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(Seattle Monorail honks horn)

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[MEGAN CHING] It definitely has challenges

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to maintain a legacy system.

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(scrubbing brush) 

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These trains are 60 years old.

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Each train has over a million miles on it.

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 [TRAIN OPERATOR] 1,365,048 miles.

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[MEGAN CHING] So they've traveled a long way.

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They've carried millions and millions of people.

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Every day our technicians work
 through this checklist,

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just making sure that the train is safe
 and ready to go.

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And then they do more thorough inspections
 of different components of the train

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based on the frequencies
 that are outlined in our maintenance plan.

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Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly
 and annually

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to make sure that the train is safe
 for operation.

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We have 64 tires on each train.

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What's visible
 right now is the guide tires, which run

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along the side of the beam.

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And then beyond that,

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you'll see on the top side of the beam
 there are two large load tires.

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They ride on the top of the beam,
 just like a car drives on the road.

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Our engineers spent a lot of time
 looking at tires and making sure that

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tire pressure is correct.

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So right over here, 
we're looking at the package.

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So this is like the equivalent
 of the transmission to your vehicle,

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just like your maybe
 manual vehicle has different gears,

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our train has different gears,
 or different points, as we call them.

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So we operate in first point
 and then you go a little faster

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and you go in a second point
 and then you go in a third point.

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A lot of the design

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intent from 1962
 is still absolutely reflected here,

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but some of the components like
 the package have been upgraded over time,

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especially as new technology
 becomes available.

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(fast-paced and upbeat music)

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These are the original trains,
 absolutely...

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Granted, you know,

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seat cushions have been replaced and,
 you know, things get replaced over time.

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But these are the original trains.

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They have never been
 taken off of the guideeways.

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At Seattle  Monorail Services,

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 we have about 30 employees that work here and

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our folks come from all over the country,
 all over the world, honestly.

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We have folks
 that have come from Ethiopia, from Sudan,

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from the Philippines, as well as people

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local like me that grew up here.

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(train announcement bell)

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It's a family feeling.

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Funny.

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This is my husband talking.

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It's a family affair.

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There's kind of a saying,
 we don't work at the monorail.

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We work for the monorail.

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And I think our staff has really embraced
 that.

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We recognize that it takes a lot of hard
 work to keep the system running.

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And we're just so proud
 that the system is celebrating 60 years.

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It's a huge milestone for the system, and
 we're excited to see it continue to run.

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(monorail horn honks)