ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[Canard]

I would think that the carbon strips on the pantograph running over the bottom of it every 10 minutes will keep any form of surface reaction from forming on the surface that matters... just like the rails themselves are very, very rusty right now - and after a little bit of run-time with the trains, they'll be shiny and smooth. Next time I'm in Toronto I'll try and take some close-ups of the contact wire for the streetcars, and see how they look.

(I should point out though that this is nothing new and literally thousands of electrified railways around the world use this setup, so I don't think it's a problem)

[jeffster]

The contact wire actually isn't a "wire" - it's a copper profile with a dovetail in the top, that these clamps can clip on to!

These are going to corrode though, right?  Not galvanic corrosion so much, but jut thinking about bare copper exposed to the environment.  One end of the spectrum being the green Parliament building roof, opposite end being something like plumbing in an older house that's oxidized.

I'd imagine since it is in use, that shouldn't be an issue. I can't imagine them using a technology that is going to create issues. Don't we already have that in Toronto?

[danbrotherston]

There is a MUT planned for a very short stretch along King, I think from Victoria to Moore or Wellington. Pretty short and connecting literally nothing, except King/Downtown which is slightly more bikeable than north of Victoria, and Moore/Wellington residential areas, which are also vaguely bikeable.

[Canard]

Here's a neat article about a company in Woodstock that has developed a mobile sand refilling unit. The idea is it can go out and replenish the sanding storage tanks in LRV's out on the line, which don't have enough to make it back to the OMSF for a top-up.

http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2...new-system

[tomh009]

The glass roof at the Victoria Park station.  I really like how they did this.

   

[jamincan]

Wouldn't the positive charge of the copper provide some resistance to corrosion? Either way, as Canard pointed out, the oxide layer won't be able to accumulate on the contact surface, which is the only real concern.

[Viewfromthe42]

What strikes me about those Ottawa shots is how the OCS still seems so much less visually obtrusive than the power lines. It'll be the most obtrusive thing in the cores, where there aren't the same power setups, but elsehwhere it hardly seems like it's some horrible new culprit.

[Coke6pk]

Stupid question... is the lower "wire" the only one that is electrified, and the top one is for guidance, or do they both get powered?

Coke

[timc]

I saw some tiles up at the Phillip, er, R&T Park station yesterday. It's red. A little more orangish red than in the drawing (that could have been the effect of sunlight at the time of day), but still striking.

[KevinL]

Stupid question... is the lower "wire" the only one that is electrified, and the top one is for guidance, or do they both get powered?

Coke

Both are powered. They are both offset from the support poles with insulators.

[danbrotherston]

Stupid question... is the lower "wire" the only one that is electrified, and the top one is for guidance, or do they both get powered?

Coke

Both are powered. They are both offset from the support poles with insulators.

I seem to recall as well, at the open house, the technicians mentioning that the top wire was also the wire which carries the majority of the current, hence it being thicker.

[Canard]

Awesome to hear R&T tiles are going up!! These ones are the ceramic style (like Conestoga) - I can't wait to see them! Depending on if this sunshine holds I might go ride by tonight to check them out.

[tomh009]

What strikes me about those Ottawa shots is how the OCS still seems so much less visually obtrusive than the power lines. It'll be the most obtrusive thing in the cores, where there aren't the same power setups, but elsehwhere it hardly seems like it's some horrible new culprit.

+1

[Canard]

I think you meant Borden and Charles (I haven't posted any Ottawa photos recently).

I wish/hope the outboard utility poles can come down, leaving only the OCS poles for the LRT. The ones on Borden certainly look heavily populated so I bet they have to stay. But on Courtland, they look far less utilized. I think the last time I rode through here I decided that maybe they were solely functioning as streetlights now? So maybe they can come down.

[KevinL]

Canopy glass installation is the latest in the flurry of work at Frederick station. They've also poured a bit of sidewalk on the Market Square side, are resuming work on the walkway stairs, and are otherwise busy.