Western Railroad Discussion > Sounder Tacoma Bridge Construction Update 2/20/2017

Events of February 20, 2017

1) Working on the EAST end alignment or main 2, to the new bridge.

2) View of the new bridge with connections made at both ends.

3) Looking east from D Street, down Main 1, the platform track.  Crews are working on the switch between Main 2 and the platform track, which will become Main 1 when the second half of the bridge is complete.

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/17 19:08 by DelMonteX.

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4) The SpeedSwing is moving in to place a hodgepodge of bolted rail to fill the last gap between the switch and main 2.   The eventually decided to move the piece west so there were fewer bolted pieces of rail.

5) This view illustrates the amount of ballast that will be required to raise the track on the bridge to meet the level of the track in the foreground.

6) A look down from the platform to the end of west end of the trestle.   All the railing on the new bridge (wood and metal) will be taken off before Sound Transit allowed a train to cross.

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

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7) Setting the gap between rail at what will be an insulated joint (IJ).  I do believe he understood it was upside down)

8) Installing the bolts on an insulated joint.  Illustrates the confidence they have in one another.  The guy on the left, Jason I believe, wanted to know if I was going to make him famous.  So if you see him at a job near you, tell he was on the world famous Trainrorders.com.

9) Setting gauge before spiking the right rail.

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

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10) Here's Jason again, working on the last insulated joint.

11) Driving home a spike while a co-working holds the tie tight to the rail.

12) Spark Time - Cutting the second to last rail to fit.

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

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13) Now it's time to drill holes for the fish plates.

14) Cutting the last rail to fit.

15) Bolting the main 2 rail to the swtich.  Last connection, but still hours away from running a train.

Still more to come.

Steve Carter
Gig Harbor, WA
My Photography

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Great pics...I don't know the ultimate viability of this project, but it looks wonderful to see people working--Building track while new equipment rolls along. i hope a few generations from now these current rail enhancements will be viewed as visionary, or at least a good idea.

SD9 Wrote:
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> Great pics...I don't know the ultimate viability
> of this project, but it looks wonderful to see
> people working--Building track while new equipment
> rolls along. i hope a few generations from now
> these current rail enhancements will be viewed as
> visionary, or at least a good idea.

It took two decades of work to turn the idea into concrete and steel. It is indeed a good idea, and based upon the number of experts of one sort ot another who thought we were crazy, it must be visionary.

TAW

Interesting pics!!  Thanks....

Looking forward to your next post on this project.
John

Great set of informative images.

Thank you.

Mike

Michael McInerney
Marion, South Australia,

TSK TSK TSK ... i hope they changed out those ties under that joint ... once they made that joint on the defective ties they created a track defect ... FRA mandate states there must be at least one effective tie under a joint in Class II track ... will the new bridge be dbl track ??? ... i would assume they heat adjusted the rail ...