CTA Red Line 5 Month Shutdown(Begins May 19th)

You could always buy her a shiny new car!

Sounds nice, but that'll have to wait until I'm done paying off my part of her college loans (so much for retiring at 65). Then I'll get that shiny new car, and she can have my old clunker (if it holds up that long; crossing my fingers...)

New signals on the Dan Ryan branch are lit (showing red) from about 83rd south to 95th.

The mileage with lit signals on the Ryan branch has been increasing rather rapidly, and yesterday I saw that set of 2400s which had been marooned down at 98th yard sitting in the station at 95th. Apparently it was indeed brought out to start testing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctaweb/9825492423/

Byte (David) and Everyone: Interesting pictures from the Dan Ryan Re-Construction Project showing the progress being made
to restore the infrastructure of the Dan Ryan Line - good to see...

I noticed that wood ties (or were some composite?) were being used again for the new track structure which surprised me
remembering how CTA was widely using composite ties for recent track renewals...

Noting how the Dan Ryan Line track bed had deteriorated since the 1970s was it the limestone ballast originally used and
also perhaps a combination of factors like stray voltage from the third rail and exposure to corrosives like road salt used
in Chicago's harsh winters on the paralleling roadway that contributed to the failure of track components like the original
double block concrete ties that eventually caused the track problems over time?

MACTRAXX

I might be wrong, but I think it was 40 years of running trains every 10 minutes or less at 55mph. At some point the rail wears out and the ballast crumbles and it's time to rebuild.

Tad: Good thought there...Years of constant use is another factor of the condition
of the Dan Ryan line track and roadbed...

I also remember that problems were developing as early as the mid-late 70s with
the limestone ballast being crushed or pulverized by the concrete ties making for
a bouncy ride in spots and had the line used jointed rail it probably would have
been even rougher...

MACTRAXX

Was the ballast really not replaced all that time?

NYC, with it's 24 hour service, does lots and lots of night and weekend construction work. Chicago doesn't seem to do it on their 24/7 lines, besides some occasional single tracking.

So when the work needs to be done, it's done in a massive project.

Fans of the old Englewood-Howard service, which was temporarily reinstated when the Dan Ryan project began: The countdown has begun, and as of this writing, you have one week left to ride this alignment.

Regular Red line service resumes at 2am Sunday, 10/20.

Passenger wrote:Was the ballast really not replaced all that time?

Having regularly observed Dan Ryan operations between 1993 and 2005 (and infrequently after that), I don't think I ever saw a ballast train out there. That said, I'm sure there were touch-up jobs when needed, otherwise the whole line would have been mud by now. From the way they make it sound, the underlying drainage system defects would have necessitated ripping everything out, anyways.

EricL wrote:That said, I'm sure there were touch-up jobs when needed, otherwise the whole line would have been mud by now. From the way they make it sound, the underlying drainage system defects would have necessitated ripping everything out, anyways.

I would not expect mud ... but the ballast being pulvarized into dust over time is a possibility. There has been some work done (lanes were taken from the Dan Ryan for some of it) - but the complete overhall was a good idea.

Multiple news outlets are reporting the red line took its first hit a few hours after reopening. A truck jumped the median and went into the tracks, tearing up the third rail. I think it's open after all night rework.