Tag Archives: transit

Mukilteo Rail Station

In all of my visits to the waterfront at Mukilteo, it would have been neglectful if I hadn’t had a quick poke around at the railroad station. This is for Sounder commuter rail trains to Seattle and is across from the new ferry terminal. It will be interesting to see whether WSDOT’s Amtrak Cascades trains stop there in the future to connect with the ferries but currently they do not (and, at the time of writing, the Cascades services north of Seattle are suspended anyway.)

The station is not that old since the Sounder service has only been around since the 2000s. Consequently, it is a nicely thought out design rather than an old station that has been upgraded. It includes some artwork with a local theme with stone sculptures of local boat designs. A footbridge takes you over the tracks to the far platforms. I doubt I will ever have the need to use it but it was fun to look around on a quiet weekend.

End of the Line for the 38 Stock

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Prior to the 1960s, the Isle of Wight had an extensive rail network. The Beeching cuts reduced it to one line, from Ryde to Shanklin. It was electrified and the rolling stock was initially old London Underground stock from the 1920s. This was in use when I was a youngster but it got replaced in the late 80s by the new(er) Class 483s. These were also London Underground castoffs – this time from the 1938 stock. They had gone through a modernization program to be used but they were hardly new.

Their time has finally come. Replacement is underway with “new” stock based on retired District Line trains from London. See a pattern developing here. The system is shut down for a while for some significant track upgrades which will allow for a more frequent service. The track desperately needed work and the old trains were falling apart so, hopefully, this will provide a big improvement.

When I lived on the Island, I didn’t think much about the stuff that was there. All of these pictures I have taken when visiting more recently. This is all I have to record the new extinct Island Line stock. Two examples will be preserved if you want to go and see them!

Cable Car After Dark

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The cable cars are a staple of the San Francisco tourist scene. I still grab the occasional shot of them, even having seen them more times than I can recall. As we were walking back one evening after a fun night out with friends, we crossed the street at Union Square as one was heading up Powell. I figured an evening shot was worth the effort.

Salesforce Park

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During our visit to San Francisco, some friends told us to check out Salesforce Park. This is a park that has been built on top of the transit center in the heart of the city. The transit center is, by demand, a large area so the space on top of it makes for a decent area. The park was fun to wander around. It is surrounded by some interesting buildings which will warrant their own posts in due course.

There are seating areas, children’s play areas, an amphitheater, a dome over an atrium for the transit center itself and plenty of plants. The plant beds are broken down into categories covering different types and plants and different origins for the plants. There are sculptures around the park including one that is a series of water jets. These are triggered by sensors in the transit center such that, as a bus drives beneath them, they squirt up. A bus driving the length of the lane beneath has a sequence of jets that will ripple along the sculpture. We were there when one bus passed beneath and, having been hoping for some action (aside from the occasional random jet of water), we were almost caught out when the wave of jets came by.

If we hadn’t been told about the park, I would never have known. Even when we got to the entrance area, it was a little inconspicuous. It is worth a visit if you are passing by. There is also a more interesting entrance than the elevators but that will have to wait for another post.

SC Maglev Museum

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Nagoya is home to a museum of Japanese rolling stock. The museum name focuses on Maglev technology and there is a Maglev prototype in the museum. However, the exhibits are really a cross section of the Japanese rail industry over the years. I will probably post some more from the museum as there were quite a few interesting exhibits. Most of it was inside – most welcome on such a hot day – but the N700 prototype was outside. I did have a look at that briefly along with an old steam locomotive but I was soon driven back inside by the temperatures.

When I first got there, you are directed into a hall with three significant exhibits. It was so dark, I was wondering whether there would be any decent photo opportunities. However, this was just the initial introduction and there were periodic videos and light shows to allow you to see these exhibits more clearly. A little patience was required. The main hall had the majority of the exhibits and they were lit normally. There were plenty of people in the museum taking pictures with small children that didn’t seem to be enjoying it as much as the parents would have liked! Maybe they wanted to be at Legoland across the street?

South Coast Trains

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There are a few readers of the blog that like trains so this is a quick view of some UK passenger trains. We stayed in Chichester for a while and were very close to the station. We had to walk past it in to the town. There were tons of trains running along this coast route so I saw several as we were finding out where things were. Here are two of the trains. They are both EMUs, one of which is relatively recent while the other is a pretty old vintage of train that I didn’t even realize operated in this part of the world.

Light Rail Shots for Work

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A work requirement needed some photos of a project in which we are involved. We provided he pictures but the team requiring them had an issue with the images we had an wanted something new. When we couldn’t find any more, the easiest thing was to take some. I was heading in the right direction one day so stopped off to take some shots of the Sound Transit Link light rail system. I figured I would share a little of them here too for the rail fans amongst you.

That’s a Tight Corner (Boston Old School Subway)

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A quick work trip to Boston meant I needed to take the “T” from my hotel to the offices where we were meeting. I took the Blue Line in to the city and then changed on to the oldest line the city apparently has, the Green Line. The vehicles I rode on were very old school in their design. What amazed me more was the tight curvatures of the track.

I lived in Chicago where the “L” has some really tight curves. However, it has nothing on this track. I watch the next car pivot out of sight as we weaved through an amazing turn. When I made my return journey, I changed at one station that also had a really tight curve. At first I thought it was a relic of old track but the rail looked like it was in use and there was a power line in place so I guess it is still needed. Quite something. It would never get built like that now but that is what systems over a century old sometimes come with!

Riding the Streetcar for Myself

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I picked up the Oklahoma City streetcar from the stop across from my hotel. There are two routes in the city – one that runs around the downtown area and another shorter loop that goes from the convention center development area back to Bricktown. The car I got was on the Bricktown Loop and, since I wanted to do the full run, I hopped off at the next stop and waited for the next car.

I got on board along with a guy that had come to check it out despite his skepticism. He ended up meeting a few people he knew and seemed pretty impressed by the whole thing. The vehicles have a battery system on board which allows them to run for periods without overhead wires. This is particularly helpful where the line runs under the main railroad. The bridges there are too low to allow for overhead wires so the system involves periods on battery and periods on wire when the batteries can be recharged,

Lots of people were out making use of the free introductory period. Given that it was a Friday, this was a good indication. Hopefully the system will prove to be a success. It is part of a number of measures that the city is implementing to improve the live ability of the area. I wish them well.

Streetcar Opening Day

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I used to make regular trips to Oklahoma City for a streetcar project I was working on. I ended up having to pick up another project which meant I dropped the streetcar project when the vehicle contract had been approved and signed and my colleague took on the delivery phase. However, I promised I would be back for the grand opening. Mid December was the time when the system was opened up.

Fortunately, I was already within three hours of OKC for another project so I drove up for the celebrations. The project team had a dinner the night before which was a great chance to get back together with some old faces. The opening was on the following morning. We had an early photo session with project team members at 7:30 on a chilly Friday. The main opening ceremony started at 10:00. It was still pretty cold but plenty of people had shown up for the evening. Speeches from those involved and then it was time for the first rides.

I skipped the initial runs and instead went to have a look at the maintenance facility that had been constructed as part of the project. It was a nice job that had been put together by all involved. After checking it all out, I parted ways with my old colleagues. Before heading home, it was time to ride the full route. That will be another post.