Rail For The Valley Needs Your Help – Information Needed Please
Rail for the Valley has been asked to find some answers for a railway enthusiast overseas.
First, he would like to get some information on the wheel profiles of CP & Southern Railway diesel locoA?ai??i??ai???s, e.g:
- GMDD GP/SD40
- GMDD SD70/75
- GMDD GP33
- GMDD NF210
- GE Dash 8/9
- MLW RSDA?ai??i??ai???s
Photo by John Friesen
Secondly, he would like:
- Any information that you might be able to point me towards on existing switch/point/turnout configuration design on the Southern Railway.
- Switch rail type
- Crossing Flangeway gap dimension
- Switch Opening dimension
- Flange Tip running?
- Switch/turnout mechanisms/point motors
- Switch detection system?
Can anyone help with his requests?
Last of the Interurbans #5 – Europe’s Coastal Interurban – The 68 km. De Lijn Tramway, Connecting Small Belgium Coastal Towns
The De Lijn or Coastal Tram offers a an unique journey, with the North Sea on one side and large tracts of open country on the other, offers a true interurban journey, connecting Belgium coastal towns from the French to Dutch boarders. The largest city the Coastal Tram passes through is Oostende, population 70,000 with a population density of only 1830 persons per/kmAi??A?, based on a city size of 37.72 kmAi??A?! With much of the trams journeys between townsAi??Ai??with open country on one side and the sea on the other, the De Lijn tramway should put and end to any debate here, that the proposed Fraser Valley Interurban doesn’t have the population density to support it to operate successfully.
The Belgian Coast Tram is a public transport service connecting the cities and towns between De Panne near the French border and Knokke-Heist near the Dutch border. It is the longest tram line in the world, as well as one of the few interurban tramways in the world to remain in operation. The line is built at metre gauge and fully electrified at 600 V d.c..
The service makes 70 stops along the 68 km long line, with a tram running every ten minutes during the peak summer months, during which it is used by over 3 million passengers. The service has recently been made more accessible through the addition of low-floor centre sections to existing vehicles, and the introduction of some new HermeLijn low-floor trams.
Most of the trams have a driving position only at one end and access doors on one side. Thus they have to be turned on a loop (Dutch:keerlus) in order to reverse direction. The newer ones are conventionally laid out with two driving positions and doors on both sides.
An interesting feature is the two alternative routes that exist around either end of the Leopoldkanaal locks just east of Zeebrugge, and the similar single track diversion around the inland end of the Boudewijnkanaal lock. This avoids delays to the tram schedule when the road bridge that the tram line normally follows is raised for boats passing under it. A similar feature exists at the southern end of Oostende station around the lock entrance to the Vlotdok.
The Borkum Kleinbahn & Inselbahn Langeoog – from U-Tube
Borkum’s steam train in 2008.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE1ZlxehgEM]
The Inselbahn Langeoog – note containers.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxofuN45CZA]
Getting Valley rail on track – From the Abby News
More positive news from the Fraser Valley Press.
Getting Valley rail on track
Published: October 28, 2009 2:00 PM
A regular train service arrives in downtown Abbotsford from Surrey and Langley, collecting passengers and transporting them to other areas of the city or as far east as Chilliwack.
It may sound like a long-term dream for rail enthusiasts, but according to a newly formed group pushing for the service, it could become a reality sooner rather than later.
The South of the Fraser Rail Task Force is currently looking for the backing of Valley municipalities in its push for rail connectivity.
Should that happen, it wants to see a A?ai??i??Ai??demonstration projectA?ai??i??A? conducted on the old interurban line, to determine whether the track is a viable long-term option to help link communities.
The group has been put together by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green, and task force member Peter Holt was in Abbotsford on Monday to pitch the groupA?ai??i??ai???s case to mayor and council.
Holt said trains would start at Scott Road in Surrey and wind through the Valley to Chilliwack. They would cross various parts of Surrey, Langley, Gloucester Estates at the Langley and Abbotsford border, through Abbotsford towards Sumas (via the University of the Fraser Valley), and then across to Yarrow and Chilliwack.
A?ai??i??Ai??This will be a new mode of transit south of the Fraser, joining our own communities and not the communities into Vancouver,A?ai??i??A? he said. A?ai??i??Ai??The good thing is that we are sitting on billions of dollars worth of assets.A?ai??i??A?
A similar pitch is being made by the group to other communities, and has also been put to the Fraser Valley Regional District.
It is an initiative well-worth pursuing, according to local rail enthusiast John Vissers, who is also involved with the group.
A?ai??i??Ai??We believe the political will and the community desire is there A?ai??i??ai??? thatA?ai??i??ai???s been demonstrated over and over again,A?ai??i??A? Vissers told The News, describing Abbotsford as a A?ai??i??Ai??hubA?ai??i??A? for light rail in the Fraser Valley.
A?ai??i??Ai??We have a local bus system, but we have no way for people to get from community to community without buying expensive cars.A?ai??i??A?
The interurban line between Abbotsford and Chilliwack is currently only used twice a day by freight trains. Visser said that because the line is taxpayer-owned, public trains are allowed to use it 33 per cent of the time.
A?ai??i??Ai??ThereA?ai??i??ai???s a cost involved, but it would create a culture that at the moment does not exist,A?ai??i??A? he said. A?ai??i??Ai??I think its a no-brainer. ItA?ai??i??ai???s something thatA?ai??i??ai???s long overdue.A?ai??i??A?
Abbotsord Coun. Lynne Harris believes the community to be A?ai??i??Ai??supportiveA?ai??i??A? of a rail network that connects Abbotsford to nearby cities.
A?ai??i??Ai??These are tough economic times, but thereA?ai??i??ai???s infrastructure already there and that makes it potentially doable.A?ai??i??A?
Costs from $200M to $700M
While there is no study that estimates specific costs for the Interurban route between Surrey and Chilliwack, research commissioned by the City of Surrey in 2007 found that a basic Surrey to Langley service would cost approximately $200 million ($6 million per kilometre).
A similar TransLink study, which called for a more A?ai??i??Ai??deluxeA?ai??i??A? level of service between the two cities, puts costs closer to $700 million ($27 million per kilometre).
Ray Mufford, a director with the Valley Transportation Advisory Committee which is pushing for the interurban l ine, estimated that a basic half-hourly train service A?ai??i??ai??? running approximately 60 kilometres from Surrey to Chilliwack A?ai??i??ai??? would cost approximately $600 million.
That would include all track upgrades, he said, as well as trains, work at existing crossings, and new train stations.
Light rail proponents argue those numbers are just a fraction of what it costs to expand SkyTrain routes.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/fraser_valley/abbynews/news/67041542.html
The German East Frisian Islands Railways – Interurbans all the same.
The small German East Frisian Islands of Borkum, Langeoog,Ai??Ai??Wangeroog, and SpiekeroogAi??Ai??all operate narrow guage railways to help service tourist destinations on the almost car free ecologically sensitive islands. Even though the trains operated are steamAi??Ai??or diesel hauled, they preform the function of an interurban,Ai??Ai??conveying passengers fromAi??Ai??ferry piers to the main villages. Having rail transport means that auto traffic on island roadsAi??Ai??roads are kept to the bare minimum or not at all, preserving the idyllic nature of the islands.
The Friesian island railwaysAi??Ai??do provide aAi??Ai??small lesson for Rail to the Valley as the proposed Fraser Valley Interurban will not only function as an alternative to the car for valley residents, but convey tourists from downtown Vancouver, up through the Fraser Valley with a transit mode that hasn’t been available in 60 years.
BORKUM
Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westereems strait (which forms the border with the Netherlands), to the east by the Osterems strait, to the north by the North Sea, and to the south by the Wadden Sea. It is the largest and westernmost of the East Frisian Islands in the North Sea, due north of the Dutch province of Groningen.
The island is partially car-free. Off-season, driving by car is permitted everywhere, otherwise there are car-free zones. The only town on the island is also called Borkum. Passengers get a free train ride between the harbour and the town of Borkum.
LANGEOOG
Langeoog is one of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea, located between Baltrum Island (west), and Spiekeroog (east). It is also a municipality in the district of Wittmund in Lower Saxony, Germany. The main ferry termainal and town are connected by a short railway.
WANGEROOGE
Wangerooge is the eastern most and smallest of the inhabited East Frisian islands in this group (according to some other measurements, Baltrum is the smallest) and the only one that belonged to the historical district of Oldenburg between 1815 and 1947, whereas Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langerooge and Spiekerooge always belonged to the county of Ostfriesland. As of the census of 2004, the island has 1,055 inhabitants. Especially in summer the island accommodates more than 7,000 visitors a day.
In order to guarantee recreation, cars are prohibited on the island. The island can be reached by ship from Harlesiel, or it can be reached by plane from Harlesiel, Bremen, or Hamburg. The ferries leave at different times every day according to the tide. As on most East Frisian Islands, a small narrow gauge railway line, the Wangerooge Island Railway, connects the harbor to the main village.
The single track Wangerooge Island Railway (Wangerooger Inselbahn) is an unelectrified narrow gauge railway with a rail gauge of 1,000 mm located on the East Frisian island of Wangerooge off the northwestern coast of Germany. It is the most important means of transport on the island and is the only narrow gauge railway operated today by the Deutsche Bahn.
Ai??Ai??SPIEKEROOG
Spiekeroog is one of the smaller of the East Frisian Islands, off the North Sea coast of Germany. It is situated between Langeoog to its west, and Wangerooge to its east. The island belongs to the municipality of the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony in Germany. The only village on the island is also called Spiekeroog.
There is a quaint diesel rail service on the island and from April to September (depending on holiday times), a horse-driven railway operates between the old railway station and Westend.
Getting Valley rail on track – the South of the Fraser Rail Task Force
An article in the Abbotsford News about the South of the Fraser Rail Task Force, headed by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green.
Letters to the Editor of the Abbotsford News are strongly encouraged! (Email newsroom@abbynews.com)
Excerpt:
A regular train service arrives in downtown Abbotsford from Surrey and Langley, collecting passengers and transporting them to other areas of the city or as far east as Chilliwack.
It may sound like a long-term dream for rail enthusiasts, but according to a newly formed group pushing for the service, it could become a reality sooner rather than later.
The South of the Fraser Rail Task Force is currently looking for the backing of Valley municipalities in its push for rail connectivity.
Should that happen, it wants to see a A?ai??i??Ai??demonstration projectA?ai??i??A? conducted on the old interurban line, to determine whether the track is a viable long-term option to help link communities.
The group has been put together by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green, and task force member Peter Holt was in Abbotsford on Monday to pitch the groupA?ai??i??ai???s case to mayor and council.
(click here for the full article)
STRASBOURG – Beautiful City – Beautiful Trams
The French city of Strasbourg (Ai??Ai??populationAi??Ai?? 276,867Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??in 2006),Ai??Ai??which its historic city centre was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, decided in the early 1990’s toAi??Ai??build a modern tramway system,Ai??Ai??using theAi??Ai??innovative and attractiveAi??Ai??ADTranz Eurotram rolling stock .Ai??Ai??In 1994 Line A opened, with a north-southAi??Ai??route running from Hautpierre-Maillon (north-west) to the city center (where a tunnel section runs under Gare Centrale railway station) to the south, passing through the main hospital, the stadium, the university and Baggersee suburb). So successful was Strasburg’s initial light rail line that it was extended in 1998 from Baggersee to Illkirch Lixenbuhllatter and with more lines to come.
Line B-C started its operations in 2000; their track is articulated in 3 branches converging in the city center (Place de la Republique). Line B runs south (Lingolsheim terminal, opened in May 2008 after Elsau-Lingolsheim extension) – north (Hoenheim Gare), While Line C connects suoth-western (Elsau) to south-eastern (Rodolphe Reuss terminal, opened in August 2007 after Esplanade-Rodolphe Reuss extension) areas. Line B and C serves many important urban polarities, the tramway depot area (Elsau), the university (south-east), the congress center (north), the suburbs of Schlitigheim, Bischheim (north) and Ostwald, Lingolsheim (south).
Line E opened in 2007 running from Baggersee (south-east) to Robersau Boecklin (north-east), serving the European Parlament.
Line F should will open in 2010, as the urban section of a new tram-train line connectin the railway station to Entzheim airport and to Vallee de la Bruche (Gresswiller, Mutzig) and Piemont des Vosges (Obernai, Barr) agglomerations; LRT and tram vehicles will share the existing TER Alsace railway tracks by 2014. Line F will connect Gare (with a new tramway surface stop) to Robersau Boecklin (serving the European Parlament) and Vauban, running along part of Line B-C (Homme de Fer-Republique section) and Line E (Republique-Wacken) tracks.
| Country | France |
| Line | Line A, Line B, Line C, Line D, Line E |
| Inhabitants | City 270.000, District 610.000 |
| Date opening | 1994 |
| Future development: | Line F (urban section of a future tram-train line connecting the airport to the city center) |
| Length (km) | 53.7 |
| Track sections | Linea A: 12.6 km; Linea B: 15.1 km; Linea C: 9.9 km; Linea D: 5.5 km; Linea E: 10.6 km ground level, with the exception of a tunnel section under Gare Centrale |
| Stops | 59, average distance m 550 |
| Platforms | — |
| Platform doors | — |
| General characteristics | — |
| n. of vehicles | Bombardier: 53; Alstom: 41 |
| n. of cars per vehicle | Bombardier:3-4; Alstom: 7 |
| Type | steel wheels, bi-directional |
| Vehicle dimensions (m) | Bombardier: lenght: 33.10 (3 cars), 43.10 (4 cars), width 2.4 Alstom: length: 45.06, width 2.4 |
| Vehicle capacity (pax) | Bombardier: 285 (86 seated) 3 cars; 370 (92 seated) 4 cars Alstom: 288 |
| Frequency | 3’/15′ |
| Current/Voltage | 750 V DC overhead |
| Type of guide/gauge | standard gauge rails (1435 mm) |
| Speed Km/h | Comm 20, Max 60 |
| Accel./Decel. (m/sec2) | — |
| System capacity | 6.000 pphpd |
| Ridership | — |
| Total cost | 20 M Euro/km CAD $31.7M/km. |
| Staff | — |
| System builder | BOMBARDIER, ALSTOM |
| Model | Bombardier: Eurotram; Alstom: Citadis 403 |
| Ai?? |
Alaskan Way Viaduct – Earthquake Simulation – from U-Tube. Could this be deja vu for SkyTrain?
The following video from theAi??Ai??Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), showing the effects of a 7.0 earthquake in Seattle is telling and is very much worth a watch. Even though Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct isAi??Ai??long past its primeAi??Ai??and not designed for catastrophic earthquakes, it’s collapseAi??Ai??plus theAi??Ai??failure of other aged infrastructure is chilling.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hos_uIKwC-c]
The late transit expert, Des Turner, was always concerned about the effects of a large earthquake and on the mostly elevated Expo and Millennium light-metro lines. In theory, theAi??Ai??SkyTrain viaductsAi??Ai??should survive an earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter Scale with minimal damage, with few exceptions, such as if a support column fails due to local soilAi??Ai??liquefaction or earth movement.
Unlike at-street/at-grade light rail, failure on any section of viaduct would mean several months of disrupted service on the metro until new columns and guide-ways could be rebuilt and emplaced. Large scale failure of the SkyTrain viaduct may even lead to line abandonment.
InAi??Ai??summer 1995, aAi??Ai??letter from a US engineer specializing in earthquake resistant design to Mr. Turner, expressedAi??Ai??a worry thatAi??Ai??if a 7+ earthquake were to hit Vancouver, the elevated SkyTrain guide-way would fail in several sections,Ai??Ai??just like what happened in Kobe Japan in 1995, where once thought earthquake resistant viaduct design failed, with devastating consequences.
Vancouver doesn’t haveAi??Ai??60 year oldAi??Ai??decaying elevated double-deck highway viaduct to worry about, but it does have a large elevated light-metro network, which some sections are now approaching some 30 years old and one wonders that TransLink has an earthquake plan, if and when the unthinkable happens.
Let’s ride on the Clermont-Ferrand TransLohr GLT -Courtesy of U-Tube
This is an interesting U-Tube of the TransLohr GLT or guided bus. The centre rail is for guidance only as the tram like bus is propelled by standard rubber tires.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTJgh50vuuw]
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