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ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit
I was wondering about visibility of station signs when I went past Northfield on the weekend. That station name is visible from ... the office building next door, I think. So if I was passing on Northfield Drive, I may not notice the station at all. A sign near the street might be helpful. But that station is supposed to have a Park & Ride facility, so maybe there is more to come.
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If you're on the train, the automated announcements and LED sign boards will let you know which stop is next. Here's how they look in Toronto on their FLEXITY Outlook LRV's:

   
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There should be symbology that helps guide people to the stations more visibly, like how there's a TTC logo guiding pedestrians (and others) to the entrances to subway stations.
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(05-08-2017, 10:20 AM)Coke6pk Wrote: So looking at the anchor walls, the Station Name is easily visible from most of the roadways/sidewalks nearby (in most cases), but not at ones where they are immediately against the roadway [ie. Allen ... you can't see the station name until you are beside it].  The picture from the tracks approaching Fairway made me think of this fact... Are the anchor walls made to identify the station for the surrounding areas, or for those on the LRT?  And if its the latter, will they depend on interior signage on the train, or are there additional track level wayfinding signs on the lamp posts?

Coke

Trains will have interior signage and audio announcements. There may be smaller signs at platform level, as well.
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(05-08-2017, 12:26 PM)Canard Wrote: If you're on the train, the automated announcements and LED sign boards will let you know which stop is next. Here's how they look in Toronto on their FLEXITY Outlook LRV's:

[Image: attachment.php?aid=3667]
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Hmmm.  I saw this in the Toronto Star:

   
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Rude!
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Many a true word hath been spoken in jest.  Wink
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I LOL'd. Sorry Canard. Wink

Coke
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It's okay. If the one thing we have to gripe about the system is our [beautiful, world-class, enviable] trains are a couple of months late, that's okay!

Most transport projects are years late and encounter all sorts of horrific problems, budget overruns, worker fatalities, all those sorts of things. People here just need something to bitch about. Wink
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Speaking of, wasn't the official opening of ION supposed to have been this month or the previous month (per original schedule)? Might be interesting to track the schedule to see how far it has been pushed back, and (fingers crossed against this but) how much farther it gets pushed.
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No no, it was always Fall of 2017.

Top surface concrete pour happening right now at Laurier - Waterloo Park!!
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(05-09-2017, 05:50 PM)Canard Wrote: No no, it was always Fall of 2017.

Top surface concrete pour happening right now at Laurier - Waterloo Park!!

I bicycled by on my way home. It looked like they were brooming something onto the already-poured layer of concrete prior to pouring the new layer. Some sort of glue, perhaps? Platform edges in place and looking good.

Also Waterloo Town Square parking lot is coming along. They are booting the freight track from King St. all the way over to the crossing in the parking lot. Will that be the multi-use trail? If so that’s creative, although I can’t help but feel that this is the location where they should have used flangeway filler strips — bicycles travelling parallel to the tracks will have to be extremely careful, just as they need between King and Regina.

On a related note, it seems that a derailer is to be installed on the spur line just south/east of William/Willow. The track up to that point has had continuity wires installed, and there is a section insulator and two long ties at that location ready to accept the derailer installation. I’m expecting this will be integrated with the signal system and other switches, including the gauntlet track switches, to de-activate the derailer exactly when the system is in freight mode.
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You mean some kind of automatic derailleur*...er, derailler?

* bikes on the brain Tongue

Edit - We rode by on our way back home from dinner... here are some photos of the area in question!

   

   
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(05-09-2017, 06:26 PM)Canard Wrote: You mean some kind of automatic derailleur*...er, derailler?

* bikes on the brain Tongue

Edit - We rode by on our way back home from dinner... here are some photos of the area in question!

Yes, I’ll be interested to see what it actually looks like. I’ve heard of ones that essentially look like a regular switch, but with no tracks attached to the branch. Given the tracks continue straight through, I’m guessing this one will be more like the ones they use to guard the construction area, except permanently installed and automatically engaged/disengaged. If that’s right, it will actually lift a train up enough to slide the wheel flange across the top of the rail and down the outside if hit by a train when engaged.

If you look at the rail itself, you can actually see markings indicating exactly where the derail is to be installed. In your first picture I think you can see the markings but at that angle they’re not readable.

Also note that they replaced a long section of rails with continuous rail, starting at the crossing and extending down to the insulator gap near the derail. Not sure why but it’s quite interesting.

Another side note: a few years back I noticed one of the rails was ominously loose. It had broken maybe 1m from a rail joint and enough spikes were missing that it wobbled quite a bit when the train went over it. The sound was actually different. I called the rail company and a guy came out and installed fishplates to join the break back together, and installed more spikes. Interesting little operation.
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