Tag Archives: transit

Retro Livery on an Old 455

When I was a youth in the ‘80s, I remember new trains showing up in the area where my dad lived. At the time, I wasn’t familiar with the details of the classes of train, but I could recognise the differences as things changed. The big deal with these new trains was that they had sliding doors rather than the older slam doors. In the years to come, I came to know that these were known as Class 455s.

It is now 2025 and some of them are still in service. A lot of them have already been replaced and the new trains to replace the remainder have been built but their service entry has been a protracted process. Meanwhile, one of the units has been repainted to be in something close to the colours that it wore when it was introduced. You can’t have exactly the old BR livery because modern access requirements mean contrasting colours are needed for doors but, otherwise, it is close. I had been wondering whether I would see it soon one morning on my way to London and, lo and behold, as I got off my train, it was on an adjacent platform. Not sure that I will get a chance to get a better shot of it so glad to have caught this one.

Crewe Seems to be Home to Old Locos

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It has been a long time since I was last at Crewe, and I recently found myself back up there on a delightfully sunny day. In days gone by, Crewe would always be a location that had a variety of unusual rolling stock parked up and, apparently, that hasn’t changed. The interesting change is that, in the old days, a lot of the oddities looked like they had seen better days. This time everything looked in great condition.

There was an HST set that seemed to be marked up for excursions to Scotland. It was painted in a scheme like the old Blue Pullman sets. I don’t know the service details, but it looked like it was set up nicely. There were some old locos too. A Class 90 was gleaming in a great paint finish but the one that really caught my eye, even if it was a bit poorly located for getting a photo, was the Class 89.

This is a unique loco. Built in the 80s, it was never selected for production. I remember seeing it when I lived in Huntingdon when it would be used on the east coast main line. I understand it had been stored for a long time but now it seems like it has been well restored, and I am told that it will be running in service before too long. I have no idea how difficult it is maintaining a one off electric loco but I wish them well.

Lynnwood Link Opening Day

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Sound Transit has a series of extensions to the Link light rail system coming online at the moment. In September 2024, it was the turn of the Lynnwood Link Extension to open. This was not one we were involved with, but I was keen to see the new extension come online and also to catch up with some colleagues that would be there.

The sun was shining so it was a great day for an event. There were plenty of dignitaries there for the opening and a lot of speeches. Each station was going to be holding celebrations throughout the day, but I decided against taking a ride on the first day. There were so many people there to see it open and the line to board the trains was lengthy. Let everyone have fun and I can check it out another time. (As a side note, I still haven’t ridden the line. I kept meaning to do it and now the chances that I will are diminished.)

I did watch the first few services come and go and the teams all boarded along with media before the rest of the riders could then have their go. I understand the extension has been very popular both for commuters and those heading downtown for events like games and shows. The parking garage can get quite full from what I am told. Great to see this new extension getting well utilized and, when the Eastlink connection opens and additional vehicles can access this section of the system, the frequencies should improve too.

Angel’s Flight Railway

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I first heard of Angel’s Flight Railway in one of the early Harry Bosch novels that was named for it. Prior to that, I had never heard of this funicular railway in Los Angeles. More recently it was also the subject of a TV series that I started to watch but never continued with. In my many trips to LA, I had never actually seen it. Work took me there a short while ago and my hotel was only a few minutes walk from the railway and, since I seem to have sought out some funiculars recently, I figured I would head to this one after work before it got dark.

I ended up arriving at the top of the railway. Apparently, it has undergone some rehabilitation and modernization, and it certainly seemed it great shape. The top station still has a vintage feel to it, though. There is a stairway that runs down the hill parallel to the track so, rather than ride down, I walked down the stairs to watch the trains as they passed me. The cars are on separate tracks, but they are only spaced to pass halfway up the hill. At the top and bottom, the alignment comes closer together. As the cars approach each other, they move to the side and them come back towards the middle once clear of each other.

The loading is done through end doors at the top and bottom so no need to worry about complex platform issues. Everything seems to be managed from the station at the top. When I got to the bottom, it seemed that people would board freely, having to pay when they made it to the summit. It does provide a good way up the hill, but it isn’t that big of a hill, and I wonder why the railway was necessary when it was built. Now it seems to be a tourist attraction as opposed to a key element of the transit system. Good to have finally seen it, though, and another funicular to visit.

This Bridge is Getting Very Advanced

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A work-related post for today. One of our projects is a light rail expansion and part of it involves the construction of a long span bridge. This was not the original plan, but it is what we ended up having. It is constructed by having forms for pouring a section of the bridge in one place and then, when that section is cured, a traveler moves out with the forms to pour the next section. This is all done from a central column so the weight balances out as the bridge expands in each direction.

It is now very close to the final pours, and they will soon be done. I got to go and see the progress recently and that included looking at the center section of the bridge where the gap between the two sections coming from each direction are close to meeting. The bridge section is hollow, and you can see across and into the other half. The final pours involve joining each end to the rest of the right of way and then, when they have been post-tensioned, this center section will be poured. There will be more to do but this is a major milestone in the project.

Denver Union Station

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I had to make a quick trip to Denver not long ago. My flight left the morning after the meetings, and it wasn’t too early, so I decided to take the train to the airport rather than an Uber. It was only about a ten-minute walk to Denver Union Station from the hotel and it was a sunny morning, so it felt good to stroll down through the city. The station has been redeveloped with the introduction of the commuter rail services and the general updates to the LoDo area. However, the original station building is still at the heart of the facility. It is a nice-looking structure.

Once inside, the area of the platforms for the services has been modernized. A nice, glazed roof has been added over the platform areas to provide shelter for the passengers waiting for their trains. It has a good feel to it and doesn’t look like it is out of place with the older structures and the newer ones. A pretty good job by the architects in my opinion. It was a brief visit before my train came but a nice way to start the journey home.

Line 2 Opening Weekend

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The spring timetable change was the opportunity for Sound Transit to open a new line. The troubles with the crossing of the I-90 bridge mean that the Redmond to Bellevue section of what is to be Line 2 is isolated from the rest of the network. However, it was decided to open it up as a starter line to provide some service for the area pending the completion of the connection to the other side of Lake Washington. They had a grand opening. Rather than go on the Saturday when everyone was due to be out, I decided to try out the line on the Sunday.

I drove to the South Bellevue station which has a large parking garage. It is the southern/western end of the line for now. Trains run every ten minutes and I hopped on one to ride to the other end at Redmond Technology Center. This is also an interim terminus as there will soon be an extension into downtown Redmond. I checked out the route in the trip out and decided I would stop off at a couple of stations on the way back.

Plenty of people were out on the Sunday too. Many seemed to be like me and exploring the new service. Sundays aren’t a day to judge utilization of a system, but it will be interesting to see what ridership is like as the service gets going and people find out how best to use it for their purposes. I hopped off at Wilburton Station to have a look at the platforms and the view across to downtown Bellevue. I bumped into a guy I know from Sound Transit who was part of the opening support team for the weekend, and we ended up chatting for a while.

I then went to the station in Bellevue itself which is a nicely designed station just at the end of the tunnel that runs under the city. You get a long view of the trains approaching from east as they come across the bridge while you can hear the trains coming through the tunnel as they approach. After checking out a few elements of the station, I decided to head back to South Bellevue to pick up the car and go home. The alignment was pretty good. Ride quality was good in most areas and the stations seemed nicely put together both operationally and aesthetically. It will be a good line when it is fully connected but, as an interim step, it seems to be worthwhile.

Riding the E Line in LA

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My morning trip to the California Science Center could have involved a quick Uber ride but, since I was in LA to discuss light rail projects, it seemed more appropriate that I take the train down there. The station wasn’t too far away, and the E Line dropped me off right next to the park. Whenever I am using some form of transit, I do try to get a photo or two. You never know when they might be useful for a presentation or for adding to a proposal.

Some Heavy Construction Equipment

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In a previous post, I showed some construction work underway on a project I am involved with. This involves building a long span concrete bridge and the first steps are drilling the shafts into which the concrete will be poured to form the base for the columns upon which the bridge will ultimately rest. Watching this from a distance, you don’t quite get the scale of what is involved. However, when on site, you really get close to the heavy machinery that is necessary for this type of project. I thought I would share some shots of this serious gear since I was able to get access to it.

Preparing for a Major Bridge Structure

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One of the projects I am involved with includes some significant civil engineering and construction work. Part of this is to build a long span bridge across a dip alongside an interstate. The work is progressing quickly so things are changing fast. By the time this post goes live, there will be a lot more to see on the site. However, when I took these shots, they were preparing to pour to concrete shafts that will support the bridge piers. The amount of work in preparing the area to stabilize the ground, drill the shafts, have access to the site and have the abutments at each end is huge. Here are some shots of the work underway at that point.