by Harvey Hylton
The long-awaited day came Sunday, 8/20/00, with the new ETB extensions being placed in revenue service. Routes 3 &4 used the new Eastown Hub; 8-N ran to the new Northwest Hub. The Westown hub didn't see route 1-W and 8-W ETB's until Monday morning, 8/21/00. Route 3-w has been using Westown hub inbound since March; outbound 3-W trolleys do not loop the hub, but have a passenger stop on Elmhurst in front of the hub. Several diesel feeder busses use this hub.
Route 1-W, daytime (Mon-Sat), both outbound and inbound, to/from Drexel, now leave 3rd Street and loop around the Westown hub. (1 block North of 3rd on Elmhurst).
Daytime, route 8 has Northwest hub trolleys through-routed with the Nicholas Road branch, while the Westown hub trolleys terminate at the Salem/Fairgreen loop. After 6;30 PM, when the line-up (pulse) operation starts, route 8 runs from Northwest hub via the CBD out to the Bowie loop (Lakeside) and then does the Nicholas Road loop before returning to the CBD and Northwest hub. No Rte. 8 ETB runs the entire hub-to-hub length.
After the 6:30 PM line-up and on Sundays, Routes 1 & 3 on the West end, and 1-E (Mt. Crest) are combined , with a diesel. Route 3-E runs from Eastown hub to the CBD only, looping 3rd-St.Clair-4th-Wilkinson-3rd. Thus no ETB's use Westown hub at night or Sundays.
4-E zips straight out and back to/from
the Eastown hub on Linden Ave.; the old 4-E Hearthstone loop is
now part of the extended 3-E, with outbound 3-E trolleys travelling
North on Smithville Road from Wayne Avenue, east on Linden to
the hub. Returning, the 3 trolley makes a left turn into Hearthstone
from Linden, and uses the former 4-E loop as far as Arcadia and
Smithville. After a left turn from Arcadia into Smithville, 3
inbound travels one block South to Wayne, and then uses the usual
route back to the CBD, passing by the Fauver loop, which is now
a short-turn loop only.
This page last updated 23 AU 2000
