Metro Transit Archives

Good Morning:   On Saturday, September 27th, MTA Maryland hosted the 2014 MTA Roadeo at Milford Mill Station in Northwest Baltimore.   On display was current and former buses from Baltimore, Washington DC, and Philadelphia. The DMV Mass Transit Museum of Manassas, Virginia also brought up a 1994 TMC RTS donated by Fairfax Connector of Fairfax, Virginia.   Afterwards, a bus excursion took place around Baltimore City with members of the Classic Bus Owners of America from New York City. A preserved 1994 Flxible Metro D suburban #3710 from New Jersey Transit was used for this event.   Below are photos from the event and excursion.     1994 TMC RTS-06 #7832, donated by Fairfax Connector of Fairfax, Virginia       1994 Flxible Metro D Suburban #3710, formerly of New Jersey Transit      1995 Flxible Metro E #9526, currently preserved by the Maryland Transit Administration      2012 New Flyer Xcelsior XDE40 #12007 driven by a roadeo contestan

  Today's feature is about Wraps     Wraps are a very creative way for transit systems to make money using their equipment as rolling billboards.   Philadelphia (SEPTA) and Las Vegas (RTC) are known for keeping a good portion of their fleet covered in ads. Others like Baltimore, Providence, Los Angeles and even our neighbors to the north, have wrapped buses and trains.   Among my favorite types of advertisements to photograph, every system is different. Here's a sample of wraps I've encountered:   Baltimore (MTA Maryland)   Providence (RIPTA)    New Jersey Transit (NJT)   Montreal (STM)   Los Angeles (Metrobus)   Atlanta (MARTA)  San Francisco (MUNI)   Toronto (TTC)   Las Vegas (RTC)   Boston (MBTA) As you can see, very colorful. Some systems have full body wraps while others prefer wraps that doesn't cover the windows or front end. All very different.  Next...Part II will focus on Quarter

Good day: Continuing on the theme of Night Photography, we will do a little time traveling to the year 2008. In that year, I had a different camera (Nikon D80) and spent the fall and early winter traveling the eastern seaboard. This was my first true chance to develop my skills in night photography. The best quality about digital is the means to see your photo right away. I took advantage of that when I visited New York City in November, 2008. With 6,000 buses and 7,000+ trains, New York City is a transportation photographer's dream. In those days before exposure delay, image stabilization or photoshop, a photographer would never steady hands to create a photo. My camera had neither so I relied on those steady hands. Posted below are some examples of those steady hands. *Some of these photos took 3-6 times to get right. Fast forward four years later and I now have those missing elements of exposure delay (Nikon D90) and photoshop. Below are three ima

Today's feature is night photography. Last November, I ventured to Boston, Massachusetts to explore the transit system known as MBTA. One of my goals was to photograph the Mattapan/Ashmont Red Line service, which uses 1947-1948 PCCs (President Conference Car) in daily service. Arriving during early evening rush-hour, I put my plan in place. I rode part of the way and photographed trolleys returning to Ashmont Station. Now, it was very cold and I misjudged the frequency of service (3 cars, every 20 minutes) so it was terse at times but I love the final products. I'm returning to Boston again in November and hope it's a little warmer when I try this on the Green Line. Later...

In my 17 years of transit photography, I've captured some interesting sights but nothing prepared me for this one. The date is January 17th, 1999. On this day, I was gathering photos of various equipment when coach 8755 pulled up to a stop in Downtown Baltimore. As you can see, 8755 is a "short" bus or in bus speak, a 30 foot coach. Now, 8755 is signed for 23 Beltway, which to this day, I don't know if it was it's true destination since that branch I believe operated to a high school. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, it would be ng the opposite way. Now Route 23 is one of the heaviest lines in the MTA system then and now so the idea of a one-door 30 foot bus operating on that line in the middle of rush hour would for most people, be thought of as insane. But as I've learned...when you need a bus on the line, it doesn't matter the size, just as long as it makes service. More to come...

Metro Transit Archives has returned after a four-year hiatus with new content and a new purpose: To cover 17 years of transportation photography with stories and photos. Today's post concerns this past Saturday's SEPTA (Philadelphia) Roadeo. Posted below are a few photos for your enjoyment.