Smile43 Namesake
Today I was waiting for a 43 to take me home from school when my favorite bus (#4026) pulled up! I was so happy that I boarded with a huge smile on my face...
...which got me thinking about my namesake: Smile43.
The story is that there is a bus driver, often on the 43 and 49, who puts a sign in his front window with one word -- SMILE. It's very positive. Well, one night the spotting crew was eating cupcakes in Madrona when M*A*N spotted a Metro driver buying cupcakes wearing a button on her jacket that said "SMILE." He inquired about it and she said to check out
www.smile-video.com. Be still my heart! I'm sure it's worth the $600.
So that's why my name is great.
cross border spotters
I mentioned Vancouver in a recent comment and I am now really hoping to go there. Doing some archival research I came upon an exciting
website dedicated to BC Trolley Buses!
Wait, check this out!
photos of the new coaches in action. Not vintage but I like!
Weekend recap
It was a quiet weekend for Multiple O. Given the long holiday weekend, the Metro ran every whack model it owns so nothing interesting was spotted. (I also hypothesize that construction on Broadway prevented the 49 from running any trolley models.) I do think that a Metro driver saw me slip through 3 feet of mud during a rainy run near Group Health on Thursday.
I was purusing some of the comments on previous posts and will do my best to satisfy MK's request for some teen idol or emo rocker drama on the bus. Given that Ben Gibbard no longer lives on Capitol Hill, our next best option may be some dude from the Lashes. But given that they all look the same, and the smoking ban is soon to take effect (thus driving the hipsters down to Portland), MK has put us up to quite a challenge!
Hard core diss
The Stranger printed a
hard core diss of Seattle buses today. The politics and logistics of Bus Rapid Transit, however, will live to see another day on Multiple Options since the Stranger redeemed itself by including a stunning picture of the #4211 to accompany its story. (This may be used a training archival spot for those of you still confused by the significance of the 4200 series.)
One last question: is this coach teal or green or blue?
BREAKING NEWS!
#4214 had its debut spot this morning heading north onroute 49 on Broadway at 8:50am!! The newest 4200 series coaches have emerged!!!
4026 Re-emerges!
I thought that the #4026 (my fave coach) was gone for good since I hadn't spotted it since the summertime. But I spotted it today cruising north on 15th on route 43 at 12:15pm. Now, I can't wait until the anxiously-awaited #4226 makes its debut!
rigorous analysis
The Multiple Options team has made an important discovery on the worldwide web: Deep within Seattle Metro's web site is the secret code sought by spotters: Bus Model descriptions and Coach numbers!! I encourage you to browse the options and select a target for spotting:
4000 series,
4200 series, or explore!
Whats more, learn your history! The glorious
story of Trolley Buses in Seattle!
Archival spotting
Q: What do you do when nothing exciting is going on in the world of Multiple Options?
A: Archival bus spotting!
This is an activity that involves looking at old photos for the presence of coaches. Someone suggested looking at the entire Seattle Times microfiche archive in an effort to spot every single Metro bus ever in print. While this sounds exciting, I must limit myself to spotting by happenstance. Today's spot is picture I found of coach #999. Seeing this makes me a little sad that I will probably never have a live-action 3-digit spot.
What does the future hold?
Today I Googled the phrase "Seattle Metro 4200 series." Guess who is the #1 hit?! Yes, it is Multiple Options. I have been thinking a lot about what is in store for the Multiple O 4200 series spotting crew. To my delight, Google also led me to this posting from a Seattle P-I transportation forum:
"Posted by
diehardTRANSITadvocate at 10/16/04 5:53 p.m. in reply to:
#547167 Recenty on Route 7, I have been seeing and even rode once, a 4200 trackless trolley. They are the 5000 series Dual-Modes recently given their discharge from tunnel duty, the Diesel COmponents disabled or removed, and turned into Pure Trackless Trolleys, These will replace the 4000 series Articulated Trolleys, but their is a surprise. Metro only needed to replace 46 of those.They converted 60. Sounds like something is up."
Yes, this is from two years ago, but it is crutial information in our quest for options. We could someday be spotting #4259! And, by the way, does this spotter read our own forum?
the circle is unbroken
I'm proud to say that Friday Morning I was able to spot the elusive 4210 coach on the 49 route towards the U district at 8:45. The Multiple Options team has now spotted 4200-4213! Lets roll out 4214+!
13 truly is a magic number at Metro right now. In fact, 4013 is my new favorite coach. I believe it has a completely unique color scheme. At a strategic seat at Red Line Cafe I was able to spot it several times over the course of Thursday afternoon on the 43 route. Watch out for it!
Options in the news
Two references to options were in yesterday's news. Of note:
The Chicago Transit Authority
purchased a handful of hybrid buses. (Please note the reference to the mighty Seattle Metro in the linked article!) In my humble opinion, however, hybrids just don't do it for me in the same way that the elegant, whistling trolleys do. Just imagine what the intersection of Ashland and Belmont would look like with a three-way intersection full of cables hanging overhead! (Or for our hipster readers, North and Damen!)
The
Monorail died. My fellow Chicago spotter, Jason, and I used to follow Seattle Monorail politics despite living 2000 miles away from it.
Finally, I should add that today I discovered the option of Being Healthy Again. I apologize to the Seattle Metro riders that may have been infected with the Cold From Hell during my frequent sickly commutes to and from school.
Local maximum, global maximum?
I propose two spotting goals:
1) What is the maximum numbered coach of the 4000 series? (Is it 4045?)
2) For how long will the 4213 remain the maximum numbered coach of the 4200 series? (And thus, the Metro global maximum!)
BK doesn't just stand for Burger King any more
As of 8:30am this morning, BK stands for Bus Karma. And today I had plenty of it.
Today is my Free Day and I planned to spend it being a productive, paper-writing grad student in the library. I was in a good mood and left my house with plans to catch the 49 to campus. Somewhat to my dismay I saw the 49 whisk past me when I approached Broadway and Republican. See, the bus stop is actually two blocks up Broadway at Roy, so I assumed that I had just barely missed the bus. But whatever, I am not one to chase my bus -- I firmly believe that you're either there on-time or too bad so sad. Another bus is bound to come at some point, so if you can't be there on time, your punishment is that you must wait. Anyway, I kept walking toward my bus stop and the bus didn't move. Through some karma-riffic miracle the bus decided to "make up time" at my stop! Thus, I was able to get to campus without having to chase it down or wait an additional 15 minutes for the next one! Furthermore, if I had had to take the next bus, I would have been caught in a torrential downpour without an umbrella. Let's see how the ride home goes...
vintage meets grunge
While its usually contrary to the spotters code of ethics to interfere with the natives, I couldn't resist posting this image for all the spotters around the world curious about the back window of the 4000 series. This the inside of the lovely 4001 "rouge" coach, along with a true "Seattle-style" rider.
What all the kids are talkin' about
Tonight M*A*N and I had our quarterly State of the Options meeting where we talked about the current trends, fads, and eccentricities of the Seattle Metro bus system. The "talk of the town" at tonight's gathering was obvious: Bus #4013.
#4013 is usually seen on the 49 route, but also makes appearances on the 43 from time to time. So what is all the fuss about? Well, the #4013 appears to be a completely unique Metro coach! For example:
- One of the few non-white 4000-series coaches
- Yellow doors
- (and most importantly) the black "rogue" rear panel, also popularized by the #4044 and more recently the #4001
Today M*A*N rode said coach in the morning -- I saw it stopped at Broadway and Republican during my afternoon run. It's a treat to spot.
