Pittsburgh Railways OnLine

Port Authority U3/SD400 Light Rail Vehicles:
4101-4155
Siemens-Duewag, 1984-86

Pittsburgh remains a proud union town where "Buy American" still resonates. When the contract for Port Authority's new light rail vehicles was awarded to Siemens-Duewag, political and community pressure resulted in final assembly of the (West) German LRVs within Allegheny County.

Pittsburgh was the fourth city in North America to acquire Siemens equipment, following the successful deployment of the proven U2 design in Edmonton, Calgary and San Diego. Pittsburgh's U3 LRVs were later designated model SD400 by Siemens. The SD ("Siemens Duewag") nomenclature has replaced the U designation on subsequent North American car orders, but seems to lack any technical significance. St. Louis' Siemens LRVs also are classified as SD400s.

Port Authority's chopper-controlled U3 cars are some six feet longer and 16,500 pounds heavier than their U2 predecessors. The cars' monomotor trucks--a Siemens-Duewag hallmark--feature 275 hp motors to tackle Pittsburgh's drastic topography. Uneven wheel and gear wear have, not surprisingly, been a persistent problem, but Pittsburgh's monomotor cars are not unique in this regard.

The cars have three floor-level, double-stream doors per side, and one low-level single- stream door opposite the operator's area at either end. This somewhat unconventional arrangement was necessitated by Pittsburgh's mix of high-platform stations and low-platform stops. Fares are collected by attendants at some major stations, mostly during peak periods, but on-board fare collection prevails. For this reason, fareboxes are stationed behind the drivers' semi-enclosed cabs, and operators must turn around to issue transfers and monitor passengers passing the farebox.

Here is a broadside view of Port Authority LRV 4123, showing the driver's side. On the "curb" side, there is a low-level door at front; for reference, see photo of 4105, above. This photo was taken along the Library line, May 20, 2000.