April 10--After two trolleys erupted in flames barely six months apart, Memphis Area Transit Authority officials have shut down the Madison line to conduct an investigation.
Buses will service that line until MATA officials are satisfied that they know why the trolleys caught fire, and are sure the remaining trolleys are safe, interim director Tom Fox said Thursday.
The Downtown and Riverfront trolleys will not be affected.
"It is worrisome. That's why we're conducting a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of this. Public safety is our concern," Fox said, adding that MATA is arranging for national experts to look at the problem. "We've had the fire department come in, the state come in. We've had electricians look at the controls."
One trolley caught fire on Nov. 4, the second on Monday. No one was seriously injured in either incident. Each fire started in the trolley's control stand, according to the Memphis Fire Department.
Both trolleys are damaged beyond repair, but MATA hopes to salvage some parts. Of the remaining 17 trolleys in MATA's fleet, three are being serviced, leaving 14 operational. All but one of the remaining trolleys are vintage cars made decades ago. Both cars that caught fire were manufactured in Melbourne, Australia, in the 1920s.
Fox said MATA suspects that characteristics of the Madison line may explain the fires. On Madison, the trolleys must go faster than they do on the Downtown lines. Also, the trolleys have to climb hills on Madison, requiring more power.
"Since both fires happened on Madison, and we've never had problems on the other lines, there are certain unique things on the Madison line that make us think it may be the trolleys and the line," Fox said. "That's what's different about the Madison line. That's a theory that we've got to explore."
While trolley fires aren't a daily occurrence around the country, they are not uncommon, either. Since 2010, trolleys have caught fire in Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Michigan, Georgia and California.
Copyright 2014 - The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
