Tag Archives: transportation

Coho at Work

There is a direct ferry from Port Angeles to downtown Victoria operated by Black Ball Line. Their boat is an old ship called the Coho. We have taken this route on a previous visit but didn’t use it this time. However, the regular arrival and departure of the Coho meant we saw it frequently during our stay. The ship has loading apertures on each side of the hull through which the cars can be loaded. Otherwise it looks like a pretty normal ship.

It wasn’t hard to know when they were leaving as there would be a blast on the ship’s horn. This was followed by swinging the boat around in the main harbor in order to be able to head out through the narrow passage to the open sea. The Coho first entered service in 1959 so is clearly not a new vessel. I have no idea whether there is any plan to replace her or whether, with regular refits, she will continue in service for years to come.

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.

Level Crossings in the City

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The number of train routes in Tokyo is substantial and the lines run through many of the neighborhoods. Having been there for a long time, the towns have grown up around them. Roads cross them on back streets and there are footpaths that cross the tracks too. As I walked up to Shinjuku, I cross the tracks at one of these crossings.

Making the crossing was not a problem but you did need to pay attention. The track was double and the trains came every couple of minutes. When the alert sounded, a sign accompanied it with an arrow showing the direction the train was going. This was very helpful in ensuring you didn’t think the train had gone and you could start to cross only to find a train coming the other way. I actually had to wait for three trains as, by the time the second train had passed, a third was coming from the original direction. They really do come that often. Looking up to the station, I could see a train in the platform with another one slowing as it approached the station. Trains really are the dominant form of transportation in Tokyo from what I saw.

A Selection of Japanese Trains

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I know a few of the regulars here are interested in trains. I saw a lot of different trains and rode on a few while I was in Japan so here are a selection of them for those of you that are interested. Most of these were shot around Tokyo itself but I can’t tell you what sort of services most of them were used on. I only rode on a few to get to airports or districts in the city.

RedJet

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The fastest way to cross the Solent between Cowes and Southampton is the Red Jet. These catamarans have replaced the hydrofoil service that was the quickest way over when I lived in Cowes. The hydrofoils were interesting to ride on, particularly when the weather got a bit rough, and they had a single prop that, if they threw it off, left them bobbing out in the water awaiting a tow. The RedJets are clearly bigger and probably a lot more reliable while still being fast. I have never ridden on them but my family do frequently.

Sounder Locos

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Scanning back through some images looking for something else, I came across these shots of some Sounder commuter rail locomotives. I shot these as part of a shoot that had a previous post. I hadn’t focused on the locos so much but this train had a loco leading but two locos trailing as well. The trailing locos were the old and the new with an F59PHI and an MPX together. No idea why three locos were on a relatively short train but I guess there was a good reason!

Amtrak Approaches Tacoma

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I had a period a while back when I ended up getting a few train pictures. Some of these were intended for work proposals while others were experiments for locations that might be useful in the future. This spot is one that can ideally have a really good background. Sadly, the day I was there was a cloudy one so the background is obscured and dull. It was an Amtrak long distance train rather than one for the potential client but, since it was a test, it didn’t matter this time. I will try again on a nicer day!

The Monorail

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Work has taken me in to Seattle to see the team that runs the monorail. We shall be doing some work for them on the vehicles but, on this visit, I was just having a meeting. As I headed back to the car, I had to walk right under the elevated track it runs on as it comes through MOPOP. I could hear one of the trains approaching so I took the camera out and got a shot. When we were next there with Mum, I saw both trains together in the station so decided to add one to the collection there too.

Ferry in to Coupeville

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Washington State Ferries cover a wide range of routes. Some of them are major commuter journeys and the boats are sized to handle lots of cars and passengers. Others are far more specialized runs that have lower frequencies and capacity. This can change throughout the year with the peak season demand being way higher than the off-season and larger boats get drafted in.

While I was on the shore at Coupeville, one of the ferries came in. We actually took this route on a vacation a couple of years ago and it was quite busy then. This time things were a lot quieter and the boat was clearly not one of the biggest that WSDOT has available.

Sounder’s New Cab Cars

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New locomotives are not the only new vehicles to have shown up in Seattle. Sound Transit runs the Sounder commuter rail service in the area and they have been taking delivery of new cab cars. These are built by Bombardier, as were the previous cab cars. However, this is a new design that incorporates crash energy management technology. As a result, they have done away with the passenger gangway on the front of the vehicle and provided a full width cab for the engineer. It provides a slightly more elegant front end to the vehicle than the previous design.