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| (1544448) | |
PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Jersey Mike on Fri Apr 24 23:33:43 2020 While I am a frequent visitor to the Bay Area, it had been some time since I was last able to conduct a full survey of the Caltrain line between San Francisco and San Jose. In 2019 however I was forced into flying in and out of SJC airport for an event in San Francisco which would allow for multiple opportunities to see what was new on the old Peninsula commuter line. On the inbound leg of my trip I wound up getting a ride part way from family and the remainder of the trip was on Bombardier trainsets without a front view. However the return leg allowed me an express run from San Francisco to San Jose with a short return hop back to Santa Clara where the airport bus connection is made.You can find the full set of Caltrain photos here (mirror) and San Francisco transit photos will be covered in a separate post. We begin at San Carlos where I was catching a northbound Sunday afternoon local to San Francisco just as a light drizzle was picking up. Lead car of the Bomber trainset was car car #113. Note the mix of LED and sealed beam headlights.  Instead of riding all the way to the 4th and King Street terminal, I alighted at Bayshore to make a connection with the T-Third light rail line. Power was being provided by Caltrain MP36PH-3C #927 and the train departed under a Limited Clear signal indication at CP-TUNNEL.  Skipping ahead about 5 days, I again found myself on Caltrain catching "Baby Bullet" express train #330 south out of San Francisco's 4th and King street terminal on a Thursday Morning. Often these late express runs will operate with a normal Gallery Car trainset as opposed to one of the Bombardier Baby bullet sets. Departing 4th and King I captured MP36PH-3C #926 at the head of a Gallery Car trainset and #928 at the head of a Baby Bullet trainset on the lower tracks to the north.  F40PH-2 #902 and MP30PH-3C #925 were hanging on tracks to the south.   South San Francisco is the Union Pacific staging area for all freight in San Francisco and a pair of UP GP40-2, including #1433, were on hand in the grey morning fog. The signal bridge is a Southern Pacific original and construction is underway for the new electrification project which will place one of the substations just out of frame to the left.  Caltrain has been slowly grade separating its line in busy downtown areas since 2004 and the most recent segment to be completed was in the town on San Bruno. A new elevated station was constructed with closer proximity to BART, replacing the old station at the southern end of the viaduct. Here we see Caltrain MP36PH-3C #923 with a northbound Baby Bullet trainset passing through San Bruno. Note the newly installed overhead catenary supports.  Caltrain F40PH-2CAT #219 seen pushing northbound with a morning peak period train just south of the Millbrae station.  A new grade crossing project is underway through the town of Hillsdale with the viaduct going up adjacent to the current right of way. This is somewhat reminiscent of the way the LIRR Babylon branch was reconstructed in the 1970s. Here Caltrain F40PH-2CAT #901 is passing one of the new concrete overpasses. It appears that the design involves both raising the tracks and lowering the road.  At Palo Alto my train passed F40PH-2CAT #901 pushing a Baby Bullet trainset. Due to ridership increases Caltrain purchased a number of MetroLink Bomber Bi-levels, made surplus after Metrolink's purchase of new Rotem equipment.  As the morning rush was winding down, we passed by F40PH-2CAT #918 near Mountain View. Caltrain is somewhat unique for its bi-directional rush hour as work and residential concentrations are spread throughout the Bay Area.  Caltrain F40PH-2CAT #904 and #917 hang out the at CEMOF maintenance facility near San Jose, while F40PH-2CAT #905 leads a trainset towards the San Jose Diredon terminal.   As Caltrain uses a semi-POP system with 4 hour duration tickets, I was able to change to the last northbound limited stop run of the morning, Train 237. While my train was waiting to departSan Jose Track #5, #905 and its train pulled into track #7.   My Train 237 was being led in the norbound direction by Chicago style gallery cab car #4015.  Propulsion was furnished by Caltrain F40PH-2 #907, seen here departing Santa Clara and passing by the preserved CLARA Tower.  Caltrain appears to have settle on a transponder based PTC system similar to Amtrak's ACSES system deployed in the northeast. I am unsure if it also makes use of coded track circuits or is its own unique beast.  While waiting for my shuttle bus at San Jose, Amtrak California F59PHI #2006 rolled in, just a few minutes away from the end of its run in San Jose.  A Baby Bullet trainset with Caltrain MP36PH-3C #925 rolled into the station. Since I did not know which of the morning express runs would operate with gallery equipment, this train would have been my backup if 330 not had gallery cars.   A not terrible tardy Amtrak Train #11, southbound Coast Starlight, was next on the scene, led by P42DC #4.  Due to some trackwork, northbound trains were running on the southbound track north of Santa Clara. Here are good friend #905 pushes a northbound local through the diverging route at CP-DE-LA-CRUZ north of Santa Clara. I'll leave things with this view of the preserved CLARA tower, which was operated by Amtrak at the time of its closure as Amtrak had the Caltrain contract at the time. Although the structure is preserved, I am not sure if the GRS Model 2 interlocking machine is still present.  Next time tune in as I tackle the hills of San Francisco on cable cars, PCCs and the T-Third light rail line. |
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| (1544450) | |
Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by https://salaamallah.com/ on Fri Apr 24 23:35:33 2020, in response to PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Jersey Mike on Fri Apr 24 23:33:43 2020. VERY NICE PHOTOSENJOYED |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by nasadowsk on Sat Apr 25 07:01:41 2020, in response to PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Jersey Mike on Fri Apr 24 23:33:43 2020. "Departing?"Maybe if you threw it off a cliff, it'd move fast, but even then, it'd probably take 1/2 a month to hit the ground. No wonder Caltrain is putting up wires - the performance of their current stuff sucks ass.. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by jailhousedoc on Sat Apr 25 19:43:09 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by nasadowsk on Sat Apr 25 07:01:41 2020. what will be the voltage on the new overhead ? Are they going for 25 kv AC like on some parts of the NC, or will they copy the Chicago area with DC overhead ? |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Apr 25 21:55:58 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by nasadowsk on Sat Apr 25 07:01:41 2020. Rubbish. Even with the wires up, the average speed will remain at 30 mph for locals and 50 mph for "Bullets". |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Apr 25 22:16:22 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by jailhousedoc on Sat Apr 25 19:43:09 2020. Are they going for 25 kv AC like on some parts of the NCIf by "NC" you mean "Northeast Corridor", then yes. (Amtrak was supposed to convert the entire thing from Boston to DC to that voltage at one time.) And the end of the electrification is still to be San Jose. Sadly, they twiddled their thumbs at the notion of using ex-Amtrak electrics, and didn't bother to look into NJT's former ALP-44s which are/were still relatively young. Since they plan to double the number of trains and keep the top speed at 79 mph, don't expect the average speed to increase. They want to dig tunnels to the Transbay Transit Center as well. And since California still doesn't know what it's doing with respect to high-speed rail, there's the possibility of mixing high and low platforms too. Things are utterly stupid at this point. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by nasadowsk on Sun Apr 26 13:06:49 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by jailhousedoc on Sat Apr 25 19:43:09 2020. 25kv, 60Hz. Nobody in their right mind builds a 1.5kv or 3kv DC system these days.The 'phase balance' issue is bullshit foamers come up with to make excuses for not going to 60 Hz. The French and British blew that arguement out of the water in the 50's, with 'weaker' grids. There's zero reason to use 25Hz. None, period, full stop. Yes, I know some guy at Atmrak wrote a paper in the late 70's proclaiming supposed 'advantages', I think he was hung up on power factor. Today, you have to be an idiot to make a locomotive or EMU that isn't dead nuts unity. Actually, you'd probably have to try at it. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Bill West on Sun Apr 26 14:06:12 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by nasadowsk on Sun Apr 26 13:06:49 2020. Hi Phil, regarding 25 vs 60hz, this was discussed on RRnet a decade ago.-There is little difference in the EMU cost because it's all custom parts or frequency insensitive parts anyway. -The 70's paper wasn't 25hz's PF it was 60hz's impedance, it has 2.4 times the voltage drop. MNR had to add substations on the New Haven line. That's the cost that would pay for frequency changers. Then you can keep the whole system on one phase and skip the open phase breaks then the onboard switching that goes with them. -For direct connection of RR single phase to 60hz utilities the UK bs'd the utilities "out of the water". Amtrak Boston gets along because it is so lightly loaded that the Utility can stand the unbalance. The catch with that thought is that it could be used by other customers and eventually dirty up the network. -25kv DC is what would work the best all round but no one would pursue it. I acknowledge that any new RR will be 60hz but it will be by steam rollering the arguments, not by answering them. Just wanting to keep the record complete, Bill |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Jackson Park B Train on Sun Apr 26 16:55:23 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by nasadowsk on Sun Apr 26 13:06:49 2020. OTOH, South Shore Line (in Indiana) is in the design stage of an extension on underused Monon ROW. it will be 1.5KV DC because the other 100+ miles of the system is. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by AEM-7AC #901 on Sun Apr 26 18:30:11 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by nasadowsk on Sun Apr 26 13:06:49 2020. Nobody in their right mind builds a 1.5kvFor new mainline, no. For light rail, Seattle and Ottawa have gone for 1.5kv DC... |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Easy on Mon Apr 27 01:05:02 2020, in response to PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Jersey Mike on Fri Apr 24 23:33:43 2020. The blue/white bombardier cars are obviously former Metrolink, but what about the red/white? Are those repurposed Metrolink cars as well? |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Jackson Park B Train on Mon Apr 27 01:39:26 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Easy on Mon Apr 27 01:05:02 2020. from https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Caltrain_and_Altamont_Commuter_Express by 1985, new EMD F40PH-2 locomotives and stainless-steel gallery cars built by Nippon-Sharyo and assembled in San Francisco were acquired, replacing the celebrated "Harrimans" dating back to the 1920s as well as a first generation of gallery cars. Operation is now entirely push-pull, with the locomotive always on the south (San Jose) end. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Jersey Mike on Mon Apr 27 03:22:09 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Easy on Mon Apr 27 01:05:02 2020. No, those were purchased new for the 2004 Baby Blet service. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by ChicagoMotorman on Mon Apr 27 13:37:09 2020, in response to PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Jersey Mike on Fri Apr 24 23:33:43 2020. Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!n I didn't know they were that far ahead in construction. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Jackson Park B Train on Mon Apr 27 14:19:44 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by ChicagoMotorman on Mon Apr 27 13:37:09 2020. with service reductions account shelter in lace etc, work has been accelerated as 'tracktime' windows have been greater. recent agit prop from CalTrain indicates that catenaryhangers have been installed in the couple oftunnels in SF. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Apr 27 15:23:27 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by nasadowsk on Sun Apr 26 13:06:49 2020. There's zero reason to use 25Hz. None, period, full stopTell it to the Germans who are sticking with their sixteen and two thirds Hertz frequency that there's "zero reason" to have stayed with it, especially for their new build. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRANS CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Apr 27 15:33:00 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Bill West on Sun Apr 26 14:06:12 2020. Nobody's going to want to blow the extra dough on installing and maintaining rectifiers for high-voltage DC wires, never mind the trains being already set up to run on AC wires. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRANS CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Bill West on Mon Apr 27 16:47:05 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRANS CALTRAIN VII, posted by Olog-hai on Mon Apr 27 15:33:00 2020. 1. Those rectifiers already exist in all the locos and EMUs, they'd be cheaper consolidated in the substations2. New DC would just pass right through the existing rectifiers on modern AC cars 3. I did say "but no one would pursue it" Bill |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Jackson Park B Train on Mon Apr 27 17:01:02 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Olog-hai on Mon Apr 27 15:23:27 2020. everyone can pay for a study justifying what is compatible with the "installed base" Why do you think I so despise metric screws supplied w/light fixtures for installation in US threaded electrical boxes? |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRANS CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Apr 27 17:44:01 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRANS CALTRAIN VII, posted by Bill West on Mon Apr 27 16:47:05 2020. How would it be "cheaper" to install HVDC rectifiers at substations when that does nothing to simplify the architecture versus merely having AC transformers? Never mind the maintenance costs of devices that are not commonplace. Not to mention, on the locomotive you aren't necessarily simplifying things; adding a transformer to step down HVDC to replace an on-board rectifier doesn't reduce costs. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by hhp664 on Mon Apr 27 18:26:06 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Olog-hai on Sat Apr 25 22:16:22 2020. nice reminds me when they electrified the NJCL....and no sense for a new electrification to have hand me down junk electrics...they didn't need Amtrak or transit alps |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRANS CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Apr 27 19:10:18 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by hhp664 on Mon Apr 27 18:26:06 2020. NJT ran Arrows to/from Long Branch for a long time, until they decided to change the voltage and frequency. That service was quite rapid. |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Jersey Mike on Tue Apr 28 12:44:27 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Jackson Park B Train on Mon Apr 27 14:19:44 2020. Yeah, but who will be using transit or living in cities after this? |
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Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII |
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Posted by Jackson Park B Train on Tue Apr 28 18:51:14 2020, in response to Re: PHOTOS: CALTRAN CALTRAIN VII, posted by Jersey Mike on Tue Apr 28 12:44:27 2020. Interesting question. The cultural desert of the Peninsula suburbs is such that many of the techies chose to commute south from SF. The result for CalTrain was the remarkable near balance of NB and SB ridership in both AM and PM rush. Many of them could easily work from home--in fact a Google employee within my clan has often worked from home. In a previous job he was in a work group of Red Hat which included one person in CZ, and one down under. WFH is getting rammed down the throats of the incompetent, and ignorant management types who generated the joke "look busy, Jesus is coming". Yes there are valuable aspects of working in a large office, but many tasks rarely require either the time wasting meetings or the "chats at the drinking fountain".Then, of course we have the arch secessionist suburbanites who already hate the cities and especially the residents who serve them lattes,who will retreat to their autos hoping that enough of their neighbors will WFH that gridlock will not return. Good luck with that. The top line hospitals are all essentially co-located w/ major universities in cities University professors are not (with some exceptions) known for preferring rural/exurban living. Yes, you can do lectures, even seminars, via the web, buit the physical laboratories are not going to move long distances from the rest of the institution. Lastly, of course, there are those of us who actually like urban spaces--browsing in a bookstore is ever so much more fun than looking online. And, for me at least,I miss the live music--I have tix for 3 canceled shows from the last month and a haslf which might be rescheduled in the late fall, but, that doesn't make up for not having the endorphins flowing during and after a good show. Watch the closing doors. |
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