Metro's revised track work & maintenance plan

The FTA made a fuss about this work zone and got bumped up to the top of the list.

"JackRussell"
I am a little curious as to why it was that this specific section of track was bumped to the top of the list..

I would guess one of the reasons why is what I have observed over the last several years running out VA I-66 to photograph the construction progress on the N route Silver line, roughly 1/4 of the Emergency Trip Stations between the tunnel portal and Great Falls Street are partly missing and or not functioning.

I went by with a camera to see what they were really up to. The work crews seem to be moving up the line gradually - yesterday they were closer to Harrison St, today they were a bit further west - closer to Patrick Henry or Ohio.

For the most part they are doing what we would expect. Replacement of 3rd rail insulators - here they are replacing all of them, and not just picking out some of them that are worse off than others. They are also replacing some of the ties - in some places they are only replacing one out of every four. I am not sure why they are doing it this way - I am wondering if it is simply because the work vehicles need the running rails to be somewhat usable for them to do their work, and perhaps they will make several passes until they get them all. I guess we will know once this section of track is reopened. The old ties along this section looked pretty ratty. It doesn't surprise me that they were replacing them - I would sort of expect that all the ties in this section will be replaced by the time they are done.

There were over a dozen work vehicles of various types out today. There were Metro employees monitoring the trains on the outbound track and making sure that everything was clear before any trains went by (I had noted one vehicle preparing to pick up some of the discarded ties, and it had to wait until a train passed on the outbound line before it could reach over to pick up the ties).

Anyways, here are the photos - click the thumbnails to enlarge:

Here is a photo showing what it looks like when they are done with the ties.



Here is a work crew with the new insulators:



Here is a collection of work vehicles as a train passes by:



This is what one of the old insulators look like:



Here they are getting ready to reattach the running rails to one of the new ties:



Here is a lineup of work vehicles - all waiting to be refueled.



And here is how they were refueling these things. The truck was parked on the bridge, and they snaked a hose down to the track below:

Several of you pictures show ties that date back to when WMATA was still using plates and spikes. In one picture a new tie with E clip plates and bolts are next to a tie with plates and spikes marked for replacement. WMATA has replaced roughly 20 percent of the ties per pass over the last dozen or so years. When I road through there on Silver line opening day there were a number of discarded ties next to security fence.

Sand Box John wrote:Several of you pictures show ties that date back to when WMATA was still using plates and spikes. In one picture a new tie with E clip plates and bolts are next to a tie with plates and spikes marked for replacement. WMATA has replaced roughly 20 percent of the ties per pass over the last dozen or so years. When I road through there on Silver line opening day there were a number of discarded ties next to security fence.

There was a special machine they were using to screw in the bolts to attach the plates, but it was parked almost directly beneath the bridge that I was standing on, and as a result I couldn't get a really decent picture. But it made quite a noise when they were running it.

The vehicle with the new insulators was also picking up some of the discarded ties. It wasn't clear why they weren't picking up all of them. No doubt they have more time in the remaining days to do cleanups like that.

As I look over the photos of the sections where they were largely done, I saw nothing but bolts attaching the plates to the ties - I could easily see how the old ones with spikes might be the first to be replaced, but they have blocked out 13 days for the surge along this section, and this is only day 2, so plenty of work remains. There is a 2nd surge in July along the same stretch (I take that to mean that they will work on the other track at that time). It will all be clearer when this one is done.

WMATA posted a video of some of the work going on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne_QIsWBajo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"JackRussell"
WMATA posted a video of some of the work going on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne_QIsWBajo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HOLLY EXCREMENT ! ! The seen from 0:19 to 0:36 shows the removing of nuts from first generation rail fasteners. Those rail fasteners are at least 35 YEARS OLD.

Sand Box John wrote:"JackRussell"
WMATA posted a video of some of the work going on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne_QIsWBajo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HOLLY EXCREMENT ! ! The seen from 0:19 to 0:36 shows the removing of nuts from first generation rail fasteners. Those rail fasteners are at least 35 YEARS OLD.

Hey, we should be glad there were actually intact fasteners there at all....

JR, SBJ and Everyone:

Interesting video and pictures showing Metro trackwork - many of these showing tie replacement reminds me of
LIRR track - leaving out being in the center of I-66.

I noticed that Metro is now using Pandrol plates and clips replacing more traditional tie plates and spikes.
Are they using bolts or hairpin spikes to fasten their wood ties?

The fiberglass third rail insulators are different then the ones used by the LIRR which are not as tall.
I remember being shown just how easy it is to change them out - a hardwood pole jacks up the third rail enough
for the old insulator to be slid out and the new one slid in by hand. The key is avoiding any contact with the third
rail especially if there could be a direct short circuit or if there is water or wet or other dampness around.

In future track work programs in which large portions of track are replaced does Metro plan on installing any new
tie types such as composite (plastic) or concrete (used on the new Silver Line to Dulles Airport) replacing wood?

MACTRAXX

"MACTRAXX"
I noticed that Metro is now using Pandrol plates and clips replacing more traditional tie plates and spikes. Are they using bolts or hairpin spikes to fasten their wood ties?

WMATA has been using Pandrol fasteners for at least 20 years now on both ballasted track and concrete track beds. The plates are bolted to the ties.

In future track work programs in which large portions of track are replaced does Metro plan on installing any new tie types such as composite (plastic) or concrete (used on the new Silver Line to Dulles Airport) replacing wood?

To my knowledge no.

Sand Box John wrote: WMATA has been using Pandrol fasteners for at least 20 years now on both ballasted track and concrete track beds. The plates are bolted to the ties.

Here is a closeup of the fastening:



At the time of the photo, the fasteners on the new ties only had 2 bolts - the fasteners on the older ties had 4. I expect that this is only because they had not yet completed the installation process.

Sand Box John wrote:"MACTRAXX"
I noticed that Metro is now using Pandrol plates and clips replacing more traditional tie plates and spikes. Are they using bolts or hairpin spikes to fasten their wood ties?

WMATA has been using Pandrol fasteners for at least 20 years now on both ballasted track and concrete track beds. The plates are bolted to the ties.

In future track work programs in which large portions of track are replaced does Metro plan on installing any new tie types such as composite (plastic) or concrete (used on the new Silver Line to Dulles Airport) replacing wood?

To my knowledge no.

The rail fastener plates are attached to the wood ties with screw spikes. Here is an example one:http://www.railway-fastener.com/sspike/ ... w-198.html. The ones WMATA uses have pointed tips. The spike in the plate is used to hold the plate in gauge for the screw spike driver.

As far as I know, there are no current plans to retrofit the system with concrete ties. I think WMATA needs to live with Dulles for a few more years before they reach a decision on that. Like I said, I think concrete ties are a little over-hyped for WMATA.

schmod wrote:Is it just me, or do the power-related speed restrictions seem to be based upon a fundamental misunderstanding of how electricity works?

High current draw might cause problems for the transformers, but doesn't cause track fires.

But...... Lecumtricity is SCARY....

Metro's reporting a prime mover derail last night whose side mirror impacted the front of a Silver Line train between East Falls Church and Ballston - http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/P ... aseID=6113" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There was also a collision at the New Carrollton yard this AM

https://twitter.com/MetroReasons/status ... 2401489920" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;