f ron
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Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Jul 14, 2014 10:47:31 GMT -8
Northvale Trench Update: They've installed LED overhead lighting on top of all the catenary poles along the trench. This is a new and unexpected wrinkle --does anyone here have any experience with this type of lighting? Is it super direct or will there be a degree of overspray and and unwanted ambient lighting during the night time hours? It's particularly concerning for those who live in close, elevated proximity along the south side as Metro couldn't be bothered to spring for any visors to better direct the light downwards. Most LEDs are very directional, similar to halogen spot lights. As long as the right type of LEDs are picked, the light should remain around the tracks and the bottom of the trench, with very little light wasted to the sides. I don't think the neighbors have anything to be concerned about. I did a casual comparison this weekend to the street lights which have been installed around the city. At eye level (which is where these lights hang outside the neighborhood windows) a visible and very bright strip of illumination can been seen. Not the kind of thing one wants to look at directly. A relatively inexpensive hood over the lights would eliminate the problem entirely. Even the halogen spots your mention use these.
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Post by darrell on Jul 16, 2014 14:19:07 GMT -8
I was just looking at Google maps and saw a railroad track shown along Expo from east of Sepulveda to Motor and from Palms station to west of Bagley. It appears they're capturing the construction progress almost in real time!
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Post by darrell on Jul 16, 2014 15:30:08 GMT -8
The Source just published a photo of the first new Kinkisharyo LVR arriving in Long Beach (h/t Dwight)! Exciting news! The first of the 78 Kinkisharyo light rail vehicles Metro ordered has arrived in the Port of Long Beach, less than 23 months after Kinkisharyo was given the notice to proceed in August 2012. To see the car in its unwrapped glory during testing in Japan, see video below.
In compliance with Buy America’s final assembly contract provisions, the car will be transported to the new Kinkisharyo facility in Palmdale, where final assembly and vehicle testing will take place. The car is scheduled to be shipped from the Palmdale facility to Metro by October 2014.
The new light rail vehicles will be used in support of the openings of Expo Phase II and Gold Line Foothill Extension. Metro has already exercised two of four options to buy an additional 97 vehicles to be used on other projects — the Crenshaw/LAX Line, the Regional Connector and replacement of other rail cars currently in use.
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Post by John Ryan on Jul 17, 2014 0:11:42 GMT -8
What impact does this have, if any, on Expo's opening date?
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Post by bzcat on Jul 17, 2014 9:19:18 GMT -8
No impact for now. But if Metro is taking delivery much faster than previously believed possible, then the line could open in 2015.
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jul 17, 2014 13:25:54 GMT -8
Yeah but to be clear Metro hasn't taken delivery of any cars and won't for quite some time. The first cars will not only need to finish being built but the cars will need to be tested. I seem to recall from the last contract that the first fee cars inherently take the longest to accept.
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Post by roadtrainer on Jul 18, 2014 8:03:24 GMT -8
Well they show a half, was there a second half shipped too?
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Post by roadtrainer on Jul 18, 2014 8:06:26 GMT -8
Okay can we get a factory tour?
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Post by roadtrainer on Jul 18, 2014 8:15:29 GMT -8
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Post by darrell on Jul 22, 2014 23:26:44 GMT -8
New photos from this afternoon, including a really big milestone ... The eastbound rails are being attached to the Venice Bridge. Eastbound track is in place up the ramp, but not continuous yet to Phase 1 per the first photo (looking east from Bagley). Poles, arms, and LED lights are up west from Bagley. First section of wire is up! Messenger wire over both tracks runs from just north of the pedestrian bridge to a little west of Overland. Dwight also posted photos of it being hung yesterday. Close-up, with new copper shining in the sun. . And crossing Overland.
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Post by darrell on Jul 23, 2014 10:46:59 GMT -8
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Post by bzcat on Jul 24, 2014 9:17:49 GMT -8
Much progress!
With the exception of the yard, would you estimate the line is now more than 75% complete?
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Post by gatewaygent on Jul 24, 2014 9:56:14 GMT -8
Not that it's going to happen--it would be way too much to hope for--but wouldn't it be something if both the Foothill Extension and Phase 2 were completed, tested, and opened to revenue service at the same time? There'd be a shortage of cars for sure, but wow! What a problem to have!
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Post by bobdavis on Jul 25, 2014 15:20:39 GMT -8
Not sure if this is still the case, but on a number of weekends, I've seen Kiewit crews working at Gold Line sites on Saturdays. Goin' hammer & tongs! Question for the Expo observers: Is Mass Electric doing the overhead contact system (what we old timers call "trolley wire") and/or the signal and communications installations? They're doing both on the Foothill Extension, and the company has been doing electrical work in the LA area ever since they wired up the Metrolink San Bernardino Line in the early 1990s (now if Metrolink will just decide to electrify so they can install trolley wire all the way to San Bernardino...)
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Post by joshuanickel on Jul 25, 2014 15:58:35 GMT -8
Not sure if this is still the case, but on a number of weekends, I've seen Kiewit crews working at Gold Line sites on Saturdays. Goin' hammer & tongs! Question for the Expo observers: Is Mass Electric doing the overhead contact system (what we old timers call "trolley wire") and/or the signal and communications installations? They're doing both on the Foothill Extension, and the company has been doing electrical work in the LA area ever since they wired up the Metrolink San Bernardino Line in the early 1990s (now if Metrolink will just decide to electrify so they can install trolley wire all the way to San Bernardino...) I have seen their trucks along the alignment and their website confirms their involvement: Expo Line Culver City to Santa Monica LRT Phase II
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Post by joshuanickel on Jul 25, 2014 16:06:03 GMT -8
Next rail crossing to be done is Barrington:
Once Barrington is done, that will just leave 6th and 7th in Santa Monica which will be done concurrently according to Dwight due to an interlocking between 6th and 7th Street.
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Jul 25, 2014 21:54:47 GMT -8
Not sure if this is still the case, but on a number of weekends, I've seen Kiewit crews working at Gold Line sites on Saturdays. Goin' hammer & tongs! Question for the Expo observers: Is Mass Electric doing the overhead contact system (what we old timers call "trolley wire") and/or the signal and communications installations? They're doing both on the Foothill Extension, and the company has been doing electrical work in the LA area ever since they wired up the Metrolink San Bernardino Line in the early 1990s (now if Metrolink will just decide to electrify so they can install trolley wire all the way to San Bernardino...) I think this recent photo near Military Avenue will confirm: 07-17 Military ave, truck with signal sensors looking EastBTW, it seems Kiewit bought Mass. Electric Co in the 1990's ( Mass elec - History)
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Post by darrell on Jul 28, 2014 13:19:14 GMT -8
New photos from this afternoon, including a really big milestone ... . And crossing Overland. I saw hangers from the messenger wire at Overland last night; contact wire coming this week?
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f ron
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Jul 28, 2014 15:04:38 GMT -8
New photos from this afternoon, including a really big milestone ... . And crossing Overland. I saw hangers from the messenger wire at Overland last night; contact wire coming this week? In fact, it came today --both east and westbound tracks!
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Post by davebowman on Aug 1, 2014 8:58:26 GMT -8
When I drove by the Olympic/Cloverfield bridge this morning there was a lot of activity and I saw piles of ballast, so I'm guessing they've started to install the rails.
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Post by darrell on Aug 1, 2014 15:54:54 GMT -8
I saw hangers from the messenger wire at Overland last night; contact wire coming this week? In fact, it came today --both east and westbound tracks! We at least need an "after" photo here - how about this Ron Miller one via The Source:
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Post by darrell on Aug 2, 2014 9:56:28 GMT -8
I got by Overland yesterday evening for these photos of the completed catenary. Too bad you can't really photograph the full shine of the copper reflecting the sun.
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Post by darrell on Aug 4, 2014 21:40:48 GMT -8
Dwight asked me if there were any tracks from the yard to the Pico bridge. Here's a drive-by on Barrington, showing they're getting close to its grade crossing but no tracks here yet. Looking north at the Barrington crossing with part of the street closed. Looking east; it appears to be a concrete truck on the Pico bridge at the extreme right. And looking west toward the Bundy bridge.
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Post by tramfan on Aug 5, 2014 12:25:09 GMT -8
last nigth when I came home from work I noticed the tractor that lays ties and pulls rail on the Westside of Military. When I looked to the East there were rails stacked up on a long bed stretched halfway to Westwoood Blvd. I sent some pictures of this to Dwight last night. This morning they were pulling the rails over the Military crossing up the Sepulveda ramp along the platform of the Sepulveda station overpass. Before I left for work I took some pictures of this. I will send them tonight to Dwight so he can post them. It was quite an interesting exercise pulling the rail up the ramp. The most interesting thing was the sound the rail made. On my way to work I drove by the Barley crossing and looking East I saw that both sides of the ramp had rails on them: was the connection finally made? it would mean continuous track from 7th Street to Military!
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f ron
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Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Aug 5, 2014 19:06:03 GMT -8
Dwight asked me if there were any tracks from the yard to the Pico bridge. Here's a drive-by on Barrington, showing they're getting close to its grade crossing but no tracks here yet. It's really interesting to me, this stretch --how comparatively less has been completed. The state of the of the construction zone zone is also notable for the hieght of overgrown weeds and the amount of tagging that's taken place. Most of the the ROW is kept pretty clean and pristine and one senses a great deal of work and progress taking place. You just don't see this kind of thing in other parts of the Phase 2 operations. --and it's not even an especially sketchy part of town, yet for all appearences it's the neglected one.
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Post by bzcat on Aug 7, 2014 10:08:33 GMT -8
Military crossing was closed this morning and crews were working there. Not sure what they were working on.
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f ron
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Posts: 222
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Post by f ron on Aug 7, 2014 12:44:15 GMT -8
Military crossing was closed this morning and crews were working there. Not sure what they were working on. Does anyone here know why the curbface at the Military crossing is so high relative to the grade of Exposition Boulevard?
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Post by darrell on Aug 7, 2014 22:11:51 GMT -8
Bridge updates from this afternoon: Track is going up the eastern ramp of the Cloverfield-Olympic bridge (looking west from 26th) ... ... but not yet the western ramp (east from 20th). Looking west at the Bundy bridge from Bed Bath & Beyond ... ... and east at Barrington and Pico. Track still doesn't extend east beyond Stewart, where they seem to be building a vibration-absorbing section by the sound studios.
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Post by tramfan on Aug 8, 2014 12:12:27 GMT -8
On the Northside of Military they were drilling a horizontal hole for the duct pipe of the Westside crossing gate. On the Southside of Military they were digging a trench for a sewer pipe/storm drain pipe.
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Post by tramfan on Aug 8, 2014 12:26:33 GMT -8
The curb face on Military looks high but it is level with the crossing. I imagine the pavement will be replaced and leveled with the curbs.
Driving by the Westwood crossing this morning at 7 AM there was a flatbed truck with teal station awning supports. Since the Westwood station seems to have already all of them installed would these be for the Palms or Sepulveda station?
I will shoot some photos this weekend of the progress around my house on Exposition/Military.
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