ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Canard]

Video Tour - Sunday, July 17, 2016: King/Northfield (near Conestoga Terminus)

[KevinL]

Was up at Waterloo Park today, had a bit of a look around.

First time I'd seen this arrangement for transporting bundles of rail. Looks practical, if inelegant.



From the new pedestrian crossing. Looks properly polished and elegant! I note that only the left-side tracks here, the ones that will carry the freight trains, require those central guidance rails.



Opposite view.



Not so elegant: these old wooden railing pieces that have yet to be removed.



The TPSS is certainly a standout, but it seems offset enough from the tracks that a screen of bushes/trees could go in to obscure it some more.



And finally, some concerned citizen has alerted us to the presence of something classically monstrous within the culverts...

[Canard]

I was wondering what that meant. I thought maybe it was a Pokemon Go reference.

[Canard]

Sunday, July 17, 2016

   
The adorable rails on Duke at Queen.  Just look at 'em!

   
The curve from Duke onto Francis is now fully embedded in concrete.

   

   
Looking down Francis, from Duke (toward Victoria).

   
Looking back up Francis, toward Duke.

[tomh009]

Now that I'm back in town (at least for a bit), I did my usual morning walk.  It seems the focus of activity has switched away from Charles, though, but let's see whether anyone is back to work tomorrow.

Waiting for the platform construction across the street from the Benton-Charles garage.
   

A missing section added just E of Benton.  What are these sections with the pipes?
   

Hmmmm.  Those rails don't look quite ready!  (Just W of Cedar.)
   

LRT signals at Cedar!
   

The EB rails at Madison are in, but not the forms for pouring the concrete.
   

[tomh009]

The curved track between Stirling and Kent is looking good!
   

Some sections still need to be poured, though.
   

The EB car traffic is now crossing the tracks at Borden, allowing the rest of the EB track to be constructed.
   

[Canard]

The "missing sections with pipes" are where the ground wire is connected to complete the traction power loop. They were wiring that in last week.

[timc]

They have installed the arms on the gates at the Columbia Street crossing. The new lights are still covered though.

[tomh009]

The "missing sections with pipes" are where the ground wire is connected to complete the traction power loop. They were wiring that in last week.

Thanks!  Definitely was not obvious to me, but I haven't studied these systems so much ...

[BuildingScout]

They have installed the arms on the gates at the Columbia Street crossing. The new lights are still covered though.

I could never understand how exactly in a country where 1.5m fences are needed to keep pedestrians safe from trains, train crossings on roads have no arms. 

In Germany pretty much all train crossings seem to have arms. Even the tiniest, remotest ones.

[Canard]

The standards are changing. When new lines are built, more stringent safety requirements come into effect. Ie, ion.

[plam]

They have installed the arms on the gates at the Columbia Street crossing. The new lights are still covered though.

I could never understand how exactly in a country where 1.5m fences are needed to keep pedestrians safe from trains, train crossings on roads have no arms. 

In Germany pretty much all train crossings seem to have arms. Even the tiniest, remotest ones.

Unless they're not level crossings at all, which is pretty common in Europe.

Trams don't seem to operate under the same rules as trains. They run mixed with all sorts of traffic in urban areas in Zurich, although there are arms where they run faster near the airport.

[Pheidippides]

   
   
   
   
   

[Pheidippides]

   

[Canard]

I noticed the rolling going on at Erb/Caroline... That is a really, really good sign. You know what comes next!