In the face of public opposition and political pressure, the leader of striking SEPTA workers vowed yesterday to "stay out as long as it takes" to get a better contract offer from SEPTA.

Willie Brown, president of Transport Workers Union Local 234, also blasted Mayor Nutter as a "little Caesar" who would not be welcomed back to the negotiating table.

No talks were scheduled.

The second day of the strike by SEPTA bus drivers, subway and trolley operators, and mechanics brought more transportation misery to the region, with commuters and students stuck in traffic jams and stranded on train platforms.

To add to the day's woes, a Regional Rail train carrying 500 passengers caught fire in West Philadelphia, halting service on SEPTA's busiest rail line for two hours during the morning rush. No one was injured, but some riders had to escape the train through its windows.

In Delaware County, SEPTA obtained a court order to limit pickets at suburban bus and trolley lines, after strikers disrupted routes that were operating because their drivers belong to a different union. The temporary restraining order will allow the 101 and 102 trolley routes and suburban Victory Division buses to operate as usual, spokesman Richard Maloney said.

Seeking to end the strike, Gov. Rendell spoke with SEPTA officials yesterday and is to talk face to face today with union leaders.

"He's going to keep working on it," Rendell spokesman Gary Tuma said.

Brown said he welcomed Rendell's intervention, but would not meet with Nutter.

Brown said the strikers would "stay out as long as it takes to secure our pension."

SEPTA's funding of the workers' pensions has become the main sticking point in negotiations over a contract that Rendell yesterday described as "sensational."

The five-year contract offer from SEPTA included a $1,250 signing bonus upon ratification, a 2.5 percent raise the second year, and a 3 percent raise in each of the final three years.

It also called for no increase in the workers' health-insurance contributions, which is 1 percent of base pay. It called for an increase in workers' contributions to their pensions, as well as an increase in the maximum pension payment to retirees.

In addition to increased pension contributions from SEPTA, the union is seeking a wage increase of 3 percent for each year of a four-year contract.

SEPTA general manager Joseph Casey challenged Brown and the TWU leadership to present the agency's offer to the members.

"I guarantee you it would be ratified by the membership, if not unanimously, then overwhelmingly," Casey said. "It's an extremely generous contract."

Brown said the union would accept SEPTA's wage offer over five years if SEPTA withdrew its demand for more pension contributions from workers.

"If the offer is an 11 percent increase without taking any more money out of our pockets, we'll take it," Brown said.

Brown said Rendell's offer to give SEPTA $6 million from an economic-development fund in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to help pay for the contract sweeteners gave him clout in the negotiations.

On the other hand, Brown said, "Mayor Nutter has brought nothing to the table but dissension." He blamed the mayor for insisting there would be no strike despite the lack of an agreement.