ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Canard]

But the Erb/Caroline closure has been advertised for like a month...

I have a problem with the fencing between Waterloo Town Square (North Face/Valumart Entrance) and the tracks. The fencing had been adjusted so it's only a metre or two wide path for pedestrians and cyclists, and with two bike racks there it was almost impossible for me to ride through there last night. They either need to move the fence, or the racks, or close the racks temporarily.

[schooner77]

They have track down, going through the intersection of Caroline and Allen.

[Markster]

But the Erb/Caroline closure has been advertised for like a month...

There is a large difference between "Knowing a closure is coming" and "Knowing it is closed".

I'm very active in these things, and I didn't know it was closed (for real, not "scheduled to be closed but actually in a few days") on Monday. There was no signage as I approached from Albert St.

[KevinL]

With our discussion of the Schneider Creek bridge earlier, I took the liberty of scouting out that area yesterday, starting at the end of Overland.

The work area looking south. I believe the fenced-off area is due to host a TPSS.


The LRT tunnel under the parkway.


Freight tunnel. The tracks still run straight on towards Ottawa; eventually they will get shifted west, but not yet.


Both tunnels in profile. 

[KevinL]

As you can see, there's no actual shot of the Schneider Creek bridge here. I don't have the right sort of camera for it (only had my phone), but if someone does...

I can confirm the natural space south of Overland is accessible by foot, if somewhat boggy and muddy, and will take you to a decent vantage point. I have no idea who owns the property and whether actually setting foot there counts as trespass. That I leave up to the individual's discretion.

I did get a bit of a look at the Hayward/Courtland area, though, which is very busy just now.

Lots going on on Hayward:


And up Courtland, you can see the catpole bases are in:

[Canard]

I'm very active in these things

I know you are, which is what baffled me about how you would get stuck in the closure

Moving on, I discovered the answer to something that had been bothering me about the design of the catenary for some time. The catenary is divided up into sections, about a kilometre or two long. At each end (not one end - this is important), there is a counterweight tensioner which uses a pulley arrangement to dramatically increase the tension on the line (small weight = big force).

That's all fine and dandy and works great, except that with two floating ends, nothing is defining where the whole catenary string wants to be in the direction of travel of the train - ie, parallel to the rails. You could grab any point on the whole stack and pull it one way or another, and all of the outrigger arms that support the catenary are on hinges so they'll pivot to wherever.

What I found last night, pleasantly: Exactly halfway between the counterweights, there's a "<>" arrangement of steel ropes that define the angular location (position) of those outrigging arms - providing an anchor point. So from this centre anchor, the tensioner at one end is responsible for tensioning that half of the catenary stack, and the tensioner at the other end is responsible for that end.

Something I should have figured out long ago, but it was just one of those "...oh!" moments while looking at it last night that made me smile.

[kps]

I can confirm the natural space south of Overland is accessible by foot, if somewhat boggy and muddy, and will take you to a decent vantage point. I have no idea who owns the property and whether actually setting foot there counts as trespass. That I leave up to the individual's discretion.

According to our friend Mr Gis, it's parkland, part of the Peter Hallmann Ballyard.

[megabytephreak]

They have track down, going through the intersection of Caroline and Allen.

I took a photo after work today. Just getting started. No rebar mats or anything yet.

   

Also, I was suprised to notice that in this section they have the catpoles installed even before the track is in.
There also seems to be a lot more room on the far side of the tracks that I was expecting. It looks like they could have made the street part at least a meter wider here.
I've definitely freaked a passenger out driving down it recently where it almost looked like it should have been a one way street.
   

[Waterlooer]

I believe there will be a 3 meter wide multi-use trail to the other side of the tracks which is why there's so much room. But yeah, the car lanes are very narrow here.

[schooner77]

Yes, Caroline really narrows down at the intersection, with the wide sweep of the track, as it transitions to Allen.

[Pheidippides]

Charles near Francis today:
   
   
   

Also, I was surprised at how many motorists seem to be taken by surprise by the Erb/Caroline closure Monday. The signs have been up, the email updates are available, it has been on social media; I don't know why it doesn't register with people. I was wondering if it had to do with the type of signage. I was in Thornhill/Markham last weekend and they are just getting started on the next phase of their bus rapidway expansion for the VIVA system that is going up Yonge from Hwy. 7 to north 6.5km. They are just moving utilities and removing a few medians, but they had electronic signs like the one below before and along the route announcing reductions/closures as well as expected travel times (e.g. Normal 5min to Major Mac, Current 12 min). I wonder if something more visible/informative would have made more of a difference?

[Canard]

   
Today's update from Erb/Caroline -  a second hole!

   
Finishing up at Columbia.

   
Nice shoes!  I didn't realize this was how they pad down the asphalt.

   
Hi catenary tensioner!

[Canard]

   
Rails going in at Caroline & Allen!

   
Close up of the scribework on the rails.  This particular section's length, Southbound rail, Curve 12.  You can find all this info on the drawings under the Functional Design Plans on the Rapid Transit site.  I particularly like looking at the markings for the entrance and exit points for the spiral curves that make a nice smooth transition from straight track to curve track!

   
Constant radius section - radius is about 25 m, the minimum for the trains we're getting (FLEXITY Freedom).  This is pretty much the standard minimum radius for all LRV's though.

   
Not happy about this. There are two bike racks that, when used, essentially completely block off the path on the North side of Waterloo Town Square.

[clasher]

Not happy about this. There are two bike racks that, when used, essentially completely block off the path on the North side of Waterloo Town Square.[/i]

Looks like they could have pushed the fence back... I'm sure folks will do it for them until/unless they are bolted down. I see people downtown opening and moving fences all the time after hours. I guess the mall never got the memo about it and the construction crews can't just go on private property and remove the racks.

[Markster]

Looks like they could have pushed the fence back... I'm sure folks will do it for them until/unless they are bolted down.

I've noticed them doing that more and more, lately.