Silver Line San Diego - Siemens-Duewag U-2 1001
The rail car that started the light rail development boom in North America.
Originally designed for and used by the Frankfurt U-Bahn, the model of car was adopted for light-rail use by transit systems in Edmonton, Calgary, and San Diego, during a period in which few purpose-built trams were being manufactured in North America. All U2 cars were built between 1968 and 1990.
The model was chosen for operations in San Diego in 1979, however, the planned platform level was lower than their counterpart system, so a street-level version was developed, and 71 vehicles were eventually delivered in stages.
MTS broke ground on the Trolley Renewal project in early 2010, the bulk of its U2 fleet was retired in 2013. MTS exported 11 cars to a system in Argentina in early 2010. These cars entered service on the Metrotranvia Mendoza system in 2012 with a further 24 for expansion and parts donors following later that year.
MTS retired their last U2 vehicles in January 2015, coinciding with low floor S70 cars being deployed on its Blue Line. MTS has retained Car 1001 as part of its heritage fleet of light rail vehicles. It was restored and painted with the original San Diego Trolley logo that it used when service started in 1981. It began operating on the Silver Line on July 13, 2019 and will run alongside San Diego PCC cars 529 and 530.
Six examples are preserved by various museums and nonprofits:
* San Diego Electric Railway Association (SDERA) - Car 1002, now on display in National City.
* Southern California Railway Museum - Cars 1003 and 1008, operate regularly on the Museum system, independently and as a two-car train.
* Western Railway Museum - Cars 1017 and 1018, operate on museum excursions.
* Rockhill Trolley Museum - Car 1019 operates regularly on the Museum system.
Source: Wikipedia
Silver Line San Diego - Siemens-Duewag U-2 1001
The rail car that started the light rail development boom in North America.
Originally designed for and used by the Frankfurt U-Bahn, the model of car was adopted for light-rail use by transit systems in Edmonton, Calgary, and San Diego, during a period in which few purpose-built trams were being manufactured in North America. All U2 cars were built between 1968 and 1990.
The model was chosen for operations in San Diego in 1979, however, the planned platform level was lower than their counterpart system, so a street-level version was developed, and 71 vehicles were eventually delivered in stages.
MTS broke ground on the Trolley Renewal project in early 2010, the bulk of its U2 fleet was retired in 2013. MTS exported 11 cars to a system in Argentina in early 2010. These cars entered service on the Metrotranvia Mendoza system in 2012 with a further 24 for expansion and parts donors following later that year.
MTS retired their last U2 vehicles in January 2015, coinciding with low floor S70 cars being deployed on its Blue Line. MTS has retained Car 1001 as part of its heritage fleet of light rail vehicles. It was restored and painted with the original San Diego Trolley logo that it used when service started in 1981. It began operating on the Silver Line on July 13, 2019 and will run alongside San Diego PCC cars 529 and 530.
Six examples are preserved by various museums and nonprofits:
* San Diego Electric Railway Association (SDERA) - Car 1002, now on display in National City.
* Southern California Railway Museum - Cars 1003 and 1008, operate regularly on the Museum system, independently and as a two-car train.
* Western Railway Museum - Cars 1017 and 1018, operate on museum excursions.
* Rockhill Trolley Museum - Car 1019 operates regularly on the Museum system.
Source: Wikipedia