Jack May's visit to the new Washington DC streetcar line

[daveklepper]

I JUST DO MY BEST.   IT IS A PROBLEM CREATED BY THE NATURE OF THE WEBSITE, WHICH CURRENTLY DOES NOT ALLOW POSTING OF JPG PHOTOS DIRECTLY FROM ONE'S FILE, A STUPID LIMITATION IN MY OPINION, PLUS MICROSOFT ISRAEL'S  PECULIARITIES, PLUS NONSENSE AT YAHOO.   I CANNOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO OVERCOME ALL THESE HURDLES.   IF YOU CANNOT SEE THE PHOTOS, CONTACT JACK MAY DIRECTLY.   I POSTED HIS EMAIL ADDRESS ON THE TORONTO THREAD, AND HE USUALLY DOES RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR PHOTOS.   I GUEST I MUST DESIST FROM POSTING HIS REPORTS, WHICH INTEREST ME GREATLY.

AND RUGBUG, I CAN HARDLY PASS ON YOUR GREETINGS TO JEFF, BEING SOME 8000 MILES AWAY.  PERHAPS JACK MAY CAN DO SO. 

AGAIN, I DO MY BEST.   BUT SOME OF THESE ROADBLOCKS HAVE THE APPEARANCE OF BEING DELIBERATE, EVEN IF THEY ARE IN TRUTH ACCIDENTAL.

[Phoebe Vet]

It's not a timeout problem.

Access Denied

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Description: You are not allowed to access the document you requested.

[daveklepper]

This time the images should be available.   But the bit count is high, and loading my own computer takes a few minutes for each image.   Try and let it load over a period of time, perhaps while you minimize the program, do other work, and then return.

[Phoebe Vet]

That's why I don't like rails in the road.  Trains hit too many vehicles just in the 20 foot area where they are just crossing the rails, What do you expect when they actually run in the same ROW?

[wanswheel]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2015/11/12/metrobus-and-streetcar-collide-on-h-street/

[BaltACD]

Phoebe Vet

I cannot see those images.

nor can I

[Phoebe Vet]

I cannot see those images.

[daveklepper]

I had seen reports indicating that the D. C. Streetcar line along H Street and Benning Road was undergoing testing and was anxious to see and photograph what I could of it.  I mentioned this to Jeff Mora and we decided to have lunch together on Tuesday, after which we would drive over to the line.

The line is just short of 2½ miles long and has 8 stops, running between the Anacostia River on the east and Union Station on the west.  It has not yet begun revenue operation because of various problems, which you all may be familiar with.  The carhouse lies to the north of Benning Road between 24th and 26th Streets and appeared shut tight.

There are 2 groups of virtually similar cars;  Three came from Inekon in the Czech Republic (100-102) and 3 were built by United Streetcar (Oregon Iron Works) in Portland (200-202).  The Inekon cars are virtually identical to those operating in Portland and Seattle, while the United cars are like the units it manufactured for Portland and Tucson.  United has since closed down its streetcar manufacturing operation due to a dearth of orders.

We were able to see only one car in operation, Inekon unit 102, and we chased it a bit for photos, after which Jeff dropped me at Union Station, where I also took photos of the car from the roof of the parking garage.



The Inekon DC streetcar is shown on the H Street Viaduct (also known as the Hopscotch bridge) on this photo taken from the Union Station parking deck (where we left off in part 03).  It does not seem that there will be a simple way for future passengers to transfer to the station's Amtrak, VRE and MARC trains or the Metro.  But this may be a temporary situation as it has been reported that the existing bridge is scheduled for replacement in the next three to five years. 



The western end of the DC Streetcar runs along H Street, in lanes shared with autos adjacent to metered parking spaces.  After the tracks descend from the paved center reservation of the viaduct they move to each side of the arterial.  An additional traffic light cycle for streetcars had to be added at 2nd Street, NE. to permit this maneuver.




Above and below:  Benning Road is wider than H Street, and here the tracks are located on either side of the median and left turn lanes.  Both photos were taken in the area of 16th and 17th Street, NE.