ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Canard]

That reminds me. Did Jay move his fence business off of Northfield? Or is he waiting for property values to increase after the LRT comes? I remember joking at one point that he is so litigious he would sell before construction, then sue the Region for his loss in not getting the property value increase after the LRT came.

His "Future Home" in Woodstock has been sitting like this for years with no activity:

   

There is an open house at the OMSF tomorrow from 10-2.

Region of Waterloo

Today is the day! Can't wait!!

[greybird]

Paving behind City Hall this morning!

[KevinL]

Signal poles going up at Frederick and Duke.

I was, alas, unable to get the day off work and attend the OMSF tour. I'm looking forward to pictures from the members here!

[Pheidippides]

Will the Ion on a flatbed rail car fit under the catenary they've already strung?

[timio]

Took a tour of the OMSF this morning. Can't wait to see it with trains.

[isUsername]

Will the Ion on a flatbed rail car fit under the catenary they've already strung?

I don't know the exact measurements, but the pantograph (the arm that connects the vehicle to the catenary wires) is nearly the same height as the LRV car and it retracts, so you have nearly an LRV-worth of vertical clearance with the pantograph retracted.

[JoeKW]

We had some fun at the open house today

[KevinT]

So I asked about the ION vehicle deliveries today:

The flatcar will be parked on the northbound mainline track just south of the Northfield station platform, and the ION vehicle will be offloaded with ramps. The yard tug (the diesel one, not the battery powered one that was sitting in the shop sans-cab today) will then tow it into the OMSF for commissioning.

Apparently the high speed mainline catenary has more ground clearance than the yard wiring, leaving plenty of room for a flatcar'd ION.

[Pheidippides]

And apparently it will take about 2 weeks for the vehicle to get from factory to OMSF and may end up sitting in Kitchener for a day or two as it switches from CP to GEXR (they are still working it out).

Also, the safety campaign is coming. It will be a joint effort between GrandLinq and the region. They wouldn't be more specific than saying "before regular service."

Finally, apparently late fees have kicked in on LRV #1 already (originally due 15-Aug-2016); which based on the posted rate of $1,500 a day would now be at >$150,000 and counting.

[plam]

I did take some pictures of the OMSF. Decent turnout, especially since I didn't observe that much advertising of the event except for here. They had a lot of staff around to answer any questions.

I also learned that the bogie can separate from the main train body, which is why the spinning track (http://gallery.patricklam.ca/picture.php...egory/1120) can work; with the body attached there wouldn't be enough turning room.

Full set: http://gallery.patricklam.ca/index.php?/category/1120

[KevinL]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1st <a href="[url=https://twitter.com/CrosstownTO">@CrosstownTO</a]https://twitter.com/CrosstownTO">@CrosstownTO</a[/url]> Pilot LRV picture. Departed <a href="[url=https://twitter.com/BombardierRail">@BombardierRail</a]https://twitter.com/BombardierRail">@BombardierRail</a[/url]> yesterday. Exciting! Photo credit: Bryan Martyniuk <a href="[url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/onpoli?src=hash">#onpoli</a]https://twitter.com/hashtag/onpoli?src=hash">#onpoli</a[/url]> <a href="[url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/topoli?src=hash">#topoli</a]https://twitter.com/hashtag/topoli?src=hash">#topoli</a[/url]> <a href="[url=https://twitter.com/Metrolinx">@Metrolinx</a]https://twitter.com/Metrolinx">@Metrolinx</a[/url]> <a href="[url=https://t.co/VXUnJlUmoC">pic.twitter.com/VXUnJlUmoC</a></p>&mdash]https://t.co/VXUnJlUmoC">pic.twitter.com/VXUnJlUmoC</a></p>&mdash[/url]; Chris Drew (@chrisjamesdrew) <a href="[url=https://twitter.com/chrisjamesdrew/status/802962537163550720">November]https://twitter.com/chrisjamesdrew/status/802962537163550720">November[/url] 27, 2016</a></blockquote>

[timio]

I also learned that the bogie can separate from the main train body, which is why the spinning track (http://gallery.patricklam.ca/picture.php...egory/1120) can work; with the body attached there wouldn't be enough turning room.

I found that fact interesting as well. We were trying to figure out what use the tiny turntables would have, but a helpful staff gave us the answer.

[Canard]

...and here's what one of the bogies look like, for reference (this is one of the ones off of a FLEXITY Outlook LFLRV in Toronto; the only difference between these and ours are the gauge and the gearbox):

   

They're "hot swappable" - using the train lift (pictures coming shortly), the entire 5-module train is lifted up... the bogies can be rolled out and exchanged, so heavy maintenance can be carried out offline.

Chris' tweet of Bryan's photos is great.  That's Metrolinx Pilot LRV No. 1 (FLEXITY Freedom No. 1), headed to Millhaven for Qualification and High-Speed Testing.  Those first two Pilot LRV's will live in Millhaven for quite some time; they have nowhere in Toronto to run them.

OMSF Open House, Saturday, November 26, 2016

   
Here's one of the two long pit bays that allow access to the bottom of the trains.

   
The overhead gantries here allow access to the roof, where all the electrical gear is housed on the trains.

   
Here's the train lift I was mentioning.

   
OMSF Yard.

[Canard]

   
The pop-out portion of the 2nd floor here with all the windows is the control room.

   
Here's the track exiting the car wash.  I forgot to ask; does anyone know what's up with the heavy-duty rubber booting being installed around the tracks, here?

   
Car wash.

   
Here's where the track branches off of the main line, into the yard.  Those are supports for the Weber St. Bridge in the background.

   
The switches get pretty funky in the yard, thanks to the added complexity of the restraining rail.

[Canard]

   
...one last shot from the OMSF Tour on Saturday.

1/2 - Sunday, November 27, 2016

   
Mass Electric crews have begun installing the catenary, starting at Conestoga.  Here, the messenger wire has been strung down to the Northfield station.

   
<3 Crossovers

   
Looking North out of the Conestoga station area.

   
The Conestoga platform, from the other end.