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ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit
(05-21-2019, 01:35 PM)neonjoe Wrote: Just now I saw an LRV at conestoga mall with a bunch of workers looking at the trucks underneath. The cladding was removed. Perhaps simulating a break down?

Hmmm, the other day I heard one making an unusual amount of loud clunking noises heading south across Columbia.   I was all the way at Phillip, far enough that normally I'd only know it's passing because of the crossing signals
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(05-21-2019, 08:08 PM)ert86 Wrote: Hmmm, the other day I heard one making an unusual amount of loud clunking noises heading south across Columbia.   I was all the way at Phillip, far enough that normally I'd only know it's passing because of the crossing signals

I saw one a week or two ago heading south near the University. It was making a repetitive clunking sound, something like what I imagine a wheel with a flat in it might sound like. Not sure if we both heard the same thing. I don’t know much about the details but I know wheels can develop flats due to excessive braking — if the wheel locks up during braking, then a single point on the circumference slides along the track, and it doesn’t take much wear under that circumstance to take the wheel out of circular.
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(05-21-2019, 08:43 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:
(05-21-2019, 08:08 PM)ert86 Wrote: Hmmm, the other day I heard one making an unusual amount of loud clunking noises heading south across Columbia.   I was all the way at Phillip, far enough that normally I'd only know it's passing because of the crossing signals

I saw one a week or two ago heading south near the University. It was making a repetitive clunking sound, something like what I imagine a wheel with a flat in it might sound like. Not sure if we both heard the same thing. I don’t know much about the details but I know wheels can develop flats due to excessive braking — if the wheel locks up during braking, then a single point on the circumference slides along the track, and it doesn’t take much wear under that circumstance to take the wheel out of circular.

Wheel flats are quite common during the testing, training and commissioning phase of a new system.
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The RideIONlrt Twitter account responded to a question about the bags over crossover signals today saying that they're all operational and the bags will be removed within a week.
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Has anyone made a fleet of the paper models that they give during ION train and station showings?
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(05-21-2019, 09:49 PM)kalis0490 Wrote: Has anyone made a fleet of the paper models that they give during ION train and station showings?

Something like this? Tongue 

   
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Hey, where is the BBD train from? One of these things is not like the others ...
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(05-21-2019, 10:34 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Hey, where is the BBD train from? One of these things is not like the others ...

The one that says Bombardier and Rapid Transit is from when the agreement with Metrolinx was first signed for us to buy vehicles. At that time the system hadn't been named yet (and I don't think we even had the three candidate names) so they didn't have an ION logo. The other design is newer, and were printed after the system got named. I believe they're identical aside from what's on top.
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(05-21-2019, 10:34 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Hey, where is the BBD train from? One of these things is not like the others ...

looks like one of the original paper models from when the mock-up was in town.
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(05-21-2019, 09:08 PM)trainspotter139 Wrote: Wheel flats are quite common during the testing, training and commissioning phase of a new system.

That’s probably it then. I wouldn’t be surprised to find they use the emergency brake more during testing than in the following century of normal operation.
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If you look at the destination sign on the train that says 'Bombardier', it says 'ION'.

Therefore, I think that model was handed out between 2013 and 2014
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(05-22-2019, 07:44 AM)ijmorlan Wrote:
(05-21-2019, 09:08 PM)trainspotter139 Wrote: Wheel flats are quite common during the testing, training and commissioning phase of a new system.

That’s probably it then. I wouldn’t be surprised to find they use the emergency brake more during testing than in the following century of normal operation.

It would be unfortunate if emergency stops resulted in flats. I've been on a TTC streetcar during an emergency stop, it seems like it isn't an infrequent thing in Toronto.
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(05-22-2019, 07:44 AM)ijmorlan Wrote:
(05-21-2019, 09:08 PM)trainspotter139 Wrote: Wheel flats are quite common during the testing, training and commissioning phase of a new system.

That’s probably it then. I wouldn’t be surprised to find they use the emergency brake more during testing than in the following century of normal operation.

Per the radio traffic, E-stops are part of both the operator training and certification programs.  They'll definitely have been doing a lot of them in the past several months.

(05-22-2019, 10:06 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: It would be unfortunate if emergency stops resulted in flats. I've been on a TTC streetcar during an emergency stop, it seems like it isn't an infrequent thing in Toronto.

There's different levels of 'emergency' stop used at the operator's discretion, some are just stronger levels of service brake application (with ABS), full service brake (with ABS), force brake under ATP (not sure if that uses ABS or not), and an actual emergency stop button that locks the wheels and drops electromagnetic track brakes. Not all will result in wheel flats. Note that once you have even the slightest wheel flat it will tend to grow even under regular service brake applications, as that's the spot where the wheel is most likely to start slipping the next time. Even with ABS, an axle will lock briefly before the system detects it and lets up on the brake pressure to start the wheel spinning again. This is much more of an issue with steel wheels versus rubber tires because the contact patch of steel wheels is so small due to their total lack of elastic deformation. I suspect that one e-stop won't cause a noticeable flat spot on a good wheel, but plants the seeds for one that will develop over time. Multiple e-stops will hasten its development into the clunk clunk clunk that we've been hearing.
...K
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(05-21-2019, 01:14 PM)KevinL Wrote: 501 is finally out and being tested!


I finally saw it myself, on Charles St E early this morning. No decals at all, but the electronic sign says "501" (not "501A" or "501B").
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Apparently Keolis' goal for ION signal timing is "1-2 minutes," which seems far too long to me based on watching a bunch of C-Train videos where they typically last no more than 40-60 seconds. Northfield would be nearly unusable in one direction with the signals down half the time during rush hour in addition to any pedestrian crossings.

3 things to know before the Ion launches
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