Leyland Tiger (front-engined)

The Leyland Tiger was a heavyweight half-cab single-decker bus and coach chassis built by Leyland Motors between 1927 and 1968, except the period of World War II.
The Tiger was always very closely related to the Titan of its time, sharing a ladder type frame dropped in the wheelbase and gently rising in curves over the axles, generally only differing in wheelbase.
Pre-war Leyland Tiger TS series.
In conjunction with the original Titan, Leyland Motors offered the same mechanical advances in a single-deck bus or coach chassis, in half-cab (forward-control) form this was called the Tiger, with normal-control derivatives with the driver behind the engine bonnet and sharing the saloon with the passengers generally being called Tigress. The Tiger from 1927-42 went through derivatives from TS1 to TS11.
Origins and prototypes.
The Leyland Titan TD1 was unveiled at the Commercial Motor show at London's Olympia exhibition hall in November 1927, it was then unique amongst double deckers in having a light enough frame to run two-axled on pneumatic tyres (two at the front and four at the back) yet carry 52 passengers in a bus of overall length, with such refinements as a six-cylinder overhead-camshaft petrol engine and an unprecedentedly-low frame. The Tiger TS1 was its single–deck counterpart. The wheelbase was slightly longer at allowing bodywork up to long, with up to 35 seats. The first Tiger TS1 (chassis 60001A), bodied by Leyland was loaned in March 1927 to H.M.S. Catherwood Ltd of Belfast, it was purchased by them and, sold to other firms, it worked in Ireland until 1940.
Variants.
At the time the Tiger was launched there were no rules across Great Britain on a bus or coach's overall dimensions; these depended on what a local council empowered to license vehicles to an operator would allow.
In response to varied demand, the TS1 was curtailed to become the TS2, which had the same wheelbase but an overall body length of , and then the TS3 was introduced for the same body length, but with the Titan's wheelbase. Later, the TS8 was revised with a shorter bonnet to become the TS8 (special). SMT and Alexanders especially favoured that type as it could seat 39 rather than 35 in the maximum length allowed for two-axle single deckers (see later).
Instant success.
Not only did the Tiger catch the imagination of British Isles fleet-owners looking for better performance from their buses and coaches it also sold overseas to Sweden, South Africa, India, New Zealand, Canada, Argentina and Australia, the Canadian versions being lengthened to a wheel-base, for a 30 ft body and having the engines uprated to 100 bhp, geared to a top speed of .
Later derivatives.
TS4 was a type-mnemonic given to an interim Tiger with Titan TD2 features. TS5 was omitted as it was felt this would cause confusion with the contemporary Leyland Lion LT5.
The next thoroughly new type was the TS6 from January 1933; this had all the improvements afforded to the contemporary TD3 Titan, including the neater front radiator and bonnet assembly, but the same wheelbase and overall-length as the TS1. For operators requiring 30 ft long single–decks a TS6D or TS6T Tiger was made available from 1934, the TS6D was 6x4 and the TS6T 6x2 with only the leading axle in the rear bogie powered. The TS7 and TS8 (and three-axled variants) were similarly derived from the TD4 and TD5 Titans, adopting their features. The suffix c (e.g., TS8c) indicated a torque-converter transmission. The TS9 and TS10 Tigers were never released for sale but the TS11 was equivalent to the TD7 Titan although very few were built, most during World War II. During that war, the SMT group of bus companies in Scotland, converted many of their two and three-axle Tigers to Titan specification and fitted double-deck 55-seat bodies to them.
During the 1930s, the Leyland 8.6-litre diesel engine became more common in bus and then coach Tigers and by the end of the decade, very few operators were taking full-sized Leyland buses or coaches with petrol engines. Leyland did not offer a full-size petrol engine after the war.
Tigresses and Lionesses.
Very few of the initial Leyland Tigress (TB1) were built; instead Tiger running-units in the existing Leyland Lioness frame produced the Leyland Lioness-Six, model LTB1.
In the mid-1930s with Lioness frames exhausted the later full-size Normal-control Leyland-built single decks were called Tigresses, an L prefix was added for left-hand drive versions, such as the large batch of LLTB3 ordered by Riga City Council. 71 of the ordered 90 of which were delivered to Latvia before the outbreak of the Second World War. The only UK customers for Tigresses were exclusive up-market coach-tour firms like Southdown Motor Services who took the LTB3 (equivalent to the TS6) or the LTB5 (equivalent to the TS8).
The FEC.
In conjunction with London Transport from 1937 Leyland developed the Tiger FEC, the initials stood for flat-engined coach. The Leyland 8.6-litre engine (with revised sump) was mounted horizontally in mid wheel-base driving through a Wilson fluid-flywheel and an air-actuated AEC mechanical pre-selector gearbox. The gearbox was basically the same as used in the STL but it was fitted with an externally mounted air cylinder which actuated the bus bar to engage and disengage the gears. It worked in the opposite way from that in the slightly later RT type double decker in that air pressure was used to disengage the gears instead of being used to keep them engaged. When the gear change pedal was released it allowed the selected gear to engage by means of spring pressure in that same way as the gearbox in the STL. The system caused problems in that if a vehicle was left with a gear engaged and as the air pressure leaked off, it was not possible to disengage that gear until air pressure had been built up again. Because of this, there were a number of garage incidents caused by vehicles being left overnight with a gear still engaged. 88 of this type were built but 12 were destroyed during World War Two, the rest serving until 1954-5 as Green Line coaches.
The Gnu and Panda.
These were single deckers with twin-steering front axles. The Gnu had a front-mounted vertical engine and either front or central doors. The TEP1 sold three, two to Scottish operator Walter Alexander who built 41-seat front entrance bus and coach bodies, the first one a 1937 Earls' Court show exhibit. The other one went to City Coach Company of Brentwood Essex, who fitted a centre-door 43-seat Duple body. City had bought large numbers of three-axle Tigers and was the only customer for the TEC2 Gnu, designed for centre-entrance bodywork, and having much more in common with the Leyland Steer lorry.
The sole Leyland Panda entered service with Walter Alexander in 1941, it had an underfloor engine, like the FEC, but lacked the forward entrance of that operator's Gnus, it was bodied by Alexander with 45 seats and a central entrance to a semi-utility outline.
Enigma, The LS1.
BFU225, entered service with the Lincolnshire Road Car Company in early 1941, the operator called it "Leyland light-six prototype model LS1". It had a 6.2-litre push-rod overhead-valve Leyland engine and a radiator shell of Tiger outline, but as thin across as a Lion or Cheetah's radiator shell. It ran with its 35-seat Leyland body until the mid-1950s.
BFU225's engine-design was bored and stroked for use in tanks, and it then became the 7.4-litre 100 bhp E181 engine used in early post-war Titans and Tigers.
Postwar Leyland Tiger PS series.
The postwar Leyland Tiger built from 1946–68 sold well at home and overseas. After about 1950 however many customers, especially at home but also in export markets decided they preferred the greater carrying capacity of the underfloor-engined vehicle so Tiger sales reduced as models such as the Olympic, Royal Tiger, Tiger Cub and Worldmaster were launched. That said the Tiger was very reliable, very simple to work upon and very durable and continued to sell in a profitable niche in 'dirt road' markets until the lines were closed in 1968.
Whilst retaining the dimensions of the Titan TD7 and Tiger TS11, the 1945 Titan PD1 and Tiger PS1 were entirely new designs featuring a new E181 7.4-litre engine with pushrod valve operation and a brand new four-speed constant mesh gearbox. The export versions with an O prefix for overseas markets, the OPS1, not only had longer wheelbases (where legally applicable) but were equipped with the pre-war design overhead-camshaft E87 engine, which had the same nominal 100 bhp output but was larger at 8.6 litres. No UK operator took the OPS1 but Potteries Motor Traction took a batch of long-wheelbase OPD1 Titans as single-deckers, later rebodying them as double decks once overall length rules had been relaxed to allow this. When fitted with left-hand drive, the Tiger became the LOPS1, this prefix attaching to all left-hand drive Leyland buses (and Leyland-designed British United Traction trolleybuses) until the mid-1960s when later designs adopted a suffix letter for driving control position.
PS1 buses sold well, customers ranging in size from London Transport (who took two batches totalling 131 buses) through municipal fleets, members of the British Electric Traction and British Transport Commission groups through independent regional firms to small independents, although there were competitive chassis from Albion Motors, Associated Equipment Company, Bristol, Crossley Motors, Daimler, Dennis, Foden, Guy, Maudslay, Thornycroft and Tilling-Stevens, the Tiger vied with the AEC Regal for market leadership. Outside Great Britain the PS1 also went to Jersey, the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
There was only one mass-produced derivative of the PS1, this was the coach variant with drop-frame extension for a luggage boot. This was coded PS1/1, and was a very strong seller, forming the major postwar fleet renewals for large UK coach firms such as Southdown Motor Services, Ribble, Wallace Arnold, Grey-Green and Barton Transport. Sales of the PS1 only ended in 1950 although it was nominally replaced by the PS2 on the home market from 1948, this gives an idea of the scale of advance orders for this coach. Many coachbuilers worldwide produced bodies on the Tiger PS, as the model was introduced at the all-time peak in demand for new buses and coaches few operators could get the body of their first choice within an acceptable time. Barton got most of its coaches fitted with Duple bodies but built its own body for its 490 (HVO729), to an American outline with shallow full-depth sliding side glazing.</ref> Wallace Arnold bought over a Leeds coachbuilder, Wilks and Meade, in 1942 to get enough bodies reserved for postwar reconstruction. Between 1946 and 1950 Wallace Arnold took 37 PS1, 11 PS2, 34 Bedford OB, 24 AEC Regals, ten Daimler CVD6 and one Guy Arab, a fairly typical sample of coach-buying preferences at the time. Southdown used six coachbuilders on its all-Tiger coach fleet. Whilst Ribble refitted its later prewar Tiger coaches (which had previously been petrol-engined) with PS1 running units as well as taking PS1/1s.
The PS2 followed the PD2 Titan in having the 125 bhp 9.8-litre O600 engine and a new synchromesh gearbox. With changes to rules on width and length there were numerous different versions of the home market PS2 based on permutations of width and length, whether built with or without a rear dropped frame and whether reconstructed from short-wheelbase chassis or built new to the longer wheelbase. PS2/1, 3, 5 and 7 had a wheelbase for bodywork. PS2/10, 11, 12, 12A, 13, 13A, 14 and 15 had a longer wheelbase of for long coachwork (but see later about the six-wheel PS2/10 and /11). The entire home market Tiger range was vacuum-braked and PS2s for the UK had the synchromesh gearbox only, whilst the Titan PD2 had a number of options including constant-mesh, AEC preselector and Pneumocyclic. The last new PS2 coaches entered service in 1953 with West Riding Automobile Company, and the last home-market customer for the Tiger PS2 bus was the Burnley, Colne and Nelson Joint Transport Committee, their last arrived in 1955 and put in 20 years and more of work, thus being the last half-cab single deckers on normal service in the UK.</ref>
The export range, from 1948 were the OPS2, OPS3 and OPS4. They also featured the O600 engine and synchromesh gearbox as introduced, but air brakes were optional. The OPS2 shared the PS2's wheelbase, although the frames, springs and axles were heavier duty than their home market equivalents, bodies could be as long as where laws permitted, the OPS3 was introduced at the same time as the OPS2 but had a wheelbase for bodies up to long. This variant would not have met UK turning circle requirements when the new length was legalised in 1950. Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), the Irish state transport undertaking uniquely took Tigers of both PS2/13 and OPS3 type, these become the last vehicles of over 300 to be numbered in the P series that had started with Dublin United Transport's first Tiger in 1935. Walter Alexander took some OPS2 coaches as well as PS2s but these are believed to have been a frustrated export order. The OPS4, had a wheelbase for a bodied length of , Duple produced a batch of fifteen LOPS4/3 with Park Royal metal frames in 1949 for coach operators in Buenos Aires and a single coach to the same outline for Gibraltar motorways. Production of the 'overseas' Tiger concentrated in the 1950s on the OPS4/5 variant with exposed radiator, O680 engine, air brakes and Pneumocyclic gearbox as standard, the final (post 1967) versions were coded OPS4A/15 following updates in the Titan range and a rationalisation of nomenclature and components. The last Tiger OPS4s were delivered to South African fleets in 1970, some of these were still working at the turn of the century.
Six-wheelers.
One Heaver-bodied coach for City Coach Company, Romford and two deck and a half airport coaches bodied by the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board for their own use were built to a twin-steering three-axle specification with the second steering axle, which had 17-inch rather than 21-inch wheels, designed to be readily removed once 30 ft length on two axles was legal. City had pre-war operated the largest fleet of the Leyland Gnu twin-steering single decker, switching to them from conventional six-wheeled Tigers.
All three were later converted into Titans, the City coach by Barton Transport and the two Northern Irish vehicles by the Ulster Transport Authority. The City coach was the sole wide PS2/10, the NIRTB/UTA pair were wide, hence PS2/11.
Red Worms.
Danish state railways took some shortened PS2s together with Büssing units to pull semi-trailer buses built by DAB. These were known as "Red Worms" and worked a high capacity route in suburban Copenhagen in company with Leyland-bodied Titan and Northern Counties bodied Guy Arab double deckers.
Israeli Tigresses.
Dan and Egged, the two Israeli bus co-operatives, had used normal-control former US military vehicles as buses just after the end of World War II, Leyland Ashdod therefore persuaded the Farington works to build LOPSU3’s for this market to normal control, they were known as Tigresses after the pre-war LTB bonneted type, but were recorded as Tigers with no separate model designation. Bodies were built in Israel by Ha'argaz and Merkavim. Royal Tigers and Worldmasters followed as did two examples of the PSR1 Lion.
Indian Tigers.
In 1955, although the Comet built in India from 1953 was selling phenomenally well there was a demand for heavier duty single decks. Ashok Leyland, the Indian-based joint venture, started producing its own version of the Tiger, which used the axles of the Ashok Leyland Hippo lorry. It could be seen as a group replacement for the Albion Viking (CX/HD series).
Rebuilding.
The outdated layout of the half-cab single deck and its low seating capacity exercised the minds of a number of operators from the mid-1950s. Barton Transport converted PS1s to long double-deckers and Tiger PS2s, including the former City coach to 30 ft double deckers, the later ones carrying fully fronted Northern Counties double-deck bodies. Yorkshire Traction, in the BET group did systematic conversions of most of their fleet of Tigers from about 1955-63, using Charles H. Roe or Northern Counties bodies, Yorkshire Woollen District later following suit. Yorkshire Traction also oversaw the rebodying of five PS2s for Stratford Blue Motors, costed refurbishing the chassis at £500 and purchasing the bodies at £3,000 per bus at a time when a complete PD2 would cost over £5,000. Alexander took the running units from its 17 OPS2s in 1961 and fitted them into new Titan PD3 frames, then fitted units from scrapped PS1s into the former OPS2s. When fitted with new Alexander bodies the recycled double-deckers could only be distinguished from similar new deliveries in that they retained the traditional radiator and bonnet from the Tigers whilst the new buses had full-width bonnets. Ulster Transport Authority also rebodied many of its Tigers in the 1950s, using new Leyland Titan PD2 chassis frames and Metro-Cammell bodyframes completed at UTA's Belfast coachworks. CIÉ stripped a late batch of OPS3s of their units and purchased new Titan PD3 frames and St Helens Style glassfibre bonnets, and had the vehicles assembled in 1961-62 complete with Park Royal body frames by a company called Commercial Road Vehicles who were renting part of the former Great Northern Railway (Ireland) central works in Dundalk. These 'R900' Titans were CIÉ's last front-engine double-deckers, again the R series had started in 1934 with Dublin United Transport.
The last two front-engined Tigers known to have been rebodied were two completed by Vernon Priaulx, then coachbuilder for Guernseybus in 1991/2. After the success of open top RT-type AEC Regent III on tourist routes on Guernsey two former Jersey Motor Transport Tiger PS1s were purchased. Their Reading of Portsmouth bodies were too decayed to be restored so the first Tiger was rebodied as a single-deck open topper (Southport Corporation had used Ribble PS2s as such in the 1960s) and the second became a 35-seat coach with full-length sunshine roof. Both went to Mac Tours of Edinburgh after Guernseybus closed and passed to the Ensignbus preserved fleet, although the open topper is to operate a tourist service back on Jersey in 2012. On repatriation to Jersey it was registered J1942.
Preservation.
There are many PS-type Tigers in preservation, carrying a wide variety of coachwork, some double-deck. Being smaller and more mechanically basic than a more modern bus they are perhaps easier to look after, but bodywork can often be very fragile.
In popular culture.
Both during their operational life and later Tigers crop up often on screen, one also found itself a major player in Jasper Fforde's 2007 comic novel "First Among Sequels".


Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Congress as an interstate compact between the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
WMATA provides rapid transit service under the Metrorail name, fixed-route bus service under the Metrobus brand, and paratransit service under the MetroAccess brand. The authority is also part of a public–private partnership that operates the DC Circulator bus system. WMATA has its own police force, the Metro Transit Police Department.
The authority's Board of Directors consists of two voting representatives each from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and the U.S. federal government. Each jurisdiction also appoints two alternate representatives. WMATA has no independent taxation authority and depends on its member jurisdictions for capital investments and operating subsidies.
In addition to ongoing operations, WMATA participates in regional transportation planning. Recent projects include an extension of Metrorail to Dulles Airport, streetcar lines in the District and northern Virginia, and light rail in suburban Maryland.
History.
Planning and creation.
Starting in the mid-19th century, the Washington area had been served by a variety of private bus lines and streetcar services, including extensions of Northern Virginia trolleys. Over time, most were absorbed into the Capital Transit Company, formed on December 1, 1933, by the amalgamation of the Washington Railway, Capital Traction, and Washington Rapid Transit. Financier Louis Wolfson acquired the company in 1949 but had his franchise revoked in 1955 amidst a crippling strike. Congress then awarded a 20-year concession to O. Roy Chalk on the condition that he replace the city's remaining streetcars with buses by 1963. The company was thereafter known as DC Transit.
In that same year, the Mass Transportation Survey attempted to forecast both freeway and mass transit systems sufficient to meet the needs of the Washington area in the year 1980. In 1959 the study's final report called for the construction of two rapid transit subway lines in downtown Washington. Congress responded to the report by enacting the National Capital Transportation Act of 1960 to coordinate future transportation planning for the area. The act created a new federal agency called the National Capital Transportation Agency (NCTA). However, the 1959 report also called for extensive freeway construction within the District of Columbia. Residents successfully lobbied for a moratorium on freeway construction in what became part of a movement called the "freeway revolts."
The NCTA's November 1962 "Transportation in the National Capital Region" report included a proposal for an 89-mile (143 km), $793 million rail system. The total cost of the proposed highway and rail system was less than the 1959 plan due to the elimination of controversial freeways. The plan was supported by President Kennedy, but opposed by highway advocates in Congress who reduced the rail system to only within the District of Columbia. However, that proposal was defeated in Congress shortly after President Kennedy's death. The Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 passed Congress, which promised 66% federal funding for urban mass transportation projects. Encouraged by the new act, the NCTA recommended the formation of a private entity or a multi-state authority to operate the system using more non-federal funds. On September 8, 1965, President Johnson signed the National Capital Transportation Act of 1965 approving the construction of a rapid transit system.
The NCTA negotiated with Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia for the formation of a new regional entity. The authority was created by an interstate compact, a special type of contract or agreement between one or more states. Pursuant to the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution, any such compact must be approved by Congress. After the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Compact was approved by the Maryland General Assembly in 1965, and passed through the Virginia General Assembly and Congress in 1966, WMATA was founded on February 20, 1967.
As a government agency, the compact grants WMATA sovereign immunity by all three jurisdictions in which it operates, and except for certain limited exceptions, the authority cannot be successfully sued unless it waives immunity. Under the provisions of the compact, the authority is legally incorporated in the District of Columbia, where WMATA maintains its headquarters.
Metro construction and operation.
WMATA broke ground for its train system in 1969. The first portion of the Metrorail system opened March 27, 1976, connecting Farragut North to Rhode Island Avenue on the Red Line. The of the original 83-station system was completed on January 13, 2001, with the opening of Green Line's segment from Anacostia to Branch Avenue.
WMATA's bus system is a successor to four privately owned bus companies. While WMATA's original compact provided only for rail service, by 1970 the need for reliable bus services to connect passengers to rail stations led to calls for authority to overhaul the entire bus system as well. The compact was amended in 1971, allowing the authority to operate buses and take over bus companies. After months of negotiation with Chalk failed to produce an agreed price, on January 14, 1973, WMATA condemned DC Transit and its sister company, the Washington, Virginia and Maryland Coach Company and acquired their assets for $38.2 million. On February 4, it acquired the Alexandria, Barcroft and Washington Transit Company, which operated in Northern Virginia, and the WMA Transit Company of Prince George's County for $4.5 million. While AB&W and WMA Transit were in better financial condition than DC Transit, their owners did not wish to compete with a publicly owned bus system, and requested a takeover.
In 1979, an organization known as Metro 2001, Inc., planned to write a history of the development of the Metro system for WMATA using such documents as Congressional hearing transcripts, correspondence, and maps. However, this plan, known as the Metro History Project, was abandoned in 1985, and materials that had been collected up until that point (1930-1984) were donated to George Washington University. This collection of materials is currently under the care of GWU's Special Collections Research Center, located in the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library.
In 1998, Congress changed the name of the Washington National Airport to the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, though the law did not allocate money to implement the name change. As a result, WMATA did not change the name of the National Airport station (which never included the full name of the airport). In response to repeated inquiries from Republican congressmen that the station be renamed, WMATA stated that stations are renamed only at the request of the local jurisdiction. Since both Arlington County and the District of Columbia were controlled by Democrats, the name change was blocked. Finally, in 2001, Congress made changing the station's name a condition of further federal funding.
Impacts of the Great Recession.
In response to a demand for immediate repayment of a $43 million debt, WMATA sought a temporary restraining order against the KBC Bank Group. KBC claimed that the WMATA was in technical default of a contract following the collapse of American International Group, which had guaranteed the loan that KBC made to WMATA in 2002. The contract involved the sale to KBC of WMATA's rail cars, which were then leased back to WMATA. The transit agency asked for an injunction from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on October 29, 2008.
After three days of negotiations in federal court, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer announced a settlement on November 14, 2008. WMATA had 14 similar lease agreements with other financial institutions when the KBC case went to trial. Waivers were requested from the banks to allow WMATA time to replace AIG with another insurer or guarantees by the federal government.
In 2009, WMATA issued two new series of municipal bonds bringing its total outstanding bonds to $390.9 million, as of June 30, 2010. This includes $55 million of Build America Bonds issued in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that are partially subsidized by the federal government.
However, most of the system's debt is financed directly by each local jurisdiction. In addition, WMATA was authorized to receive $202 million in grants from the federal government for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects. The funds are spent in 30 projects which include information technology, facilities maintenance, and vehicles and vehicle parts.
On January 14, 2010, General Manager John B. Catoe announced his resignation from Metro, effective April 2, 2010. He was replaced on April 3, 2010, by Interim General Manager Richard Sarles. Sarles became one of three finalists interviewing for the permanent position, and later became the permanent General Manager on January 27, 2011. Jack Requa became the Interim General Manager upon Sarles' retirement January 16, 2015.
Organization.
Board of directors.
WMATA was originally set up with a board of directors, of twelve members. Of those, six were voting members, and six were alternates. In response to the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, the WMATA Compact was amended on August 19, 2009, to allow the appointment of four additional board members by the federal government, bringing the total to sixteen.
, there were a total of sixteen board members: eight voting members and eight alternates. Virginia, Maryland, and the District had each appointed two voting members and two alternate members. The Federal Government, through the General Services Administration, is authorized to appoint up to two voting and two alternate members, but had appointed just two voting and one alternate members.
Board members serve without pay, but may be reimbursed for actual expenses. The board appoints a General Manager as CEO to supervise the day-to-day operation of the Authority. Under the terms of the "Procedures for WMATA Board of Directors", none of the individual board members, including the Chairman, have any power to act regarding the operations of the Authority or to issue instructions to the General Manager or employees; only the entire board as a body has the power to instruct the General Manager. It states, "The authority of the Board of Directors is vested in the collective body and not in its individual Members. Accordingly, the Board, in establishing or providing any policies, orders, guidance, or instructions to the General Manager or WMATA staff, shall act as a body. No Member individually shall direct or supervise the General Manager or any WMATA employee or contractor."
The board approves WMATA's annual budget. The budget is approximately $3.1 billion in fiscal year 2019. In fiscal year 2019, 40.3% of revenues came from capital contributions, 23.2% from passenger revenues, 31.7% from local jurisdiction operating subsidies, 3.5% from interest income, 1.6% from advertising revenue, 0.9% from rental revenue, and 0.2% from other sources.
The WMATA board has the following standing committees: Executive, Finance and Capital, Capital & Strategic Planning, and Safety and Operation.
The position of board chairman rotates between the three jurisdictions. Article III Section 5 of the Compact specifies the method of appointment. The Compact prohibits WMATA from paying board members. However, Maryland pays its voting board members $20,000 per year and Virginia pays $50 per meeting. The District of Columbia does not compensate its board members.
On February 17, 2011, outgoing 2010–11 WMATA Board Chairman Peter Benjamin announced he was leaving the board and will be replaced by former Congressman Michael D. Barnes. On that date, the new Governance Committee of the WMATA board, which is chaired by Mary Hynes, held its first meeting and established a work plan to develop a new relationship between the board and WMATA management. The Committee will draft new bylaws that will better define the role and term of the WMATA Board Chairman. The Governance Committee will also draft a code of conduct for board members.
Management.
The General Manager is the chief executive officer of WMATA and leads all staff except that the General Counsel, Inspector General, and Board Secretary, who report directly to the board. WMATA has a Chief Safety Officer which reports to the general manager. The safety of the system is independently reviewed by the Tri-State Oversight Committee and the National Transportation Safety Board. On March 4, 2010, the Federal Transit Administration issued an "Audit of the State Safety Oversight (SSO) program overseeing Metro" which criticised the SSO as being underfunded and poorly trained. In response, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia have increased their SSO funding and training for their employees responsible for safety oversight at Metro.
Jackson Graham, a retired general in the Army Corps of Engineers who supervised the planning and initial construction of the Metrorail system, was the first general manager. Graham retired in 1976, and was replaced by Theodore C. Lutz. Richard S. Page, head of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (the name of the Federal Transit Administration until 1991), took over as general manager of WMATA in 1979. Page resigned in 1983, amid increasing financial difficulties for WMATA. and was replaced by Carmen E. Turner, who served for seven years. Former New York City Transit Authority chief, David L. Gunn, took over as head of WMATA in 1991, followed by Lawrence G. Reuter in 1994, and Richard A. White in 1996.
White led efforts to improve accountability and dialogue with passengers during 2005. This included independent audits, town hall meetings, online chats with White and other management officials, and improved signage in stations. White had three more years in his contract to work for Metro, but had come under fire for mismanagement; however, he was also "widely credited with saving the Metrobus system from collapse and with keeping Metro running during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001." Despite these efforts, however, the Board of Directors dismissed White on January 11, 2006. Dan Tangherlini replaced White as interim General Manager, effective February 16, 2006.
Tangherlini was considered a leading candidate for Metro's top job on a permanent basis before he resigned to work as D.C. City Administrator under Mayor Adrian Fenty. On November 6, 2006, Tangherlini was replaced as interim general manager by Jack Requa, Metro's chief bus manager. John B. Catoe Jr., who was previously the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, became the agency's eighth permanent General Manager on January 25, 2007. He resigned three years later following the deadliest crash in the Metrorail system's history.
On April 3, 2010, the Board of Directors appointed Richard Sarles, former Executive Director of New Jersey Transit, as interim General Manager. Sarles, 65, was offered the position of permanent General Manager but declined the appointment at that time. However, on January 27, 2011, the Board announced that Sarles accepted the position as WMATA's permanent General Manager.
With Sarles' retirement, the post of General Manager was filled by Paul Wiedefeld on November 30, 2015.
Regional coordination.
The agency's charter directs WMATA to create a unified regional transit system by coordinating other public and private agencies within its jurisdiction. Examples of its coordination efforts include: reducing unnecessary, duplicate services by other local transit systems, providing "SmarTrip" farecards for buses operated by other local transit agencies, and adding local bus schedules and commuter rail routes (such as Maryland's MARC and Virginia's VRE) to WMATA's online "Trip Planner" guide.
Transit Police.
Congress established the Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) on June 4, 1976. MTPD police officers have jurisdiction and arrest powers for crimes that occur throughout the Transit Zone that includes Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Inspector general.
The Office of Inspector General was originally authorized by Board Resolution 2006–18, approved by the WMATA Board on April 20, 2006. With the amendments enacted on August 19, 2009, the Office of Inspector General became part of the WMATA Compact. This change was one of the requirements for the $1.5 billion federal grant offered by the "Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008". Helen Lew became the Metro's first Inspector General on May 14, 2007, establishing the WMATA Office of Inspector General. Her appointment by the Board of Directors replaced the former Auditor General's Office. On April 17, 2017, Geoffrey Cherrington replaced Lew, who retired, as Inspector General, Unlike the Auditor General, the Inspector General and his office report directly to the Board and are organizationally independent of WMATA management.
Services.
Metrorail.
Since opening in 1976, the Metrorail network has grown to include six lines, 91 stations, and of track. It is the Second-busiest rapid transit system in the United States in number of passenger trips, after only the New York City Subway. The record for daily ridership was 1.12 million on January 20, 2009, the day of Barack Obama's first Presidential Inauguration, followed by the Women's March on January 21, 2017 with 1,001,613 trips. In 2016, Metrorail had nearly 180 million trips. Fares vary based on the distance traveled and the time of day. Riders enter and exit the system using a proximity card known as SmarTrip; magnetic stripe tickets stopped being accepted on March 6, 2016. Metrorail's frequency of service and fares vary depending on the available subsidy, the particular transit line, and the distance traveled.
Metro offers parking for commuters at 44 Metrorail stations. Most lots are on a first-come, first-served basis and fill up quickly each day. Thirty-six stations offer reserved parking, with customers purchasing permits to park in specified spaces. Four Metrorail stations (Greenbelt, Huntington, Franconia–Springfield, and Wiehle-Reston East) have spaces reserved for multi-day parking for up to ten days. Parking fees are paid by SmarTrip card or credit card. Cash payments are not accepted for parking fees.
Metrobus.
Metrobus' fleet consists of 1,505 buses covering an area of in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. There are 269 bus routes serving 11,129 stops, including 2,554 bus shelters. Metrobus had 130.8 million trips in 2016. On a typical weekday, it provides more than 400,000 trips.
The route numbering represents its region of operation. To differ the regions numbering system, letters for Maryland routes appear before the route number and the ones for Virginia routes appear after it. For example, A12 serves Maryland, and 17M serves Virginia.
MetroAccess.
MetroAccess is a paratransit service that WMATA provides through private contractors. It began operation in May 1994 and since that time annual ridership has grown from 200,000 to more than 2.4 million passengers. MetroAccess operates 365 days a year, providing door-to-door, shared rides reserved from one to seven days in advance. It is now the sixth-largest paratransit service in the United States with a fleet of more than 600 vehicles and more than 1,000 employees. WMATA staff determines eligibility to use the service in response to written applications. The cost per passenger for MetroAccess is significantly higher than its fixed-route counterparts, and Metro has worked to provide as many opportunities to encourage and facilitate the use of fixed-route transit by its customers with disabilities.
Art in transit.
WMATA includes art works at stations and sometimes on the trains. Twenty-nine stations include artwork. Funding for the art comes from several sources, including the town in which the station is located, the WMATA art program, the Federal Transit Administration, local art groups, and some pieces are gifts or on loan.
A gallery of photos of the art works is shown here, on the WMATA web site. WMATA has asked riders to comment on the art in the stations, to guide choices on future art installations.
Funding.
Fares and other revenue fund 57.6% of the Metro's daily operations while state and local governments fund the remaining 42.4%. Since the Metro's inception, the federal government has provided grants for 65% of the system's capital costs. Metrorail is unusual among major public transportation systems in having no dedicated source of funding. Instead, each year WMATA must ask each local jurisdiction to contribute funding, which is determined by a formula that equally considers three factors:
Under this formula, the District of Columbia contributes the greatest amount (37.5%), followed by Prince George's County (20.8%), Montgomery County (16.6%), Fairfax County (13.5%), and 11.6% from all other jurisdictions. From time to time, a local jurisdiction will agree to subsidize a specific fare, with the jurisdiction funding the cost of the subsidy in addition to its contribution under the above formula. For example, the District of Columbia subsidized the fares charged at Metrorail stations located in economically challenged neighborhoods.
The cost of Metrobus is allocated under a formula that considers the excess of expenses over revenues from specific bus routes. The cost of MetroAccess is allocated under a different formula, which divides MetroAccess costs by the number of trips requested by riders who reside in each jurisdiction.
In 2004 the Brookings Institution released a report entitled "Deficits by Design" that found the agency's serious budgetary challenges owe in large part to its problematic revenue base. Most notably, Brookings found that WMATA's extraordinary lack of dedicated funding sources has necessitated an over-reliance on annually appropriated support that makes the agency vulnerable to perennial financial crises. As a result, the region's political and business leaders created a committee to look at new ways to fund the system, including some type of dedicated tax.
Title VI of the "Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008", signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 16, 2008, authorized a grant of $1.5 billion over a 10-year period for Metrorail capital maintenance projects. The grant was contingent upon the establishment of dedicated revenue sources for the Metro by the Compact jurisdictions. An amendment to the Metro's Compact on August 19, 2009, added the requirement for payments "from dedicated funding sources" by the Compact's participating jurisdictions. In June 2010, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell threatened to withhold Virginia's WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA's board is modified to allow Virginia's Governor to appoint two of the four Virginia seats, instead of the localities. On June 17, 2010, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding is to continue. On July 1, 2010, the WMATA Board of Directors agreed to provide matching funds without regard to McDonnell's request for Board seats. Based on this agreement, the federal funds were reconfirmed, and WMATA was able to proceed with a contract to purchase 428 new Metrorail cars. McDonnell pressed for a Board seat again in 2011, and used his amendatory veto authority to amend the 2010-11 budget to require the NVTC to appoint someone of the Governor's choosing to fill one of the NVTC seats on the WMATA Board.
In the course of considering a continuing resolution for federal fiscal year 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives sought to defund all "earmarks" including the $150 million annual installment toward the $1.5 billion in federal matching funds. On February 16, 2011, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) offered an amendment to reallocate $150 million from farm subsidy payments to meet this obligation, but the amendment was ruled out of order. The suspension of the federal appropriation also calls into question the matching funds from the individual jurisdictions for capital projects. On March 1, 2010, Republican Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell wrote to Congress urging the continuation of the federal funds. The continuing resolution for the remainder of 2011 ultimately included the federal matching funds.
On June 24, 2010, WMATA adopted a six-year capital spending plan totalling $5 billion. The plan is funded by the $3 billion from the 2008 Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and increased funding from the participating jurisdictions. The plan includes rebuilding much of its infrastructure for improved safety. The NTSB had recommended replacing Metrorail's oldest series of railcars as not crashworthy, and the spending plan would replace those cars.
The 57% funding of WMATA from fares and other revenue compares with New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority which receives 53% of its funding from fares and car tolls. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority receives of 31.8% of its funding from fares.
In an effort to gain revenues, WMATA has started to allow retail ventures in Metrorail stations. WMATA has authorized DVD-rental vending machines and ticket booths for the Old Town Trolley Tours and is seeking additional retail tenants.
The WMATA staff preliminary budget for 2011-12 shows an $89 million operating deficit. This deficit can be addressed by fare increases, service reductions, or increased subsidies from the participating local jurisdictions.
Controversy.
Safety.
In recent years, WMATA has drawn criticism for a neglect of safety in both its rail and bus systems. Problems include failures within the system designed to prevent train collisions and escalators failing or breaking apart while in service. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended that WMATA invest $1 billion in needed safety improvements. A December 2008 report by the WMATA Inspector General documented that Metro's System Safety and Risk Management Office was bypassed when changes were made to Metrorail's operating procedures, even though that office's review and approval was required as a matter of policy. On June 22, 2009, two Metrorail trains collided between the Takoma and Fort Totten Metro stations, killing nine. In February 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board conducted a public hearing during which witnesses testified about problems with the safety culture at WMATA. The NTSB's final report on the accident commented that "[t]he failure of WMATA engineers and technicians or managers to properly address track circuit anomalies is symptomatic of the larger safety culture issues within the organization."
Safety concerns have grown to the point that the region's Congressional delegation introduced the "National Metro Safety Act of 2011," which would establish federal safety standards for heavy rail mass transit systems. In response, WMATA is replacing its track control system and ordered an immediate inspection of all of its escalators. That inspection showed that over 10 percent of the escalators had faulty brakes.
The service state of elevators and escalators is of public concern. WMATA posts a webpage that is updated daily to notify users of elevator and escalator outages. WMATA makes track announcements that contradict industry safety standards, encouraging passengers to "stay clear of moving parts", encouraging people to stand on one side, and slowing the operating speed, which has the effect of encouraging walking on the escalators.
Closed-circuit television cameras monitor every Metrobus and every Metrorail station.
Discrimination.
There have been claims of discrimination within WMATA over the years. , the WMATA workforce is composed of people from the following demographic groups:
In 1990, Christine Townsend sued WMATA in the Washington federal district court on the basis of sexual discrimination. She won, with the court noting in the outcome of "Townsend v. Washington Metro. Area Transit Auth." that the WMATA explanation had "many unexplained inconsistencies, irregularities, and holes".
Former Metro workers claim that WMATA consistently passes over non-black applicants or workers for employment or promotion.
In May 2015, the WMATA board voted to ban advocacy advertising after the American Freedom Defense Initiative sought to purchase advertisements in five subway stations and on twenty buses depicting Muhammad. The New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority previously attempted to deny similar anti-Islam ads by the AFDI, but had their decision successfully challenged in court, and subsequently voted to ban non-commercial advertising.
Future expansion.
WMATA and its local jurisdictions developed a six-year, $5 billion "Capital Improvement Program" (CAP) which took effect on July 1, 2010, and expired on June 30, 2016. Under CAP, the local jurisdictions will fund capital projects (through the sale of municipal bonds) with matching funds provided by the federal government. CAP projects include purchasing new rail cars, rehabilitating three rail lines, replacing three bus garages, implementation of NTSB safety recommendations and purchasing new track maintenance equipment and overhauling Metrorail station elevators and escalators.
Metrorail's newest line was given the color silver. The Silver Line's Phase I extended service to the Tysons Corner area of Virginia, with further extension planned to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County. Phase I through Tysons Corner to Reston (at the Wiehle–Reston East station) opened July 26, 2014, while Phase II to Dulles is expected to be completed in 2020. No stations will be opened until the completion of each phase. The Silver Line is financed through toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road as well as a $900 million federal grant and a special taxing district on adjacent commercial properties. In contrast, a proposed new $270-million Potomac Yard station on the Blue and Yellow Lines north of Braddock Road is to be funded by a special taxing district that will cover commercial properties and perhaps residential properties as well.
There has also been speculation about an extension of the Green Line northward to Baltimore's BWI Airport, There was also talk of extending the Green either to National Harbor or to White Plains via Waldorf. An extension from Franconia/Springfield to Fort Belvoir is also a possibility due to the Base Realignment and Closure process which relocated thousands of area defense jobs at Fort Belvoir in 2012. While there has been much discussion about all of these extensions, none are in any official planning stage. There as also been plans to extend the Orange Line to Centreville and Bowie.
Regarding Metrobus improvements, former General Manager Sarles reported, "Bus service will benefit from new technology that integrates fare box, destination signage and next bus systems to improve our reliability and customer information delivery. And, we will begin work in certain priority bus corridors that will deliver faster travel times for bus customers. Additionally, I look forward to working with the District of Columbia on potential bus rapid transit service improvements, such as curb running and signal preference to make bus service even more attractive, efficient, and an even more powerful antidote to traffic congestion."
Energy efficiency initiatives.
WMATA reached an agreement in 2013 with the sustainable lighting division at Philips Electronics North America to switch to LEDs at no upfront cost. WMATA and Philips agreed to a ten-year maintenance contract through the $2 million savings the LEDs will provide each year.


Grand Hotel (Highmount, New York)

The Grand Hotel was a hotel located in Highmount, New York. It was built by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad in 1881 and closed in 1966. J. A. Wood was the building's architect.
Sitting on the side of Monka Hill, it had 418 rooms overlooking the Big Indian Valley towards Slide Mountain.


Volvo FH

The Volvo FH is a heavy truck range manufactured by the Swedish company Volvo Trucks. It was originally introduced in late 1993 as the FH12 and FH16. FH stands for Forward control High entry, where numbers denominate engine capacity in litres. The FH range is one of the most successful truck series ever having sold more than 400,000 units worldwide.
In September 2012, Volvo Trucks re-launched the Volvo FH with significant technology upgrades.
History.
In late 1993 Volvo had unveiled its replacement for the legendary F cabover series in production for almost 15 years. The development of FH in what it appeared to be a clean sheet of paper design took seven long years. The development of the all-new design 12-litre engine with its overhead camshaft and electronic unit injectors technology placed Volvo among the world's leading engine designers.
First Generation (1993–1998).
There were two models, FH12 and FH16 which shared common cabs and chassis and the FH12 immediately won "Truck of the year" award in 1994.
The 16-litre engine, gearboxes, and the driveline were carried over from the previous generation albeit with many improvements and a host of additional features including all-new Volvo engine management and its diagnostics for the D12A engine.
Design and Technology.
Cab.
The cab produced at Umeå from hot-dip galvanized, high tensile steel allowed for greater strength at thinner panels and box sections while reducing overall weight. The new FH cab was a logical progression from, for its days spacious but boxy F series cab to more aerodynamically efficient, with much-improved ergonomics and much better seating unit while reducing the overall weight of the cab by almost 30%. The cabin was extensively tested in a wind tunnel to confirm shape aerodynamics properties to reduce air-drag thus improving fuel efficiency. The cab featured a more sharply raked windscreen while wedge-shaped sides rounded into the front panel at much wider radius corners and the rear vision mirrors were also streamlined. The cabin was subject to the toughest cab impact test where procedure involved placing a 15-tonne static weight on the roof and one-tonne pendulum striking at the cab rear wall and at the windscreen pillars, at the end of which the cab doors must be able to be opened. In 1995 Volvo FH series became first heavy-duty truck to be fitted with an SRS airbag to further improve passive safety.
D12 engine.
From the design angle, the new D12A engine was one of the largest engine projects from Volvo Trucks since the 1950s at the time. The basic design was still based on direct injection in-line six diesel engines around 12 litres displacement but with entirely different fuel and valve systems when compared with previous Volvo engines. Built at the purpose-built facility at Skövde on a fully automated line where the bulk of the engine assembly is done by robots and the final engine dressing is carried out manually. The D12A was designed as a "world engine" to be able to meet the latest demands in high power output, low fuel consumption and lower emissions with its single OHC (overhead camshaft) design, four valves per cylinder, and one centrally located electronic unit injector, integrated engine compression brake and two-piece, steel and aluminium pistons. The engine design left the door open for future upgrades in both power output and emission technologies.
VEB.
VEB The Volvo Engine Brake is a compression type engine brake first introduced on D12A and since used on later designed OHC engines from 9 to 16 litre displacement. The brake operates on a principle where exhaust valve cam followers act on a secondary cam profile when engine brake is activated. Engine oil pressure is used to eliminate extra valve clearance thus this action forces the follower against secondary lobes and unseating exhaust valves temporarily to achieve so-called compression bleeding as employed by similar systems from Jacobs, Cummins and Mack however Volvo system has an extra cam lobe thus giving two openings of the exhaust valves and is designed to work in conjunction with an exhaust brake so two of the engine's four strokes are used to raise engine braking effect - Exhaust and Compression strokes.
"Version 98" (1998–2002).
In conjunction with the introduction of FM series in 1998, Volvo had facelifted existing FH series with minor modifications to the cab but major upgrade to the electrical system, engine, and gearbox. The so-called TEA (Truck Electronic Architecture) introduced a technical solution to possibility of various electronic control units to work and communicate with one another. The systems have been linked using two data buses or data links which allowed control units to exchange relevant information over the data network.
Electronics.
TEA is a computerized control and monitoring system which is used to control and coordinate the various functions of the vehicle main components. The control units communicate over what is known as CAN at two speeds SAEJ1587/1708 @9600 bit/s and SAEJ1939 @ 250 000 bit/s where up to eight Electronic Control Units were used to control various functions. A J1939 data link is used for mission-critical rapid communication among ECUs and J1587/1808 is used for diagnostic and programming links as well as "slow" communication e.g. for backup purposes. The new instrument cluster included an LCD panel to show information or diagnostic messages from the systems broadcast via the J1708 data link.
D12 facelift.
The original D12A engine was considered as a rather conservatively power rated and expectations of higher power output from such an engine design were always at the mind of not only the designer but customers alike. The D12C differs from an earlier version substantially with a completely redesigned engine head, timing gears, and addition of bottom end of reinforcement with a stiffening subframe to cope with increased power output to .
Gearbox.
The gearboxes were based on the previous SR1900 series and shared the same number of gears and gear change pattern. The SR2400 series gearbox was discontinued and replaced with the now same model shared across the entire FH and FM range. Torque increases from 1900 Nm to 2500 Nm were due to changes to the machining of the gears as well as the use of the new type of narrower synchromesh mechanism allowing increased gear width. The single control housing and the synchro-mechanism reduced the gearchange effort by about 50%. The control housing was also identical for left and right-hand drive versions reducing overall production cost and assembly.
Version 2 (2002–2012).
In 2001 Volvo introduced the second generation of the FH and FM series with the cab and driveline given a major makeover. with an investment cost of 600 million euros Major changes included a redesign of the cab to improve aerodynamics, the new automatic gearchange transmission, I shift, new electronics system and engine improvements.
New Cab.
The changes to the cab included a new day cab, which is 150 mm longer with a redesigned air intake and flat floor. New rearview mirrors were introduced to reduce blind spots and improve airflow, new headlights, and front side marker lights, a new split sun visor, and new wider front steps complemented the external modifications. The interior was redesigned with more rounded edges around the dashboard and new seats with integrated seatbelts. Integrated telephone speaker and microphone with steering wheel controls for the radio and inbuilt GSM phones were an option.
As a standard equipment FH models also included FUPS (Front Underrun Protection System) to further enhance safety by preventing smaller vehicles from being "underrun" or wedged under front of the truck in an event of frontal collision.
TC and I-Shift.

(TMS) which contains two ECU's the transmission control unit (TECU) and the gear selector control unit (GECU). I-Shift borrowed from old transmission technologies like non-synchronised main gears which allowed a reduction in size and weight and a countershaft brake to achieve more precise shift control while matching engine rpm to transmissions rpm e.g. TECU requests the EECU to correct engine rpm so as to synchronise the rpm to effect a smooth gear change, similar to double-clutching.
2003 FH16 Intelligent Power.
After delaying introduction of new 16 litre engine for 2 years in 2003 Volvo introduced one of the most powerful trucks ever built. The D16C engine was available in two power outputs configurations and and it was a completely new design similar in the lines of D9 engine introduced a couple of years earlier for FM series. The notable design changes included timing gears being on the flywheel side of the engine (rear-mounted), a design which allows for increased airflow around the engine, more precise injection and valve operation, noise reduction, and manufacturing cost due to flywheel casing being used to house timing gears as well. In 2005 Volvo had increased the available power of D16C to respectively making in it one of the most powerful production truck available. Currently D16E engines are available in Selective Catalytic Reduction at power output 580 hp 640 hp .
2005 - 2008 FH.
In 2005 Volvo introduced new design 13 litre unit D13A incorporating the same design features as its 9 and 16 litre engines and available in various power output variants from , 400 hp, 440 hp, to . Initially available to meet Euro III emissions requirements, further improvements will enable the engine to meet or exceed Euro IV and possibly Euro V emissions targets. D13A featured closed-crankcase ventilation and also included a new type of unit injector (UI) E3 from Delphi. As a part of makeover Volvo has also removed its naming scheme and decided to drop engine size in the model name so the models are known from now as FH only. Volvo had also introduced on D13A engine with Selective Catalytic Reduction an improved version of its engine compression brake the "VEB+" featuring additional helper rocker arm and a fourth cam lobe per cylinder. Power outputs available from 360 hp, 400 hp, and .
In 2007 Volvo introduced D13B with Exhaust Gas Recirculation configuration and VGT turbocharger but without exhaust particle filter and is the only manufacturer to offer this solution thus far. The engines are available in slightly reduced power output ranging from 360 hp, 400 hp, and and being shared with FM series however option is only available for FH series.
2008 - 2012 FH and FH16 Mk.III.
In August 2008, Volvo launched an upgrade to the FH series with the main emphasis on driver comfort and usability, among features listed are windscreen wipers controlled by a rain sensor, cornering lights for better visibility when turning, powerful audio system with USB aux and MP3 inputs as well as a swiveling passenger seat.
Completely redesigned grill, steps, sun visor, and headlamps combination were the most obvious visible changes over previous models. Only 6 months later Volvo once again claimed a first with the FH16 and on tap introducing one of the world's most powerful production series truck. Continuing on its Euro V theme upgrades to 13 Litre engines and introduction of the new 11 Litre engine followed a few months later.
As a part of an ongoing commitment to road safety, a number of safety features were also improved like advanced radar-controlled cruise control, Driver Alert System (DAS) which keeps a tab on the driver's time behind the wheel with ongoing monitoring of the driver's responses, Lane Keeping Support (LKS) which alerts the driver when crossing over the lines and Lane Change Support (LCS) system responsible for alerting the driver when another vehicle is in the "blind spot" when attempting to change lanes.
In 2011 the new 750 hp version of the D16 was presented to the market. This engine will be delivered to customers around the new year 2012, celebrating 25 years of Volvo 16-litre truck engines.
The new Volvo FH (2012–present).
In September 2012, Volvo Trucks re-launched the Volvo FH with major technology upgrades, a new design, and more. The company also introduced the first of its Euro VI engines, the D13K which is available as an option on the new Volvo FH and compulsory for new trucks in Europe from January 2014. Other quotable new features are the I-torque driveline and the I-see fuel-saving technology. With the new thirteen-litre engine, the name has changed to FH13.
AEB.
Volvo Trucks have demonstrated the new AEB system for their FH series on YouTube. The truck did well and stopped only centimeters from the car ahead. The tractor-trailer was fully loaded to 40 tons GCW when Volvo demonstrated the system.
The AEB system combines radar and a camera that works together to identify and monitor vehicles in front. The system is designed to deal with both stationary and moving vehicles and can prevent a collision with a moving target at relative speeds of up to 70 km/h. When the system detects a vehicle that the truck will hit at its current speed, the warning system activates a constant red light in the windscreen in order to bring the driver's attention back to the road.
2020 facelift.
The truck received a facelift in 2020, with most notably a new headlight design, an updated interior, new safety features, and efficiency improvements.
Pre-facelift model continues to be offered in selected markets where facelifted model was introduced, now marketed as Volvo FH Classic for models with 13-litre engines and Volvo FH16 Classic for models with 16-litre engines.


Causeway Bay Terminus

Causeway Bay Terminus () is a tram stop and one of the seven termini of Hong Kong Tramways, a double-decker tram system. Located in Causeway Bay, it is one of the system's two termini in the Wan Chai District on Hong Kong Island. It is also one of the two termini for Hong Kong Tramways' sightseeing tram service, the other being Western Market Terminus.


Daihatsu V series

The Daihatsu V series ("Japanese: ダイハツ・Vシリーズ") is a series of cab over trucks, manufactured from 1958 to 1970. The V series was Daihatsu first four-wheeled vehicle since the Hatsudoki FA truck in 1937 (Daihatsu's former company name). The V series' main rivals in the medium-weight four-wheel truck segment were Toyota Dyna, Nissan Caball, Isuzu Elf, Prince Homer and Mazda D-Series.
The first Daihatsu V series truck was known as the Daihatsu Vesta. This 2-ton class truck was released in 1958, competing in the same weight class as Daihatsu's own RKO three-wheeler truck. The engine was a 1.5 L v-twin engine shared with the Daihatsu RKO. In 1960, the engine was replaced with a new 1.5 L "FA" inline-four engine and renamed to Daihatsu V200. In 1962, the displacement was increased to 1.9 L "FB", the power also increased to and a new 2.3 L "DE" diesel engine was added; this diesel model was marketed as the Daihatsu D200
In 1964, a smaller 1.25-ton class was added with the 1.5 L "FA" engine, known as Daihatsu V100. This was followed by the 3-ton class Daihatsu V300 with the 2.4 L "FD" petrol engine and the Daihatsu D300 with the 2.5 L "DG" diesel engine.
In 1968, two new models were available, 1-ton and 1.5-ton class. This new 1-ton model also used the V100 name as did the 1.25-tonner, which caused some confusion in the market. The 1.5-ton was known as Daihatsu V150 and was also powered by the 1.5 L "FA" engine.
There was also medium-sized bus series based from V series truck chassis, known as the Daihatsu Light Bus.
In October 1970, as a result of the business agreement with Toyota in 1967, the V series was replaced by the Toyota Dyna-based Daihatsu Delta.
References.


Trams in Debrecen

Trams in Debrecen is an important part of the public transport network serving Debrecen, Hungary. In operation since 1911, the network presently has two lines.
Network evolution.
During its history the network has had these lines:
Abolished lines:


Evelyn station

Evelyn station is a former VTA Light Rail station located in Mountain View, California. The station platform was on the then-single-track section east of the Downtown Mountain View light rail station. It was accessed via a pedestrian tunnel under the Caltrain tracks from Evelyn Avenue at the intersection with Pioneer Way. The station was closed in 2015 to permit double-tracking of the line.
History.
The station was built as part of the Tasman West extension project and opened December 17, 1999. The VTA decided in August 2014 to close and remove Evelyn station early in 2015. As part of the Light Rail Efficiency Project, a second track was added between Mountain View Station and Whisman Station for the Mountain View–Winchester, and leaving Evelyn in place would have required narrowing Central Expressway and Evelyn Avenue to accommodate the track. According to VTA, the station was the second least-utilized station in the VTA light rail system.
After the station closed in 2015, the park and ride lot across the street from the station remained available to transit passengers but was lightly used. In May 2019, the lot was leased to the City of Mountain View who plans to use the lot as a safe place for people living in vehicles to park. The long-term plan is to use the two-acre parking lot parcel to build 180 affordable apartments.


Get on the Bus (song)

"Get on the Bus" is a song by American recording group Destiny's Child featuring musician Timbaland. It was written by Timbaland and Missy Elliott and recorded by the band for the original motion picture soundtrack of Gregory Nava's romantic drama "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (1998), featuring production by Timbaland and Elliott. As with other Timbaland productions that were crafted in the late 1990s, the single features some unorthodox parts, including the sounds of birds.
Released as the second single from the soundtrack album, "Get on the Bus" became a moderate commercial success throughout Europe, reaching the top 20 of the Dutch Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it also received some minor airplay on urban radio, resulting in a number 63 charting on "Billboard"s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. An accompanying music video for the track was directed by Earle Sebastian. The song was later featured on the international edition of Destiny's Child's second studio album "The Writing's on the Wall" and included in the set list of their 2001–2002 world tour.
Music video.
An accompanying music video was directed by Earle Sebastian. It focuses on Destiny's Child, performing in a silver-white room and inside and around a Lincoln Navigator SUV. The members are dressed in white clothes. Timbaland makes a guest appearance during his rap verses. Singer Aaliyah choreographed the dance routines throughout.
Credits and personnel.
Credits adapted from the liner notes of "The Writing's on the Wall".


Deccan Odyssey

The Deccan Odyssey is a special luxury train based on the model of "Palace on Wheels" to boost tourism on the Maharashtra route of the Indian Railways. It is a venture of the Maharashtra Government and the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. In addition to being a train that touches tourist spots, this aims to be a complete 5-star hotel on wheels, with two restaurants and a bar, a sauna, business center and other such amenities on board. The coaches fitted with special amenities were manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.
The train rides through the hinterlands of Maharashtra, the Western Ghats, into the Deccan Plateau as well as the Konkan regions, including Goa. It also passes through the cities of Nashik, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri within Maharashtra. En route to the capital city New Delhi, it has stops at Rajasthan at Udaipur and Jaipur. It's itinerary involves various tourist destinations of architectural as well as natural importance such as the Taj Mahal, Rann of Kutch and Madera.
History.
After noticing the success of Palace on Wheels, the Maharashtra state decided to have such a train, in order to develop the tourism industry in the state and surrounding regions. This resulted in Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) along with Indian Railway started the project. On 17 January 2004, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee flagged off the train with remote control from the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai at 5.30 pm. The ceremonial inaugural run took from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station to Thane and back.
The train kicked off its maiden commercial journey on 4 February 2004. At that time MTDC has appointed the Taj group of Hotels to manage the food and beverage and housekeeping on the luxury train. The train had 36 Taj staffers on board.
The Deccan Odyssey planned to operate for 35 weeks each year. It starts from Mumbai CST every Wednesday evening and returns the following Wednesday morning. From Mumbai, it will take off to Ratnagiri, Sindudurg, Goa, Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik.
In 2004, the Maharashtra government stopped its run of the "Deccan Odyssey", citing poor response, but restarted it after the monsoon season.
Later MTDC started giving the train on lease to tour operators like Luxury Train, Thomson Cook (India), which changed the name of the train to "Indian Maharaja" and resulted in a petition filed by Harshad Gawade, a local tour operator from Sindhudurg in the Bombay high court.
From December 2010, The Deccan Odyssey train, taken on charter from Government of Maharashtra started with an aim to have a journey across four Sikh takhts, with a flight by devout and sightseers to the fifth Takht (Takht Sri Patna Sahib).
Presently Cox and Kings Pvt. Ltd , operates the train.
About the train.
Facilities.
The "Deccan Odyssey" offers accommodation in 40 deluxe cabins in 10 coaches. It also has 4 presidential suites in 2 cars, 1 Conference car with a business centre, 2 restaurants, a well-stocked bar and a spa with steam, massage, a mini gym and a parlour. Other facilities include a library, 6 Channels DVD for your viewing pleasure at the lounges and 6 Channels of Music in each cabin.
Accommodation.
10 fully air-conditioned Deluxe Cabin saloons, each with a combination of 4 twin bedded chambers and 2 fully air-conditioned Presidential Suite saloons each with 2 suites with the combination of the living room & bedroom. Saloons are equipped with channel music, intercom, player, attached toilets, running hot and cold water, shower, wall-to-wall carpeting and other amenities.


Fair Oaks station

Fair Oaks is a light rail station operated by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), located in Sunnyvale, California. This station is served by the Orange Line of the VTA Light Rail system.


Arriva Sapphire

Arriva Sapphire is a premium brand used by various Arriva bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom.
History.
In February 2013, Arriva UK Bus ("Arriva") announced that it would launch a premium service under the Sapphire brand for its bus services in the United Kingdom. It is similar to the Stagecoach Gold brand launched by Stagecoach Group ("Stagecoach") in 2007.
Arriva initially launched the Sapphire brand on four pilot routes:
In 2014, the brand was extended to 11 more routes with another six scheduled for conversion in late 2015.
In 2015, the Sapphire brand was shortlisted for an award for exemplary commitment to customer excellence, at the International Association of Public Transport World Congress & Exhibition.
In 2017, Arriva Sapphire was rebranded with a new logo and livery, in line with the switchover to the new Arriva brand. In 2018, the Arriva Sapphire logo was updated again, to reflect the new brand.
In 2019, Arriva Midlands routes 1, 2, 2E running between Walsall and Cannock/Huntington were downgraded to regular buses after six years of Sapphire.
In 2020, Arriva Sapphire was rebranded with a new logo and livery, in line with the switchover to the new Arriva brand.
In recent years, Sapphire-spec buses have occasionally been run on non-Sapphire routes, and regular Arriva buses are also often run on Sapphire routes.
Routes.
As at November 2019, there were 53 Arriva Sapphire routes.
Vehicles.
Buses have leather seats, free WiFi, power ports, and a modified two tone blue livery. The initial pilot routes commenced with a mix of refurbished double deck buses and new Wright Pulsar bodied VDL SB200s. Mostly since then, new buses have been purchased, primarily Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, Wright StreetLites and Wright StreetDecks. A number of Wright Pulsar/Pulsar 2 vehicles have been refurbished to operate Sapphire routes. In 2020 a selection of Optare Versas in Yorkshire were repainted into the new Arriva Sapphire livery.


Hitachi small-type monorail (Sentosa Express)

The Hitachi small-type monorail is a straddle-type monorail built by Hitachi Ltd. for the use on the Sentosa Express. These trains are part of Hitachi line of ALWEG based monorail. The trains were part of a project to replace Sentosa's previous aging monorail system. The trains are fully air-conditioned.
Exterior design.
Each train has an individual colour scheme - green, orange, blue, purple, pink, yellow and red. All trains are for passenger service, except for the yellow maintenance train.
The straddle-type small monorail is small in size but able to navigate through tight turns.
Operations and safety systems.
Trains and platform screen doors were previously manually operated by train attendants; the trains utilised Automatic Train Protection to ensure trains keep a safe distance between each other and Automatic Train Supervisory to provide the route setting for the train to travel.
With the upgrading to Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) in 2017, trains and platform screen doors are now operated automatically.
Trains cruise at but is designed to speed up to .
Train formation.
The configuration of the Hitachi small-type monorail in revenue service is Mc1-Tc2


Isuzu Erga Mio

The Isuzu Erga Mio (kana:いすゞ・エルガミオ) is a medium-duty single-decker bus produced by Isuzu through the J-Bus joint venture. It is the second medium duty bus under the Mio name, after the Gala Mio intercity coach. It is built by J-Bus from Japan either as an integral bus or a bus chassis.
Models.
The Isuzu Erga Mio has a double-curvature windscreen with a rounded roof dome similar to the Erga with a separately mounted destination sign. Its Hino-rebadged version is known as the Hino Rainbow II and the Hino Rainbow.


Mitsubishi Fuso Aero Bus

The Mitsubishi Fuso Aero Bus (kana:三菱ふそう・エアロバス) is a series of heavy-duty intercity coaches produced by the Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Fuso since 1982.
The range was primarily unavailable with left-hand drive. Its principal Japanese competitors are Isuzu Gala, Nissan Diesel Space Arrow and Hino S'elega.
Aero Bus/Aero Queen.
Aero Queen W (MU).
Chassies based on the Aero King double-decker, 8DC9T engine equipped ("T"=turbocharged, maximum output: 380PS).
Aero Queen M/MV (MS).
8DC11 Engine equipped.
Aero Ace/Aero Queen.
These models are equipped Urea selective catalytic reduction system. (AdBlue needed)


Galatyn Park station

Galatyn Park station is a DART Light Rail station in Richardson, Texas. It is located at US 75 (Central Expressway) near Lookout Drive. It opened on July 1, 2002 and is a station on the , serving part of Richardson's Telecom Corridor including the Renaissance Hotel and Hyatt Regency North Dallas (formerly The Richardson Hotel), the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts, as well as the facilities for Ericsson, AT&T, MCI and UT-Dallas. This was a temporary northern terminus of the Red Line until December 2002 when the extension to Plano opened.


Historic Folsom station

Historic Folsom is a side platformed Sacramento RT Light Rail station in Folsom, California, United States. The station was opened on October 15, 2005, is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District and is the current eastern terminus of the Gold Line. The station is located near the intersection of Leidesdorff Street and Folsom Boulevard, adjacent to the Western-themed city center of the old suburb.


3 Street Southeast station

3rd Street Southeast was a stop in downtown Calgary on the city's CTrain light rail system.
The 3rd Street Southeast stop was only used by westbound Route 202 trains (but still at the junction where the Northeast and South lines converge into the 7 Avenue Transit Mall). The Platform for the station was located on the north side of 7th Avenue South between 4 Street and 3 Street SE. The station opened on April 27, 1985, along with the Northeast Line and was permanently closed on May 3, 2010, and demolished immediately afterward.
The 3 Street SE platform was one of three downtown platforms slated for decommissioning as part of Calgary Transit's Seventh Avenue refurbishment. This station has been replaced with the new dual-platform City Hall station located one block west which opened on July 6, 2011. From the stations closure on May 3, 2010, and until July 6, 2011, transit passengers had to use the Olympic Plaza station two blocks west.
In 2005, the station registered an average of 3,400 boardings per weekday, by far the lowest of all the stations in the downtown.


Clement Railroad Hotel Museum

The Clement Railroad Hotel Museum, housed in the Tennessee Historical Commission’s Hotel Halbrook State Historic Site, is one of the few remaining examples of a railroad hotel in a small Tennessee town. It is located in historic downtown Dickson, Tennessee. Since opening on June 2, 2009, the hotel has hosted thousands of visitors locally, regionally, and internationally. The museum is often referred to as "our biggest artifact" by local people.
The hotel was constructed in 1913. The museum features exhibits and programming involving the Civil War, railroading, and local and regional history. The museum is fortunate to have many artifacts and items that once belonged to Tennessee Governor Frank G. Clement and his family. museum visitors will see the rooms where the Clements lived while managing the Hotel Halbrook as well as be able to view exhibits featuring Governor Clement's early years, campaigns, and accomplishments.
Owned by the State of Tennessee, the Hotel Halbrook is one of the Tennessee Historical Commission's State Historic Sites, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The museum receives a partial annual operating grant from the Tennessee Historical Commission. The museum is located at 100 Clement Place, or 100 Frank G. Clement Place, in Dickson. It was restored and opened to the public in 2009.
Museum exhibitions.
Railroading.
The colorful and dynamic heritage of railroading is showcased with artifacts including an oilcan, brake wheel, whistle marker, lantern, maps, postcards, and books. A folk art model of an engine and tender are almost miniature examples of an NC&St.L engine and Vanderbilt tender captured in a 1920s photograph in Dickson. This exhibit has been expanded to include a touch-screen panel of the Dickson rail-yard and downtown area. A hands-on display of a steam engine cabin, and a NC&St.L engine headlight are also showcased.
The Clement family.
The Clement family rooms are furnished to represent the early 1920s when Belle Goad and Maybelle and Robert Clement lived in the managerial suite of rooms on the first floor. Room #5, where Governor Frank Clement was born, is furnished with several pieces of furniture from the Clement family including a bed, trunk, and cradle.
Dickson County industries.
The Dickson County Commerce exhibit has interpretive panels on several early businesses and industries. This exhibit includes the display of a Dixie Swatter baseball bat which was used by major league teams during the 1920s and a Commodore youth bat, a 1930s Coca-Cola bottle impressed with 'Dickson Tenn.' on the bottom, and the 50-millionth shirt made by Red Kap.
The Dickson County History exhibit tells the story of the iron ore industry in the county as well as highlighting each of the incorporated communities: Burns, Charlotte, Slayden, Vanleer, White Bluff, and Dickson. Interpretive panels introduce visitors to the utopian community of Ruskin and Promise Land, a community founded by freed blacks.
Civil War.
The triumph and tragedy of the Civil War tells the story of the 13th and 14th U.S. Colored Infantry and the building of the railroad during the Civil War. This exhibit now includes a touch-screen that relates Dickson County family stories and memories of the Civil War. An interpretive panel of the Irish Shanty incident in Dickson County has also been added to the exhibit.
Dickson Model Railroad display.
The Dickson Model Railroad Club has partnered with the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum to establish a permanent display of model trains, landscaping, and buildings. The display is manned by volunteer "engineers" who maintain the trains as well as both entertain and educate visitors in the art of model railroading. This exhibit recreates the Dickson Rail-yard during the 1920s and 1930s. Interested in helping build this new and exciting model railroad exhibit? The Model Railroad Club is recruiting new members! Drop by the museum and talk with one of the "engineers" in the exhibit.
Hampton High School.
Eight principle areas have been created to bring the Dickson County Civil Rights experience to visitors. First and foremost, the exhibit will share the evolution of education for African-Americans in Dickson County. The exhibit discusses the one room school houses that were spread across the county and eventually led to the founding of Hampton High School with its strong history of excellence. Panels will showcase the scholars, students who graduated as valedictorian and salutatorian from 1936 until integration in 1965. View four donated yearbooks, the only ones produced in that time period, plus uniforms and other memorabilia bringing the exhibited School Life of Hampton High into the present.
Governor Clement.
On the second floor of the museum, trace Governor Clement's high school, college, and early career days. Follow his campaigns in the 1952, 1954, and 1962 gubernatorial elections. Learn about his many accomplishments, including peaceful desegregation of Tennessee public schools, free text books for Tennessee school children, establishment of the first department of mental health, and expansion of roads and the Interstate system through Tennessee.
The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 as Halbrook Hotel.


Franklin station (Sacramento)

Franklin is a side platformed Sacramento RT light rail station in Sacramento, California, United States. The station was opened on August 24, 2015, and is operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. It is served by the Blue Line. The station is located on the north side of Cosumnes River Boulevard west of Franklin Boulevard in the South Sacramento neighborhood of Valley Hi. There is a 668-stall park and ride with a daily fee located at the station.