SLE Westbrook Station (was: What happened to the new?)

Great shot! Nice to see the station finally getting its long overdue upgrade.

DutchRailnut wrote:lets just say there is no Amtrak channels on radio, or stations east of New haven in ASI system.

M8 radios are equipped with radio channels AAR 6060 (CP 216 to Penn Station) and channel 5454 (New Haven to South Station). They are listed on M8 radios as channel 6 and channel 5.

Finally got back to take some updated pictures. While they're uploading, here's a few from back in October.

The 1852 combination depot is still nearby - moved a few feet away from the tracks - and is used as a bar:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... _front.JPG

Viewed from the temporary platform:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... r_2012.jpg

Viewed from Essex Road:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... r_2012.JPG

I talked to a conductor and he said that some construction was delayed by an improper coating on some components, which caused them to be taken back for repainting. Here's what the station looked like last week.


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... y_2013.JPG


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... y_2013.JPG

The EGE wrote:Finally got back to take some updated pictures. While they're uploading, here's a few from back in October.

The 1852 combination depot is still nearby - moved a few feet away from the tracks - and is used as a bar:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... _front.JPG

Is that an FL9 on the sign for the bar?

I think it may be.

SLE E-Mail

Shore Line East Westbrook Station Improvements - Pedestrian Bridge Installation

Saturday, February 23, 2013 ("Snow" date Sunday, February 24)

NEW HAVEN, CT -

Shore Line East (SLE) rail is working with CT DOT Construction to install a pedestrian bridge over the tracks at Westbrook Station on Saturday, February 23, 2013 ("Snow" date Sunday, February 24).

Parking will be restricted and the station site will be closed to the public after the last train of the evening (Train 3658, arriving at Westbrook at 10:42 p.m.).

No impact on SLE rail service is anticipated. All work will take place overnight. The station will reopen Sunday, February 24, at 5 a.m.

If the weather is bad on Saturday night, the work will be done Sunday evening, with the station re-opening on Monday February 25 at 5 a.m.

You're too fast, Jeff. I just came here to post that.

Too fast too true! Just got an email it was postponed.

Pedestrian bridge was installed last night. Will try to post pictures from the raising.

Went by Westbrook yesterday. The pedestrian bridge is up, the staircases are largely finished, and work is underway on the outside of the towers.

Nice shots! Great to see the station coming along nicely.

Nice job so far. But I'm a bit annoyed that they don't make these platforms very long.

Clean Cab wrote:Nice job so far. But I'm a bit annoyed that they don't make these platforms very long.

Well, they don't really need them very long for SLE. They generally operate with 4-car sets these days, and that seems to be pretty much fine for their needs. The only station where there's ever an actual rush is New Haven, where all doors can always platform. While I'd like to see them build 360-foot platforms (long enough to have all-doors on a 4-car set), there's no need for MNRR-standard 1080 foot (12 car) or even MBTA-style 800 foot (9 car) platforms. Sure is better than the mini-highs that the MBTA seems to be satisfied with even for some very busy stations.

Current high-level platform lengths:

New London: SB 120 ft, NB 185 ft
Old Saybrook: both platforms 240 ft
Westbrook: both platforms 300ft (opens this summer)
Clinton: 200 ft (second platform planned)
Madison: 200 ft (second platform planned)
Guilford: SB 70 ft, NB 200 ft (platform extensions funded)
Branford: 200 ft (second platform funded, construction to start this summer)
State Street: 240ft (plus 40 ft extra on NB side)
New Haven: Tracks 8/10 700 ft, Tracks 12/14 800ft

The old standard for SLE was 200 foot platforms, which are perfectly adequate for their needs. Westbrook is actually getting 300 foot platforms - longer than any other station along the line except New Haven. Doing some measuring on Google Earth based on the foundations, it looks like the platforms might be another 5 or 10 feet past that.

The magic number for getting all quarter doors on 4 M8s onto a platform? About 305 feet.

That's still kind of chintzy building at 300 feet knowing in advance that they were going to be running 4-car sets of M8's. I hope they left room on the ground to cheaply expand these platforms later.