramp that's between it and the depot.

[idontknow556]

I just looked on Facebook and noticed that tram 2107 which is a Variotram has arrived at the Tramway museum

[Fleet Lists]

see http://www.sydneytramwaymuseum.com.au/t ... at-loftus/

[matthewg]

After an electrical safety test - she took power and was driven from the unloading point to the depot. She didn't need to be towed!.

3 1/2 years in a paddock and she still runs.

Before anyone asks - 2107 won't be available for inspection or operation for quite some time. A lot of cleaning and minor repairs are needed, as well as adjustments to the overhead to allow the pantograph to safely operate.
(No, we are not going to fit trolley poles to it)

[idontknow556]

Will it be ready in time for the Tramway Festival 2019?

[matthewg]

Will it be ready in time for the Tramway Festival 2019?

It may be fit for traffic, but since the 'Tramway Festival' is to a commemoration of the former tramway system in Sydney, running 2107 wouldn't be in keeping with the theme of the event.
It's not something that would capture the general public's interest - it LOOKS too modern. (Which it IS).

It will be a special events/request tram I think, after we make it fit for traffic. It has got a number of faults that need to be repaired, and the car is filthy, inside and out.

[moa999]

Do any changes need to be made to the existing wires to allow them to fully work with the pantograph?

[STMPainter2018]

Will it be ready in time for the Tramway Festival 2019?

It may be fit for traffic, but since the 'Tramway Festival' is to a commemoration of the former tramway system in Sydney, running 2107 wouldn't be in keeping with the theme of the event.
It's not something that would capture the general public's interest - it LOOKS too modern. (Which it IS).

It will be a special events/request tram I think, after we make it fit for traffic. It has got a number of faults that need to be repaired, and the car is filthy, inside and out.

I don't know, I was at the museum yesterday and from what I heard, some of the guys pondered with the idea of having it out, or least leave it out in the yard. Nothing that's too set in stone though.

[STMPainter2018]

Do any changes need to be made to the existing wires to allow them to fully work with the pantograph?

Yes. The crossover along Tramway Avenue, as well as the line to the Royal National Park, both need upgrading. I think John Holland was planning on carrying out this work for us. Otherwise, the Sutherland line is perfectly pantograph compatible; it's work was previously done back in the late 90's.

[matthewg]

Do any changes need to be made to the existing wires to allow them to fully work with the pantograph?

We are waiting for a professional assessment, but the major ones are -

The 'pans' on the scissors crossover are trolley pole only fittings. They need to be replaced. We have Melbourne 'transition' (pole/pantograph) crossing pans in stock. Time has to be found to install them. They weigh several times that of a Sydney pan, so extra bridle wires need to be installed to hold the weigh, so it's not just a straight swap. The Sydney pans are worn out and need replacing anyway.
The Railway Square, Depot main and the Pitt Street crossover are already compatible.

The rest of the museum yard and Sutherland line just need minor adjustments and retensioning.

The National Park line needs extensive work - most of the curves need additional pull off installed, which means installing many more stay wires. In places, the wire goes over the inside rail of the curves. The trolley poles cope with this (as long as you don't go too fast), but a pantograph will slip off the wire.

We are looking at getting one of the professional rail contractors to fix all this up as using volunteers and the limited equipment we have, this will take years - but we need the $$$$ to pay them.

[Swift]

Fantastic achievement acquiring this. Even bigger will be getting it up and running. It will be a long time before it has public appeal though!!
Pity they didn't save a monorail though, even as a static exhibit.

[Daniel]

Pity they didn't save a monorail though, even as a static exhibit.

Inverell has part of one on display. Nice town to visit and worth the trip.

[Swift]

Pity they didn't save a monorail though, even as a static exhibit.

Inverell has part of one on display. Nice town to visit and worth the trip.

It would have been great to get an entire set with a mockup of a monorail station and apply the original TNT livery.

[Campbelltown busboy]

Why don’t the tram museum put this tram back into it’s original SLR livery as seen in this photo I found on Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fi ... 00705).jpg



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[Swift]

I really don't know why they class the IWLR a tram. Most of it is on a former railway away from streets. The tiny minority that it is on the street is a glorified level crossing. Yes it's ridiculously popular (well duh!) simply because Sydney hasn't recovered from the great closure of the late 50s and people crave PT options like a cold bottle of Solo in the desert at midday(!) and successive corrupt dictators haven't given it to them.
I hope Loftus has the space for this foreign looking thing.
I doubt they will for any CSELR -full consist anyway!

[matthewg]

Why don’t the tram museum put this tram back into it’s original SLR livery as seen in this photo I found on Wikipedia

That paint job is largely intact under the 'all-over-advertising'. The carpet in the cab has faded somewhat though.

[boronia]

Why don’t the tram museum put this tram back into it’s original SLR livery as seen in this photo I found on Wikipedia
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They've only had it a couple of weeks. Don't be so impatient.

[Campbelltown busboy]

They've only had it a couple of weeks. Don't be so impatient.

Thanks for that info I know it takes time to get things done when they fix up the power issues and they restall this tram/light rail veichle back to a runnable condition it would be the most modern and safest thing to run the royal national park runs too and from the museum as most of the active trams that run out of the museum were built in the 1890s or very early 1900s

[matthewg]

Why don’t the tram museum put this tram back into it’s original SLR livery as seen in this photo I found on Wikipedia
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They've only had it a couple of weeks. Don't be so impatient.

And since the tram is a state heritage 'moveable object', any colour changes have to be approved by Transport Heritage. I don't think there will be any problem taking it back to original two-tone blue as the AOA it left service in is damaged by graffiti and has faded - it looks terrible even on the side that wasn't redecorated.

It's undercover now in a building that doesn't leak and has an alarm and fire sprinkler system, so no further deterioration of its condition hopefully. It might get a chance dry out inside for the first time in 3 1/2 years.
It's been so damp that the heads of the screws that hold the cab instrumentation pannels in have rusted.

[idontknow556]

It's most likely that the volunteers at the tram museum will need to undergo special training to conduct/drive this type of tram as it is a non standard tram.

[Swift]

Just hit go and stop. How hard is it?

[boronia]

It's most likely that the volunteers at the tram museum will need to undergo special training to conduct/drive this type of tram as it is a non standard tram.

Most of the trams at the museum are different, there is no "standard". Drivers would have to be accredited separately for each type.

[matthewg]

It's most likely that the volunteers at the tram museum will need to undergo special training to conduct/drive this type of tram as it is a non standard tram.

The museum already has a quite varied fleet and separate training is required for many already due to these differences. There are significant differences between say a 1896 built C class and the 1978 built Z2. Pretty well the only thing they have in common is they run on rails and electricity.

So there is already a process for training, examining and recording competencies for each type in the fleet. 2107 just adds another column in the authorization spreadsheet and another checklist for the driver examiner.

We are in the process of developing training and examing procedures for 2107.

This process is a low priority at this time as until the overhead is modified and 2107's wheels get attention, the car won't be doing any regular trips anyway.
It IS operable though. There are still some annoying bootstrap issues with one of the train computers, 2 door buttons are non-functional, still down several saloon lights, but if the infrastructure was ready, it could potentially be cleared for use. All the important stuff works.

Really the only major problem is the air conditioning - the compressors need an overhaul by specialists.

[STMPainter2018]

Didn't you also mention that the hydraulics pipes for the brakes need inspection and repairing too Matthew?

[matthewg]

Didn't you also mention that the hydraulics pipes for the brakes need inspection and repairing too Matthew?

The brakes work. One set is slow to release, but they do work - and being spring apply this isn't going to cause a runaway if it does fail. (On critical failure the brake locks on, not off).

There haven't been puddles of oil under the tram each time we have moved it, so it's assumed the hydraulic circuits are currently sound. If a pipe bursts, we get a puddle of oil and a locked axle.

When the chance presents itself, we will go through the hydraulic inspection and test procedure in the manual - if no other reason than to learn how to do it. (The procedure requires a pit so you can get under the car.)