Victory Station & LRT Expansion

[RobertB]

Every day I take the Woodall Rogers to the Tollway, and look down on the construction of the Red-ish Line extention to Victory Station. Things had been static for the past month or so, since they put the freight/TRE rail on the new bridge and tore out the old one. But this morning, I saw crews in cherry-pickers mounting the horizontal bars on the posts that will hold up the electrical service for the trains!

When is service due to start? Will June's rains delay the start of service? Or does this step mean we're almost there?

[rantanamo]

Supposed to start this fall

[drumguy8800]

woohoo! fall! when will the medical center station(s) be open, err, built?

[RobertB]

woohoo! fall! when will the medical center station(s) be open, err, built?
Hmm... good point. Since the only destination at Victory Station is the arena, the opening is more of a celebration for rail fans than for the general public. At least it'll be nice for Dallas folks who want to attend events on Sundays.

I really, really wish DART had somehow forced the issue and bulit the line on the east side of the arena, where it could have actually done some good. Plus, according to a page I can't find anymore, they used all but 9' of the railroad ROW next to Stemmons Freeway, making the mixmaster renovation plans much more complex.

[bloodandpopcorn]

I think the current location will be fine in the long run, if not as "great" as the other would be. It's not a long walk, and eventually those parking lots will be replaced with buildings.

But DART light rail trains will only run special event trains for the first few years, right?

[rantanamo]

Actually aren't we underestimating the use of this station. Between the Stars, Mavs and concerts 3/4 of the year, there's pretty much always something going on. And the W and the other residences next door to it are to open in 2006. Shouldn't be long at all for this to be a full-time station. Besides all of that, I was under the impression the purple-line(or was it orange) is to open with this one.

[RobertB]

Besides all of that, I was under the impression the purple-line(or was it orange) is to open with this one.
If I recall correctly, the station's signage is already in place... and it says "Red Line".

[bloodandpopcorn]

It's "Red Line" special service trains until more of the northwest corridor is developed, then it will be purple and orange, I think.

[gc]

sweet...

[RobertB]

Just saw the bright copper of the overhead wires this morning on the way to work, so I had to exit and check it out. These pictures were taken under the Woodall Rodgers overpass.

Side note, from the "freedom? what freedom?" department. While taking these pictures from the public parking area, a worker came over and asked, "Who do you work for?" I told him I was taking pictures for a DART-related online board, and that we were big fans of light rail. That didn't satisify him. "So, you're self-employed, taking pictures for..." I don't recall exactly what he said, but I politely replied that I was in a public area. He left me alone, but I decided not to tarry... my wife would not have looked kindly on driving into town to throw my bail. :(

[gc]

Very cool, thanks Robert

[raleighs]

There has been many news articles regarding photography of today. Mostly aimed at the use of cellular phones and other small digital cameras to take pictures of someone who has not concented to you taking their picture. The link below explains your rights as a photographer.

Very handy to keep with you.

[RobertB]

That is just what I need! I've been wanting to take photographs of the DART rail yard -- partly for my own curiosity, and partly to support my contention that DART should use the double track on the northwest side of the yard for revenue service to Fair Park as the start of the SE line. I've been afraid to, though, for fear that some Big Guy With A (security company) Badge will tell me to move along. Though even armed with my printouts, I'll remember 1) be polite and 2) discretion is the better part of valor.

As I drove to work from the Victory area this morning, I wondered how the incident would have played out if I were of Middle Eastern descent, and not a whitebread WASP with a digital camera.

[Lakewooder]

While taking these pictures from the public parking area, a worker came over and asked, "Who do you work for?"

Answer as Hyacinth Bucket, "For whom do you work."

[freewaytincan]

While taking these pictures from the public parking area, a worker came over and asked, "Who do you work for?"

"You ended that sentence with a preposition! You bastard!"

[Man of Leisure]

There has been many news articles regarding photography of today. Mostly aimed at the use of cellular phones and other small digital cameras to take pictures of someone who has not concented to you taking their picture. The link below explains your rights as a photographer.

Very handy to keep with you.
Man, if only I had a copy of this when I got tapped taking pics a few months back....could've been classic. Thanks.

[drumguy8800]

*print*

thanks.

[texman]

DART looks forward to Victory

09:09 PM CDT on Saturday, July 31, 2004


By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News



A new $79 million player will arrive at American Airlines Center this fall.

Rather than sporting a Dallas Mavericks blue or Dallas Stars green uniform, this one will be clad in yellow and hang out in the arena parking lot.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit will open its Victory light-rail station Nov. 14, bringing to North Texas a new two-sport player that won't demand a new contract in a few years. When open, the 1.25-mile rail extension will bring curbside rail service to people attending hockey and basketball games, concerts and other events.

"This is the gateway into the future northwest corridor," said Tim McKay, DART senior vice president for project management. The rest of the northwest rail line through the Dallas hospital district and into Farmers Branch, Carrollton and Irving will be open around 2009 to 2010. Until DART expands past Victory Station, trains will stop at the station only during events.

So far, the Victory station has come in slightly under budget, but crews could not make the original but overly optimistic September opening date.

"We artificially tried to push it forward, but that left us too little time for training," Mr. McKay said.

The station has a different feel from many others in DART. Light-rail vehicles, commuter trains and freight trains will run side by side. Currently, only Union Station can handle all three types of rail lines simultaneously.

In addition, the platforms are much longer – 400 feet rather than the standard 300 feet. The extra length will help the station accommodate the 2,000 light-rail passengers and 1,000 commuter rail passengers who are expected to flock to the station after events.

Building the station cost $15 million, with $10 million more for installing track and moving freight lines. A typical rail station costs about $6 million to $8 million.

Cost concerns prevented DART from adding a color-coded touch to the station. Station designers had hoped to install fiber-optic lights above the 20 station canopies that would have shone green on Stars hockey game nights and blue for Mavericks basketball game nights.

Instead, designers installed decorative tile work on the platform-walking surface, including designs reminiscent of sports, board games and card games, as well as a hopscotch pattern that probably shouldn't be used while trains are approaching.

DART is still figuring out exactly when those trains will be approaching the arena.

The transit agency is considering a schedule that would bring about six trains directly into Victory station before an event. Those trains, which are used daily to handle afternoon peak commute times, would pick up arena passengers on what ordinarily would be their final afternoon runs from Plano and Garland. They would make all regular stops, drop off passengers at the arena and continue to the DART garage.

For rail riders who can't get a direct train, DART will have a downtown shuttle train running from Victory to the Pearl Street station. The shuttle train, which will run about every 10 minutes, also will serve all arena customers on weekends.

After an event ends, DART plans to have several light-rail trains ready to handle the expected crush of passengers.

"It will be a little awkward from our standpoint, but we're trying to make it where it's not awkward for our customers," said Tim Newby, DART's assistant vice president for service planning.

[texman]

November 14th, my birthday! Now they just need to get the rest of the system built...

[drumguy8800]

Cost concerns prevented DART from adding a color-coded touch to the station. Station designers had hoped to install fiber-optic lights above the 20 station canopies that would have shone green on Stars hockey game nights and blue for Mavericks basketball game nights.

anyone care to donate? that sounds awesome.

[tamtagon]

anyone care to donate? that sounds awesome.

Donate, whatever, the teams, the owners or AA Center can pay for that.

[RobertB]

Here are some pictures from today of Victory Station itself. These are not the best pictures, since there's no place to park. Plus, there were workers around, and you can't get to the station without walking across Mr. Perot's property... putting me on shakier legal ground than if I were on a public sidewalk. So I took most of them from the street, out the car window. The really blurry ones are from I-35W -- the station is a blur, but it shows where it is in relation to downtown and the arena.

Mainly, I took these so that Matt (http://www.transitdallas.com/) could have some reference pics. I've got the originals if he needs them... but what he probably needs are better pictures than these. :)

[gc]

Nice shots.

[RobertB]

Here's a shot of construction on the track signals. They only started going up yesterday or the day before, though I'd noticed workers laying cable for them for the past week. Note that the signals don't yet have sun shades installed. These are the first southbound signals on the line, between the end of the line and Victory Station.

I was able to drive into the parking lot for these shots, so they're better than the last bunch. And I was far enough away to avoid any probing questions.

[RobertB]

Drove through downtown on Saturday, and saw the crews at work hanging another section of bright copper wire. This morning, the top load-bearing wire has been extended halfway to the station. They've already installed the hangers for the bottom contact wire. Also, the wire supports are now bolted on to the support posts all the way to the station, with a few also mounted near the end of the line for some reason.

Just out of curiosity: am I right in guessing that the top wire is mostly to bear the weight, while the bottom wire is designed to be as flat as possible? That would explain why the LRT doesn't spark like the trolley. FWIW, I think the sparking trolley pole is cool.

[Haretip]

The top wire takes out the sag that is inherent in single wire spans, allowing the bottom wire to be flat. When the electric rail vehicles attempted high speeds on simple overhead wire, the poles/pantographs would oscillate to the point of losing contact with the trolley wire. The catenary wire allows high speed operation.

Very small sparking (or "arcing") is the result of a trolley wheel breaking contact with the wire. Excessive sparking, as I have witnessed lately on MATA, is the result of improper materials being used on the trolley wheels and/or inadequate maintenance of the trolley wheel bearings. Arcing = metal loss. Imagine a little arc welder up on the overhead wire melting the copper and flinging bits of molten metal down onto the street. It looks cool, but reduces the service life of the wire.

That's today's lesson for Trolley Wire 101.

[RobertB]

Here's a picture of some of the temporary wire weights, mounted on a pole between Woodall Rodgers and Victory Station. Apparently, it takes a week or more -- maybe several weeks -- to fully stretch the heavy-gauge copper wire. Remember, it came to the site coiled up on a giant spool, and I suspect it wants to retain that shape. I bet it's a bugger getting the wire up there in the first place, especially near the end of the spool!

If you look closely next time you're on the train, you'll see that the "live" wires also make use of massive weights to maintain tension. The permanent installations, though, are discreetly hidden in the support columns.

[RobertB]

Yesterday, I noticed that the latest stretch of wiring has had the jumpers installed between the top ("catenary") wire and the bottom contact wire. Unlike the hangers, these jumpers are firmly attached -- you don't want those two wires to be at a different electrical potential! That suggests that the stretching process is more or less complete. They hung the wire on 8/23, so it looks like it takes a week or so to stretch the wire -- maybe more, maybe less, probably depending on what else needs to be done.

This morning, the last of the catenary supports were being installed. I could see pulleys in place as well, so I wouldn't be surprised if Monday sees bright copper in place all the way to the end of the line. Assuming a couple more weeks to stretch, we could see LRT at Victory by the end of September! That would be just in time for the Dallas Stars' home opener (http://www.americanairlinescenter.com/index.cfm/Fuseaction/Page/PageID/78/EventID/1554), Saturday, September 27. Won't that make a great picture!

If they pull it off, I'll try to ride the train on that first official trip. Not for the game (I'm a baseball fan, myself), but just to enjoy the quiet hummm of the electric engines as DART takes another baby step forward.

[drumguy8800]

:D!!

[US75Guy]

I know that DART is saying they will completely the NW line in 2009 or 2010, but does anyone have a better idea of when they'll get to the Medical Center, Texas Stadium, Los Colinas, etc. I'm assuming they'll open in phases like they did the red and blue lines, eh?

[drumguy8800]

Just assumptions.. but, Medical Center: Late 2006, Las Colinas: 2008, Texas Stadium: late 2007 (or probably in the same phase as Las Colinas..). The Carrollton segment is supposed to be the last built at 2011, I think.

[woodrg0]

Will the plans for a station at Texas Stadium be drastically changed if Arlington approves the stadium deal??? In its current state, what would be the point of building a station, unless you turned it into an enormous park and ride? However, demolition of the stadium and TOD could work great in that space. I just have concerns and wonder if there would ever be much use for Texas Stadium, i.e. Reunion post AAC, after the Cowboys leave. Just wonderin...

G


Just assumptions.. but, Medical Center: Late 2006, Las Colinas: 2008, Texas Stadium: late 2007 (or probably in the same phase as Las Colinas..). The Carrollton segment is supposed to be the last built at 2011, I think.

[RobertB]

Drove in to work this morning to the sweet glow of fresh copper wire, all the way through the station to the last pole on the line. Just one wire of four-plus, but it means that DART's contractors worked through the Labor Day weekend to keep the project on track.

It doesn't look like it'll be in place for the Stars' home opener as I'd hoped, though. This was just posted on the DART.org website:

Route(s) Affected: DART Rail Construction - Sept. 10-12 & Sept. 17-19
Effective Date: 9/10/04
http://www.dart.org/fullRA.asp?id=208

DART Rail Construction To Affect Service Between Three Downtown Stations

DART Rail service between West End and Convention Center stations will be suspended during late evening and early morning hours on the weekends of September 10-12 and September 17-19.

Shuttle buses will replace the regularly scheduled rail service between the two stations with intermediate stops at Union Station for passengers transferring to and from the Trinity Railway Express or Amtrak. Rail service will be replaced with the bus shuttles beginning at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 8 p.m. on Sundays. Rail service will resume at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Rail service will resume at its regular time on Mondays.

This interruption will allow completion of signal work on the new DART Rail extension to Victory Station at American Airlines Center, scheduled to open in November.

[drumguy8800]

Drove in to work this morning to the sweet glow of fresh copper wire, all the way through the station to the last pole on the line. Just one wire of four-plus, but it means that DART's contractors worked through the Labor Day weekend to keep the project on track.


Actually, it was up Saturday.

[RobertB]

Updated status: this morning, two wires all the way to the end, and it looks like they've also strung the wires for the criss-cross tracks between the station and the end of the line. I don't know which they string first -- the contact wire or the catenary wire. Crews were in place this morning, so perhaps the other wire will be in place and stretching by tomorrow.

When you think about it (which I have, obsessively), it's not outside the realm of possibility that the line could be in operation in time for the 9/25 Stars opener. DART has scheduled this weekend and next for connecting the wires -- I'm assuming they'll be energizing the contact wires as well as connecting the track signaling systems. That gives them a week during which you'd expect them to be testing. Even if they can't get the scheduled Red Line Special up and running, it would be cool to see the LRT cars sitting there just off the platform as fans board the TRE back to Fort Worth.

[drumguy8800]

When you think about it (which I have, obsessively)

:eek2: you just made my day.

[drumguy8800]

DART Rail Construction To Affect Service Between 3 Downtown Stations

DART Rail service between West End and Convention Center stations will be suspended during late evening and early morning hours on the weekends of September 10-12 and September 17-19.

Shuttle buses will replace the regularly scheduled rail service between the two stations with intermediate stops at Union Station for passengers transferring to and from the Trinity Railway Express or Amtrak. Rail service will be replaced with the bus shuttles beginning at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 8 p.m. on Sundays. Rail service will resume at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Rail service will resume at its regular time on Mondays.

This interruption will allow completion of signal work on the new DART Rail extension to Victory Station at American Airlines Center, scheduled to open in November.


Righto.

[RobertB]

I stopped by the end of the Victory line this morning, to take the attached pictures of the worksite at the very last pole. While taking the shots, one of the workers came over to visit. I didn't need to make a run for the car to get my "Photographer's Rights" printout, though. In fact, we got to talking about the progress on the line.

I asked if he thought that DART might be able to have service in place for the Stars opener, since they would be working on the signal connections for the next two weekends. He told me he thought they just might, especially since DART ran a test train down the line last weekend!

I and others (see the "Electricty Going Up At Victory" thread) had noticed that the wires were up by Saturday (9/4). In fact, all the wires required to run the electricty were up, but I didn't think that you could run a train in that configuration. There's no catenary wire -- but the weights on the contact wire did seem to be keeping it nice and straight. I guess that was enough to run a low-speed test train down the line.

That means that the big electricity is in place and fully operational, though they'll still need to get those catenary support wires in place before they can run real trains. But that doesn't take long -- maybe a week, based on what I've seen so far. All DART has to do over the next two weekends is connect the signal system -- just like they say in their press release.

The press release gives "early November" as the start of service, but no particular date. Barring any unforseen glitches, I think DART's really shooting for a week early -- September 25 and the Stars season opener.

By the way, before I left, I congratulated the construction crew member on a job well done. DART has a lot to be proud of these days.

[jammin]

I pray that there will be a Stars Opener this year.. Thanks for the update though, it's nice knowing that if the season does go on as planned, DART will be ready.

[freewaytincan]

I pray that there will be a Stars Opener this year.. Thanks for the update though, it's nice knowing that if the season does go on as planned, DART will be ready.

I still can't believe it's actually happening. I mean, an entire new line, and this time I'm old enough to really appreciate it.

[RobertB]

This morning, it looks like they've got the catenary (upper) wire installed for the entire northbound side. It's nowhere near fully stretched though. The hangers that suspend the contact wire from the catenary are all at an angle instead of vertical like they'll be later. But they've also got the northbound half of the criss-cross (technical term :) ) north of the station wired, which with that many wires crossing looks like no mean feat.

I don't follow hockey -- is there a management/labor dispute threatening the start of the season this year?

[rantanamo]

^yup, both sides walked away from talks last week. Might be a while.

[freewaytincan]

^yup, both sides walked away from talks last week. Might be a while.

That's so ridiculous.

[rantanamo]

not really. Owners want a salary cap. Players don't. Looking at the NFL, I can see why both sides want what they want.

[freewaytincan]

not really. Owners want a salary cap. Players don't. Looking at the NFL, I can see why both sides want what they want.

You can't always get what you want...

[rantanamo]

so which side doesn't get what they want?

[freewaytincan]

so which side doesn't get what they want?

I'd like to see them all lose.

[rantanamo]

in other words they all go to Europe and no more NHL.

[CTroyMathis]

I got a chance to look at the station progress. Looks great!
Looking forward.

Here's some random shots from last night, one w/the TRE wooshing by...

http://skylinegruve2004.dallasmetropolis.com/P9170126-victorysta.jpg

http://skylinegruve2004.dallasmetropolis.com/P9170128-victorysta-1024.jpg

[bloodandpopcorn]

Wow, that is a great looking station!!