Western door openin g6/7/2023 Sometimes theses motors come out and they’re all busted up. “Then it has to be cleaned and we inspect it. “We completely disassemble them 100 percent everything gets removed,” Pituch said. It takes the pair an average of four or five hours to rebuild a motor. Having an in-house rebuilding program saves about 60 percent of the cost of purchasing new motors, with each ringing up for about $2,600. Carmen Gary Pituch and Don Reichert are responsible for rebuilding motors at Western Avenue. With a steady demand for working door motors, Metra five years ago established a team to rebuild them once they’ve been pulled from a car. “Just like you take your car to the dealership and you want your car back, it’s the same thing.” “Where the challenge comes in is the fact that we only have so many spare cars, so that means a lot of this stuff is done out in the yard and has to be done in a set number of hours because that train has to go back into service,” George said. When a motor fails unexpectedly, the pressure is on to get it replaced, said Shon George, the director of Milwaukee District Mechanical. Sometimes an electrical circuit gets shorted, or a piece breaks while a train is in service. Not all door motor replacements are scheduled. “If a door doesn’t open, you can’t send the car out for passengers to get in,” Agboola said. ![]() Carman Tom Dabek and Electrician Olalekan Agboola perform about two of these inspections a week, meaning they’re pulling and replacing eight motors weekly. Scheduled replacements for Metra’s Milwaukee and North Central Service lines are done in Metra’s Western Avenue shop as part of a larger mechanical inspection. They’re responsible for disconnecting the motor from the car’s electric system, removing it entirely from the car and installing a rebuilt motor in its place. ![]() The process involves a duo consisting of a carman and an electrician. When a train conductor pushes a particular button in the car’s vestibule, it sends an electrical feed to the motor, which repositions an air valve, allowing an air cylinder to physically open or close the doors.Įach motor has to be replaced every four years. At Metra, ensuring they are in working order involves a team of carmen and electricians who remove, rebuild and replace these machines.Įach car has four loading door motors, which are electrically powered and pneumatically operated. The loading door motor is a critical part of every commuter railcar, opening and closing more than 100 times through the course of the day to let riders on and off the train. Tucked in the corner of the bathroom and beneath the stairs in every Metra car sits a small piece of machinery that enables all Metra commutes.
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