TTC: Flexity Streetcars Testing & Delivery (Bombardier)

[TheTigerMaster]

There's a rail line along the west side of Leslie. Pretty hard to miss when you drive down Lake Shore or Commissioners. But no plans to put a spur into Leslie Barns. Presumably they'll continue to offload at the brand new ramp at Hillcrest.

Haven't the rails near Leslie been disused for more than a decade?

 

[nfitz]

Haven't the rails near Leslie been disused for more than a decade?

I'haven't seen a train in years - but I thought they still used it to get railcars into the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant. Looking in Google Earth, the railcars in the plant are in different locations in the May 8, May 22, and July 10, 2015 imagery. So either they are still using it, or they are moving the things around with a big truck ...

 

[44 North]

Haven't the rails near Leslie been disused for more than a decade?

Perhaps they haven't been used in years, but I believe it'd still be considered very much active. Even out near Leslie the rails looked to have a bit of a polish along their surface - which may mean the concrete plant (St Mary's or LaFarge) used it once or twice over the last decade. Either way, it seems silly not to use this spur to offload directly at Leslie Barns. Maybe it will eventually.

But if your post will spur discussion about the rail lines in our Port Lands, I'm all ears. It's an interesting area. And although this isn't the thread for it, I was hoping a railphile could answer a Q about this train in particular. Was down along Lake Shore last week and saw this thing parked at Keating Yard (?). Perhaps it's been there for months, but I only took notice now. What is it, and what's it doing there? It's basically two components connected by a long hitch of sorts.

 

[timio]

But if your post will spur discussion about the rail lines in our Port Lands, I'm all ears. It's an interesting area. And although this isn't the thread for it, I was hoping a railphile could answer a Q about this train in particular. Was down along Lake Shore last week and saw this thing parked at Keating Yard (?). Perhaps it's been there for months, but I only took notice now. What is it, and what's it doing there? It's basically two components connected by a long hitch of sorts.

It's used in the laying and alignment of tracks. What role specifically, I'm not sure. There's been one on the Waterloo Spur during ION construction in Waterloo all summer.

 

[Duck]

That's a tamping machine (technically a "tamper-lining machine", I guess). It measures the geometry of the track in front of it with that long extension, so it knows how "wrong" the track is, and as it rolls forward it remembers the error and when it gets to that point, it lifts the rails a bit, shoves these vibratey-probes into the ballast, shakes it up and then sets the rails back down perfectly where they should be (left/right, up/down).

 

[crs1026]

I'haven't seen a train in years - but I thought they still used it to get railcars into the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant. Looking in Google Earth, the railcars in the plant are in different locations in the May 8, May 22, and July 10, 2015 imagery. So either they are still using it, or they are moving the things around with a big truck ...

A couple of train crew tell me that they are down there on a somewhat regular basis. Mostly they go down there in dead of night. It's definitely an operating line.

The bigger issue is - if you look at how the streetcar trackage comes into the TTC yard, there is no room to put a railway-guage spur. It would need some pretty awesome specialwork to cross the TTC tracks. One could always build a TTC-guage spur over to the rail line, and build a new unloading ramp over there, but Hillcrest already has one - why spend the money.

- Paul

 

[nfitz]

One could always build a TTC-guage spur over to the rail line, and build a new unloading ramp over there, but Hillcrest already has one - why spend the money.

The mainline tracks west of Leslie go past the yards down to Unwin (and ultimately all the way back to Cherry). I think you could build a spur from this along the North service road for the treatment plant (the extension of Commissioners east of Leslie), and then put an unloading facility on the TTC land where all the trailers are (the car park ultimately), and not cross the streetcar track at all.

If they wanted to. If they really wanted to, they'd have designed one in first place. Presumably Hillcrest is a better location, as it's adjacent to the main line, and doesn't risk ultimately being the only client at the end of a very long piece of track, including it's own bridge over the Don River. Is there anyone other use going on for these tracks other than the treatment plant?

 

[Napoleon]

A couple of train crew tell me that they are down there on a somewhat regular basis. Mostly they go down there in dead of night. It's definitely an operating line.

I think it was last summer that they had Lake Shore closed (including the bike path) to do some work refurbishing this spur even. So more evidence that it's used regularly. Probably largely to hall stuff from Unwin.

The bigger issue is - if you look at how the streetcar trackage comes into the TTC yard, there is no room to put a railway-guage spur. It would need some pretty awesome specialwork to cross the TTC tracks. One could always build a TTC-guage spur over to the rail line, and build a new unloading ramp over there, but Hillcrest already has one - why spend the money.

Precisely! Far easier to maintain the status quo and specialized equipment in Hillcrest than to try to get them delivered directly here. It's plenty easy to just drive the streetcar from Hillcrest to Leslie Barns.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

A couple of train crew tell me that they are down there on a somewhat regular basis. Mostly they go down there in dead of night. It's definitely an operating line.

Oh that's neat. I'm surprised I haven't spotted any photos of the trains on Lake Shore.

 

[44 North]

That's a tamping machine (technically a "tamper-lining machine", I guess). It measures the geometry of the track in front of it with that long extension, so it knows how "wrong" the track is, and as it rolls forward it remembers the error and when it gets to that point, it lifts the rails a bit, shoves these vibratey-probes into the ballast, shakes it up and then sets the rails back down perfectly where they should be (left/right, up/down).

Ah, makes sense.

Oh that's neat. I'm surprised I haven't spotted any photos of the trains on Lake Shore.

I recall stumbling on photos from the late '00s on a railway forum of trains along Lake Shore Blvd East. And back in maybe 08 I was biking with a friend along the Lower Don, and the trail was actually blocked by a freight train. We climbed aboard thinking it wouldn't start up again any time soon...lol it did.

I think it's safe to say Redpath no longer uses trains to offload, but in the Port Lands some of the sites are TPA (federal) and I believe are mandated by law to be connected by railway at all times. And on top of that we have concrete facilities, sewage treatment, and I wouldn't be surprised if OPG's gas plant were to use it in the future to offload new equipment.

Here's an older map from TRCA (not showing full extent of disused spurs), and a current land use map from TPLC.




As well, here's a Streetview of a stretch on Unwin that I've always found interesting. With the lush trees and mowed grass looking the way it does, I like to imagine streetcars running along the side of the road here. It reminds me of stretches of New Orleans' heritage streetcar lines.

 

[DSC]

Oh that's neat. I'm surprised I haven't spotted any photos of the trains on Lakeshore.

The train tracks from the Don River over to just west of Leslie are certainly used occasionally, they go to the train yard beside the Wheel-trans garage and the water filtration plant. This track and the track that leads further south to Unwin and then along Unwin to Cherry Street and the port area was actually fixed in 2013 (probably at great cost) by the Toronto Portlands Company, who apparently own it. I wrote and asked them why they had fixed track along Unwin that had clearly not been used for years and they told me it was part of their contract with the Toronto Port Authority (the track leads to the TPA wharf east of Cherry at Unwin.) I also asked them if any trains had actually used this section of the renovated track and was told it was 'commercially sensitive information" so my bet is "no"! (certainly looking at the track at Cherry/Unwin it appears totally unused.

 

[dowlingm]

TPLC is owned by the City. The TPA is a federal agency. But a contract between them is commercially sensitive...

 

[the lemur]

As well, here's a Streetview of a stretch on Unwin that I've always found interesting. With the lush trees and mowed grass looking the way it does, I like to imagine streetcars running along the side of the road here. It reminds me of stretches of New Orleans' heritage streetcar lines.

Heh, yes. Like the lines on Carrollton or St Charles. I sometimes wonder if these tracks along Unwin and in the Port Lands generally couldn't be used for some kind of transit. Probably not.

 

[mrxbombastic]

New streetcar like the one discussed above at Lambton Yard tonight. CP engines were just being connected to it for delivery to hillcrest.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Any sign of the more than 45 LFLRVs that we're suppose to have received by now on that train?