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ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit
2/3 - Saturday, August 12, 2017

   
Another shot of the Erb/Caroline area, at the South end of the Waterloo Spur Test Track. Again, I like the choices of greenery here around the signal house there on the left.

   
The Waterloo Spur, through Waterloo Park. Big upgrades are coming to the Promenade just off to the right, here, starting in September.

   
Catpole detail.

   

   
Looking North along the Waterloo Spur, from the University of Waterloo. That's Columbia Ave. in the foreground.
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3/3 - Saturday, August 12, 2017

   
Spotted this little cutie in the OMSF yard; a Geismar VCP

   
Thanks to a tip-off from John (nice to meet you!!), I headed back home along the Spur Line Trail and got to see the second overheight/overwidth detector (this one at the South end) being wired today.

   
As a reminder, these arrays will trigger a derail device further down if a freight train is too high or too wide to safely pass along the shared LRT corridor.

   
Mass Electric doing their thing on a Saturday. Thanks, guys!
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(08-12-2017, 10:23 PM)Canard Wrote: The look and feel of King Street has changed dramatically in Midtown.

Has it ever! I went to high school at KCI and knew the streetscape on King very well - it was in terrible shape and long overdue for an upgrade. I'm glad it finally got done, LRT or no.
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(08-12-2017, 10:25 PM)Canard Wrote: 3/3 - Saturday, August 12, 2017


Spotted this little cutie in the OMSF yard; a Geismar VCP


Thanks to a tip-off from John (nice to meet you!!), I headed back home along the Spur Line Trail and got to see the second overheight/overwidth detector (this one at the South end) being wired today.


As a reminder, these arrays will trigger a derail device further down if a freight train is too high or too wide to safely pass along the shared LRT corridor.


Mass Electric doing their thing on a Saturday. Thanks, guys!

"GEXR High Wide Detector Mile Post Knot point 9 Waterloo Spur. Critical Alarm. Clearance Defect near axle 3. Repeat. Clearance Defect near axle 3. Message Complete. Detector Out."  

Tongue
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Ha, that takes me back! When I was a little kid, my dad had a scanner and we'd listen to train activity everywhere we went. I think I remember the message I'd always here on our local little box...

"CP... detector. Mile... eight... two... point... four..... Galt... sub.... Total axles... (whatever).... No alarm. No alarm."

(It was some kind of "hot axle" detector if I recall correctly - maybe to detect a seized bearing?)
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(08-13-2017, 06:54 AM)Canard Wrote: (It was some kind of "hot axle" detector if I recall correctly - maybe to detect a seized bearing?)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defect_detector
...K
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I noticed that the "No Stopping" sign that had been put right in front of the KCI sign a year ago, and then removed shortly afterwards when people complained about how much it ruined the look of the newly redone entrance, has been added back. Maybe they had problems with parents stopping on King St there?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/rideIONrt">@rideIONrt</a> Can we move this important little sign away from the very centre of our showpiece?  Please? <a href="https://t.co/dRybGsMt4R">pic.twitter.com/dRybGsMt4R</a></p>&mdash; Matt Morris (@Matthew_Morris) <a href="https://twitter.com/Matthew_Morris/status/778930171642609664">September 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
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(08-13-2017, 09:31 AM)goggolor Wrote: I noticed that the "No Stopping" sign that had been put right in front of the KCI sign a year ago, and then removed shortly afterwards when people complained about how much it ruined the look of the newly redone entrance, has been added back. Maybe they had problems with parents stopping on King St there?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/rideIONrt">@rideIONrt</a> Can we move this important little sign away from the very centre of our showpiece?  Please? <a href="https://t.co/dRybGsMt4R">pic.twitter.com/dRybGsMt4R</a></p>&mdash; Matt Morris (@Matthew_Morris) <a href="https://twitter.com/Matthew_Morris/status/778930171642609664">September 22, 2016</a></blockquote>

A better solution would be to put two no-stopping signs, one at each side. Then, while there would be more in total, there would be none right in front of the school sign.
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1) Does the delay in the start of revenue service affect the implementation plans for the baseline service schedule? i.e. will the preliminary improvements outlined in the baseline schedule be delayed in proportion to the delay in start-up of revenue service?

2) When should the region exercise its option on the additional vehicles to ensure they are delivered on-time? The original vehicle order was July of 2013 and four years later they still aren't here. So if the baseline schedule is showing a need for additional vehicles in 2021 should we not order them now?
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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1) I would expect so.

2) there won't (shouldn't be) an identical delay for additional vehicles. The delays are caused by startup of production in NA, since it's a totally new platform. By the time we order our next batch of 14 (maybe we should wait until service starts to monitor if more will be required?), Toronto should already have close 200 of them out of Millhaven.
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Let's assume that they are done our first 14 (which of course they aren't) and started on the rest of the 182 Metrolinx ordered today.

Even if they produce 1 week for the next four years, which is twice the production they claim to be hitting now (still no results to prove that claim yet), they would finish #182 in February of 2021 and still have the 30(?) or so Edmonton ordered to work on next and then any other orders that come in before starting on ours.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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(08-13-2017, 01:33 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: Let's assume that they are done our first 14 (which of course they aren't) and started on the rest of the 182 Metrolinx ordered today.

Even if they produce 1 week for the next four years, which is twice the production they claim to be hitting now (still no results to prove that claim yet), they would finish #182 in February of 2021 and still have the 30(?) or so Edmonton ordered to work on next and then any other orders that come in before starting on ours.

Metrolinx doesn’t need all the ones it ordered. With the Sheppard and Scarborough lines in limbo and the Finch line enormously delayed, they should be happy Bombardier doesn’t have too many vehicles coming down the pipeline. We could probably take as many as we could possibly need out of the end of Metrolinx’ order, especially with the additional Alstom* vehicles they have ordered on their way.

* I originally said Siemens but Canard corrected me. Thanks!
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You mean Alstom (CITADIS Spirit, the same model developed for Ottawa).

Spotted this happening today and had to laugh out loud.

   
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(08-12-2017, 10:25 PM)Canard Wrote: 3/3 - Saturday, August 12, 2017
As a reminder, these arrays will trigger a derail device further down if a freight train is too high or too wide to safely pass along the shared LRT corridor.

So is there a red light or something before the de-railer? I only ask say, if someone put a bucket on a boxcar, and set off the detector, derailing a train seems extreme...

Coke
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Or, when a train is right about to hit the derailer, could someone wave cardboard on a stick in order to trigger the derailer without any chance of the train avoiding it (or waving it as the train goes through the sensor)? I would hope that the system would have additional safeguards in order to prevent this from happening.
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