MBTA Construction Projects

B-line work again. Rails were replaced about 2 years ago? This time it's tie replacement.
Blandford Street crossing
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Lots of ties
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Packards Corner. I'm glad this intersection is getting tracks re-set and paved again because the ruts were getting pretty deep along the rails.
I wish the T would research whatever the Europeans are doing with tracks in pavement areas because you never see ruts along trolley tracks
in photos of all those small Hungarian town centers. There must be some sort of track "cradle" so pavement can form up against an edge instead
of leaving an "open" pavement edge along the track that seems to fall apart after a couple of years. Maybe they should go old school and just cobble stone the whole crossing.
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dhawkins said:
B-line work again. Rails were replaced about 2 years ago? This time it's tie replacement.
Blandford Street crossing
View attachment 40552

Lots of ties
View attachment 40554
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Am I missing something about efficient rail maintenance practices? Would it not have made more sense for the T to replace both the track and the ties during the same shutdown (like 2 years ago). Or is there some hidden efficiency to doing them separately? :unsure:
 
JeffDowntown said:
Am I missing something about efficient rail maintenance practices? Would it not have made more sense for the T to replace both the track and the ties during the same shutdown (like 2 years ago). Or is there some hidden efficiency to doing them separately? :unsure:
Click to expand...
I don't know about rapid transit, but on RR the rail and tieplates usually get replaced first, then the ties.
 
JeffDowntown said:
Am I missing something about efficient rail maintenance practices? Would it not have made more sense for the T to replace both the track and the ties during the same shutdown (like 2 years ago). Or is there some hidden efficiency to doing them separately? :unsure:
Click to expand...

The T explained with the Lechmere Viaduct that replacing rail ties or rails (in this case) 2 years earlier than their expected useful life end-date isn't best fiscal practice. I'm sure someone could do a cost-benefit and risk analysis of doing it all at once vs over 4 total (?) weeks of 2 summer shutdowns, and maybe you'll get a good solid answer.
 
The final design is a bit different than those renderings. All the access (ramps, stairs, etc.) on the outbound side will be in the Aberjona parking lot, and there will be a canopy along the length of the inbound platform. No construction past the Quill rotary any longer. No word on the HSR upgrade, though.

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Damn, why does Winchester get near-total canopy coverage, but hardly any other stations?
 
Canopy on both sides was an ask by the town given the full height platforms’ final elevation. It will be about the same height as standing and waiting on the roof off a two or three story house. T said they‘d make the change if the town paid for it. So town decided inbound only was the way to go. Outbound canopy is typical of T station design.
 
167 feet of track per day for a multi day full scale closure?

There are 167,464 feet of slow zones on the entire MBTA system. It would take 1,005 days to fix all of them at that rate, but you'd need to take the whole system offline to do that. 33.02 months over 2.751 years. That's not good looking.

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Delvin4519 said:
167 feet of track per day for a multi day full scale closure?

There are 167,464 feet of slow zones on the entire MBTA system. It would take 1,005 days to fix all of them at that rate, but you'd need to take the whole system offline to do that. 33.02 months over 2.751 years. That's not good looking.

View attachment 40833
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I think it's important to state that restricted track doesn't necessarily mean track repairs are needed on every foot of track in the restriction area. Or that the T seems to be seeking to do more than one repair a day.
 
Concrete_sleeper_1638.JPG

Wouldn't it be better to put down concrete ties instead of wooden ones? Don't they hold up better & last longer? :unsure:
 
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Jahvon09 said:
Wouldn't it be better to put down concrete ties instead of wooden ones? Don't they hold up better & last longer? :unsure:
Click to expand...

There was that whole incident on the Old Colony lines where all the concrete ties had to be replaced because they were crumbling, so maybe they learned a lesson?
 
When the extension of the Red Line to Quincy was being built in the early '70's the ties were concrete & the rails were welded together to avoid that "clickety-clanking[" sound, which made for a much smoother quieter ride. The commuters who rode it liked it & said that it was a smoother ride. :)
 
Has anyone else noticed the work ongoing at the Allston railyard? It looks like they are laying two new sets of rails north of the existing tracks, immediately next to the Pike.
 
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