17 - Summer 2015 Atlanta Streetcar

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1 17 - Summer 2015 Atlanta Streetcar There were two major differences between my journey to Atlanta on October 6 and the one to Charlotte a month earlier. The first was that I rode the streetcar in Charlotte by myself, but in Atlanta I would spend most of the day riding with rail historian, preservationist and advocate Dave Phraner, who retired to Georgia from New Jersey a few years ago. The second was the timing of the trip; while I spent an afternoon and the following morning in North Carolina, Frontier Airlines' early evening round trip from Trenton to Atlanta allowed more productive time, as it would not be interrupted by a night of sleep. With a scheduled 6:22 p.m. departure I left home at about 3:00 and fortunately did not face too much traffic on my journey to Trenton-Mercer Airport via the Garden State Parkway, U. S. 1 and I-95. I had enough spare time to grab a hamburger and a coke at the Five Guys in Ewing and parked this time near the airport terminal building's exit for a quick getaway on my return. Not wanting to increase my $30 round-trip fare, I had Frontier assign my seat, which turned out to be on the aisle in the back. The Airbus 319 was about 85 percent full, and as it turned out, the passenger next to me in the middle seat was able to move over to the unoccupied window seat. While the plane pushed off two minutes late, it arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson over a half-hour early, hitting the tarmac at 8:07, and pulling up to the gate at 8:19 (8:52). It was a hop, skip and a jump, or more descriptively, a ride, walk and a ride (in the airport's people mover and the motel's van), of under 10 minutes to the Sleep Inn, where I spent the night. I was ensconced in my room by 9 p.m., but I soon found out that the hostelry's internet access was down, so I could not get my seat assigned or print my boarding pass for the return trip. I ended up getting it done at Frontier's counter at the airport the following morning; I had to go there anyway, as that's where I would board MARTA's rapid transit train to downtown. Bright and early the next morning I consumed a rather robust continental breakfast and then checked out, leaving my bag, as after having inquired the previous evening I found out that there were no lockers at Hartsfield. The van took me there and after obtaining my boarding pass I made a [futile] attempt at getting the senior rate on MARTA's rapid transit line. Despite having fare vending machines and a customer service booth selling tickets, I had to pay $3.50 for a regular adult "Breeze" card: $2.50 for a single fare and $1.00 for the reusable stored-value plastic card, which I would use only once. I immediately headed for the Five Points station, the

2 heart of MARTA's rapid transit system, as the two trunk lines cross there. Five Points is also quite close to the streetcar line and is one of the two places where one can register for senior rates this one being outside the fare control turnstiles. It was simple; I had to fill out a form and give a clerk proof of my age, after which I got my photo taken. The senior card is free, although MARTA will charge a fee if you lose it and apply for a replacement. The senior fare is $1.00, so I put $2.00 on the card, as I would be using MARTA's rapid transit system later in the day. At this time no fares were being charged on the streetcar line. Dave Phraner and I had decided to meet at the streetcar's Woodruff Park stop at 10:30, and I arrived there almost an hour early. The shadows were still a bit long for decent photos, so I rode the entire circular line; Dave was waiting upon my return. I finally took some photos and since now both of us had ridden the line, we decided to walk along it to take more slides. The Atlanta Streetcar opened on December 30, 2014 and consists of a 2.7 mile long loop with 12 stops. It connects with the MARTA heavy metro line at its Peachtree Center stop, although the Woodruff Park and Park Place stops are quite close to the Five Points station. Modern 70-percent low-floor streetcars run counterclockwise under 750-volt DC overhead every 15 minutes on the single-track circle. The roster consists of four Siemens

3 S70 units, similar to those that run on the Salt Lake City streetcar, but also like S70 light rail cars. In fact, it seems to me the major difference is the slower maximum speed (35 mph streetcar vs. 55 to 65 mph LRV). With the introduction of the "Ultra Short" version of the Siemens S70 LRV for Salt Lake City and San Diego, the length of the streetcars built for Atlanta are virtually identical to those LRVs: 79 vs. 81 feet. As far as my ride was concerned, it took about a half-hour to circumscribe the loop, which included layovers at both ends and slow speeds between them. That's probably OK at this time, as the streetcar really doesn't strike me as an effective transit service now, but rather a tourist ride connecting Centennial Olympic Park, the site of Atlanta's 1996 Olympics, with the Sweet Auburn neighborhood and the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic District. No fares are being charged, but that is supposed to change in 2016 with tickets purchased from fare machines at the stops costing $1 for a single ride and $3 for an all-day pass (I wonder if a Breeze ticket will be necessary and if so, whether it will involve an additional $1 charge. I suspect not). The line belongs to the City of Atlanta and is operated under contract by MARTA. With riding being free there were a number of homeless types aboard. An officer prevents them from snoozing and just riding round and round the loop, but they certainly can smell up the cars even if they're onboard for only a short time. That should go away when fares are finally introduced. Ridership is supposedly 20 percent above the expected 2,100 per day, but who knows what it will be when prospective riders have to pay fares, albeit low ones. At that time I would hope that the streetcars will no longer dawdle and perhaps run more frequently, maybe every 10 minutes, so the line can compete with walking. In my opinion what the line needs most is expansion, so it can serve some real traffic generators. The original plan was for a 50-mile system, and while that may not be achieved, the least that can be done is an extension eastward to the Beltline (1.6 miles) followed by a further push westward from downtown to MARTA's Bankhead station or north along Peachtree St. Dave and I had an excellent walk--east on Auburn to the carhouse/shop facility and then circling back to Park Place via Edgewood, with me taking pictures all the way. Despite being from the north, Dave was well versed on the sights along the line, especially the excellent historic building stock that may well be renovated, possibly as a result of neighborhood gentrification brought about by the construction of the line. Among the

4 points of interest he pointed out the locations of Georgia Power's former carhouses. Upon reaching the new facility Dave remarked that about two weeks earlier "some genius" had sneaked into the fenced compound and sprayed two of the cars parked outside, despite motion sensors and a [presumably sleeping] night watchman. The graffiti was removed quickly. We pondered on why the cars were left outdoors as the building is enormous. We then rode from Woodruff Park to the Olympic Park layover point, adjacent to the "Skyride" (a ferris wheel), and continued around the loop aboard the same car to the Sweet Auburn Market, where we stopped for a delicious hot pie lunch (a southern delicacy). Dave's car was parked nearby and I was soon treated to more sightseeing (see below). Here are my photos of the Atlanta streetcar. Although the Atlanta Streetcar operates in a loop, there is a spot on the way round where the tracks are briefly squeezed together on the same street (see map above). A crossover for cars having to be cut back was built along that short stretch of Luckie Street. Dave Phraner is at right in this view at the Woodruff Park stop. The car on the left will turn onto Park Place, joining the crossover rails.

5 A view of the streetcar's rear shows the Big Bethel AME Church looming above the Sweet Auburn Historic District. Prior to its restoration, the Odd Fellows Hall on Auburn Avenue was home to the only movie theater in Atlanta that allowed African-Americans to sit in the orchestra, rather than the balcony. Next page top and bottom:: Two views of the Atlanta Streetcar with parts of Atlanta's skyline in the background. The top view shows a eastbound car along Edgewood Avenue at Piedmont Avenue. In the lower view, an eastbound car stops at the Park Place station.

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7 Dave took me on a tour of the area east of the carline, which had seen better days, but seems to be coming back. With our destination being the Beltline, a railroad right-of-way where much of the abandoned sections have been converted to an urban rail trail with quite a few amenities, our route took us through the tree-lined Inman Park neighborhood, an attractive area with a mixture of small cottages and Victorian mansions that seems to be gentrifying after a decline. We stopped at a former trolley car barn that was built in 1889 and now has been beautifully restored to its original appearance as a very large event space for weddings, meetings, banquets and the like. We continued to the former Atlanta & West Point Railway Belt Line station that is now an upscale restaurant. I found it interesting that the A&WP, which ran in a southwesterly direction from Atlanta, had a station in the eastern part of the city. But I believe it was part of the Georgia Railroad, whose main line ran (runs) eastward, so the vagaries of early railroad construction and finance may have resulted in that company owning Atlanta's belt railroad. (I well remember the joint passenger timetable folder issued by the Georgia Railroad, the A&WP and the Western Railroad of Atlanta.) Dave then drove me past the beautiful State Capitol, where we stopped for a photo, and finally dropped me at MARTA's Georgia State station. Part 18 will be the last chapter in this Summer 2015 report, and will cover my rides on MARTA's rapid transit system and the return home.