Eric D. Lawrence

Detroit Free Press

The red paint on the outside of the QLINE’s first streetcar has a slight orange tint.

And the message boards on what is Detroit’s first streetcar in decades display a simple message, “Hello Detroit.”

The Free Press and other news media got a first glimpse today inside the first of the six, three-section streetcars that will make up the QLINE fleet. The streetcar is named No. 287 in honor of Detroit’s last streetcar, No. 286, in the 1950s.

► Related: QLINE construction to stop clogging Woodward by Thanksgiving

For Paul Childs, the chief operating officer for M-1 Rail, the most interesting thing about the modern cars is how they are made.

“Each one of these cars is handmade,” said Childs, whose organization owns and operates the QLINE. “It’s pretty amazing to see that come together.”

The streetcar arrived in Detroit last week after being built at the Brookville Equipment factory in Pennsylvania, and after some preparation, now sports the QLINE and other logos on its tinted windows. After the paint cures sufficiently, those logos will be transferred onto other prominent spots on the car.

► Related: Small, motorized car to test QLINE route downtown

Childs led a tour in and around the car as it sat parked inside the Penske Tech Center on Woodward Avenue near Bethune. At 66 feet from end to end, the streetcar is built to accommodate 125 passengers “comfortably,” with just over 30 seated and the rest standing, but Childs explained that it can hold more.

“We have a thing called crush capacity, which you all know about because it happens on Opening Day on the People Mover. That’s where you get up close and personal with all your friends or people you don’t even know. So we can almost double that amount of people in the car. It’s just going to get real cozy,” Childs said.

Inside, the streetcar has room for four wheelchairs and hooks for two bikes to hang in the center section. The seats are metallic with plush burgundy and patterned cushions. Operator or driver compartments are on each end of the streetcar because the cars will not turn around when they complete the 3.3-mile line. Instead, the driver will change compartments when he or she needs to head in the other direction.

► Related: $15.5-million contract announced for QLINE operator

The instrument panel inside the operator’s cab or compartment has a series of push buttons to open or close any of the four doors or blast a horn. There’s a bright red emergency brake button as well. A display screen shows the entire streetcar, which also uses cameras inside and out.

The streetcar has a pantograph on the roof, which will lift up and touch the overhead wires in various spots along Woodward as it drives to charge the batteries. The heating and cooling units are on the roof of the streetcar, which will also have WiFi available.

The system is not expected to be operational until April — Childs said definitively that Opening Day for the Tigers will not be the system’s first day — but the streetcars will be moving on Woodard probably around February to, among other things, allow the 15 operators to get qualified on actual road driving. The streetcars could probably hit 56 m.p.h., but will be kept at the 35-m.p.h. speed limit. Childs noted that the streetcars have GPS technology, so speeds will be monitored.

The Free Press reported earlier this month that the system is estimated to cost $142 million. Construction on Woodward is expected to be largely done in time for Thanksgiving.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @_ericdlawrence.

QLINE streetcar at a glance

Size: 66 feet in length. Three sections, articulated.

Color: Red and white.

How many people can it carry? An average of 125 passengers.

Height: 15 feet, not counting the pantograph when it extends.

Weight: 87,000 pounds

Speed: Will be kept at 35 m.p.h., but has the ability to go faster.

Cost: $3 million each, although the total contract, including spare parts and support services is $32 million.

Fares: $1.50 for walk-ups, although various passes will be offered.

Manufacturer: Brookville Equipment, Brookville, Pa.

Power source: The streetcars will use an overhead catenary system of electrified wires for charging the batteries.

Streetcars by the numbers