Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

This is ridiculous! Seems like a disease. Started with the Orange line, now it seems as though it's spreading EVERYWHERE!! WTF?!!:mad:
 
Perhaps we go this week with no announcement if that "November" date is still holding from officials? The deafening silence all last week and so far this week; only word of mouth. Already full week into the month.

This week is a 4 day week due to the Friday holiday, so we're already halfway into the 2nd week of November.
 
Delvin4519 said:
Perhaps we go this week with no announcement if that "November" date is still holding from officials? The deafening silence all last week and so far this week; only word of mouth. Already full week into the month.

This week is a 4 day week due to the Friday holiday, so we're already halfway into the 2nd week of November.
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I wouldn't expect an announcement until very late November if it's not going to open on time (except possibly if it's going to be the first week of December). In MBTA-speak, they've got three weeks left where it's technically November; if it opens at five PM on the 30th, they'll call it November and say they met the deadline.
 
Heading west from Gilman this morning
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Delvin4519 said:
Perhaps we go this week with no announcement if that "November" date is still holding from officials? The deafening silence all last week and so far this week; only word of mouth. Already full week into the month.

This week is a 4 day week due to the Friday holiday, so we're already halfway into the 2nd week of November.
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I doubt the test trains will stop on Friday.
 
SomervilleRed said:
Heading west from Gilman this morning
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My favorite thing is how the MBTA signs trains heading inbound from Medford and all GLX stations into downtown as "COPLEY & WEST", even though the trains are heading due eastwards to get from Medford/Union Square into Downtown Boston inbound. It is not until Lechmere Station that the trains are finally east of Copley station and where Copley station is finally "West" of it's position.
 
Delvin4519 said:
My favorite thing is how the MBTA signs trains heading inbound from Medford and all GLX stations into downtown as "COPLEY & WEST", even though the trains are heading due eastwards to get from Medford/Union Square into Downtown Boston inbound. It is not until Lechmere Station that the trains are finally east of Copley station and where Copley station is finally "West" of it's position.
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Typical practice for railroads to have only two directions (east-west or north-south), helps eliminate confusion given that (as you noted) lines can go in various actual directions during their run. The Green Line's typically been eastbound-westbound, which made a lot of sense given that most of the network, and all of the branches, were at the western end prior to the GLX.

As for the specific signage, within the past ten or so years they've moved away from their former practice of using "Inbound" and "Outbound" designations in favor of more directions and 'landmark' stations, presumably because it's less confusing to non-regular riders. (Under the old system, you could board an inbound train at Lechmere heading for Copley...or at Copley heading for Lechmere, Park and Government Center being where everything inbound was headed and everything going away from them being outbound. The "Copley & West" designation (like its opposite-direction counterpart "North Station & North") is essentially a short version of [to] Copley & [points] West [of Copley]. I get why they chucked the old In/Outbound paradigm, but I don't necessarily think the current one is free from confusion and oddities.
 
Brattle Loop said:
Typical practice for railroads to have only two directions (east-west or north-south), helps eliminate confusion given that (as you noted) lines can go in various actual directions during their run. The Green Line's typically been eastbound-westbound, which made a lot of sense given that most of the network, and all of the branches, were at the western end prior to the GLX.

As for the specific signage, within the past ten or so years they've moved away from their former practice of using "Inbound" and "Outbound" designations in favor of more directions and 'landmark' stations, presumably because it's less confusing to non-regular riders. (Under the old system, you could board an inbound train at Lechmere heading for Copley...or at Copley heading for Lechmere, Park and Government Center being where everything inbound was headed and everything going away from them being outbound. The "Copley & West" designation (like its opposite-direction counterpart "North Station & North") is essentially a short version of [to] Copley & [points] West [of Copley]. I get why they chucked the old In/Outbound paradigm, but I don't necessarily think the current one is free from confusion and oddities.
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Yea. The Green Line is kind of hard to define since all trains run in all 4 cardinal directions in a single direction, regardless of the branch, unlike the Red, Blue, and Orange lines, which mostly run North - South.

I just realized looking at the map again, the entire Huntington Ave E branch lies completely to the east of Medford station at the terminal of the Medford branch. As such, E trains have a longer western leg north of Government Center into Somerville, than it does south of Government Center into Huntington Ave., which is a shorter "western leg" compared to the Somerville/Medford portion of the route.
 
I haven’t figured out what the random cables are lying on the ties alongside the rail. They appear to be large gauge, but that makes no sense for their temporary appearance.
 
Delvin4519 said:
Yea. The Green Line is kind of hard to define since all trains run in all 4 cardinal directions in a single direction, regardless of the branch, unlike the Red, Blue, and Orange lines, which mostly run North - South.

I just realized looking at the map again, the entire Huntington Ave E branch lies completely to the east of Medford station at the terminal of the Medford branch. As such, E trains have a longer western leg north of Government Center into Somerville, than it does south of Government Center into Huntington Ave., which is a shorter "western leg" compared to the Somerville/Medford portion of the route.
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Yeah, the degree to which they vary in directions is why it's usual practice to just have two defined railroad directions that are independent of (and may, at times, be completely opposite to the actual cardinal direction of that specific section of track: for instance the southbound Northeast Corridor near Newark is, for a time, heading northwest). The Green Line is/was (I don't know to what extent it might have changed with the GLX northern additions) East-West, the Orange and Red were both North-South, and I don't actually know what the internal directions were on the Blue (which was always clearer on its inbound/outbound than the others). Huntington may well be east of Medford on a map, but that's the "west" side of Park Street on the full system, and Medford may well be west of Park on the map as well, but that's the "east" side of Park. (Riverside, for instance, is unambiguously west of both Park and Union Square, and it's a lot clearer and safer internally to have every branch's east and west be the same.)
 
RandomWalk said:
I haven’t figured out what the random cables are lying on the ties alongside the rail. They appear to be large gauge, but that makes no sense for their temporary appearance.
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They're the power cords for the trains in case the catenary system stops working. The T has taken past lessons to heart about always having a backup plan ;)
 
Wasn't *on* this train, but the inbound I just saw, when it hit the speed reduction point on the viaduct, *seemed* to be slowing down less severely than in previous weeks when I've witnessed similar. Anyone ride in from Union today and able to confirm (or reject)?
 
Delvin4519 said:
Yea. The Green Line is kind of hard to define since all trains run in all 4 cardinal directions in a single direction, regardless of the branch, unlike the Red, Blue, and Orange lines, which mostly run North - South.

I just realized looking at the map again, the entire Huntington Ave E branch lies completely to the east of Medford station at the terminal of the Medford branch. As such, E trains have a longer western leg north of Government Center into Somerville, than it does south of Government Center into Huntington Ave., which is a shorter "western leg" compared to the Somerville/Medford portion of the route.
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It's also "west" relative to Copley, as in "Copley & West of Copley".
 
quick question,
Is more street signage going to be put up?
In particular I'm thinking about East Somerville.
As far as I know the only entrance at the moment will be off Washington st. behind Cataldo but you'd really need to be paying attention to realize that's how you access the station!
 
bigpicture7 said:
They're the power cords for the trains in case the catenary system stops working. The T has taken past lessons to heart about always having a backup plan ;)
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I was hoping someone with more knowledge about traction power than me would have responded by now but your are so totally wrong. This is what is known as a "negative return cable" . Search google if you wish but good luck.
 
I thought the rail was the negative return path, with a short length of cable at the traction power substation. The haphazard way they are laid alongside the track, if they are the negative return, is a recipe for failure.
 
RandomWalk said:
I thought the rail was the negative return path, with a short length of cable at the traction power substation. The haphazard way they are laid alongside the track, if they are the negative return, is a recipe for failure.
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That's correct....the running rail is the negative return. Explainer: http://www.railway-technical.com/infrastructure/electric-traction-power.html


Return

What about the electrical return? There has to be a complete circuit, from the source of the energy out to the consuming item (light bulb, cooking stove or train) and back to the source, so a return conductor is needed for our railway. Simple – use the steel rails the wheels run on. Provided precautions are taken to prevent the voltage getting too high above the zero of the ground, it works very well and has done so for the last century. Of course, as many railways use the running rails for signalling circuits as well, special precautions have to be taken to protect them from interference.

The power circuit on the train is completed by connecting the return to brushes rubbing on the axle ends. The wheels, being steel, take it to the running rails. These are wired into the substation supplying the power and that does the job. The same technique is used for DC or AC overhead line supplies.
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reno said:
I was hoping someone with more knowledge about traction power than me would have responded by now but your are so totally wrong. This is what is known as a "negative return cable" . Search google if you wish but good luck.
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I'm pretty sure bigpicture7 was joking (given the not-infrequent Green Line catenary/power problems).
 
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