PHOTOS WANTED

[daveklepper]

Today, the letter was printed with some minor deletions and without the pictures as follows:

With reference  to Peggy Cidor’s continuation  of the Blue Line Light  Rail discussion this past Friday, ׂ(The Blue Line will save Emek Harifaim from falling into obloivion) I  think the basic  problem is that people with good plans often  wish to see  them realized and complete as soon as possible,  when a  slower ar\d more careful approach can create less  disruption and unhappiness during construction and greater  benefits overall.  This appears true in New York as well as Jerusalem. 

I proposed four alternative solution in a letter published last week, but to address the some  of the more important of the residents'  objections, I now  offer the following suggestions:  The work on Emek  HaRefaimshould be implemented  one or two blocks at a time, witheach section completed as  quickly as possible. Equipment, machinery, and people can  be shifted between Emek HaRefaim and other portions of the  new Blue Line to make this possible without workmen,  equipment, and machinery sitting idle,  

 Instead of the widely-spaced tracks shown in  the  illustration, each track be centered in the existing  roadway of the particular direction, essentially leaving  sidewalks at existing width and allowing overall design as  a  future pedestrian mall/light-rail corridor in the  manners of  Jaffa Road. 
   
  Initially, the   light rail trains would be streetcars, sharing their lanes  with “Local Traffic   Only” restricted traffic.  Through  road traffic should   be redirected to Hebron Road.  The local area residents and merchants should  participate in the decision as when to   move to pedestrians  and light rail   only.   Store deliveries should be  late-night   from the beginning.
  
  Station stops should be as frequent as along  Jaffa Road,   meaning three or four ntermediate stops.  But  station stops should not be directly opposite each other, but be staggered, each stop just beyond the intersection in each direction, with traffic light preemption by the trains  for   both efficient train operation and use of sidewalk  space.
  
  More advanced   track-laying should be employed, either   prefabricated track  panels or Altsom’s Appitrack   technique, either of which  can result in even less noise   and vibration
than the Jaffa  Road installation as well as less time.    

[daveklepper]

they did indeed run the letter along with the CSS&SB Michigan Citiy station photo.  They did not use Essex St. or the Electroliner, but htose photos were very important for the report.  No reaction yet to the report.  There were comments from the City's project manager as why Emek HaRefaim St, and oinly that street will be considered.

This morning I sent another letter: 

With reference to Peggy Cidor’s continuation of the Blue Line Light Rail discussion this past Friday, I think the basic problem is that people with good plans often wish to see them realized and complete as soon as possible, when a slower are more careful approach can create less disruption and unhappiness during construction and greater benefits overall.  This appears true in New York as well as Jerusalem.

One of the objections to the current Emek HaRefaim plan noted in my letter last week seems to have removed.  The illustration on page 13 above my letter clearly shows a double-track line, and the stated goal of a train every 7-1/2 minutes clearly indicates a double-track line.  To address the some of the more important of the residents’ objections, I now offer the following suggestions:

The work on Emek HaRefaim should be implemented one or two blocks at a time, with each section completed as quickly as possible.  Equipment, machinery, and people can be shifted between Emek HaRefaim and other portions of the new Blue Line to make this possible without workmen, equipment, and machinery sitting idle,

Instead of the widely-spaced tracks shown in the illustration, each track be centered in the existing roadway of the particular direction, essentially leaving sidewalks at existing width and allowing overall design as a future pedestrian mall/light-rail corridor in the manners of Jaffa Road.

Initially, the light rail trains would be streetcars, sharing their lanes with “Local Traffic Only” restricted traffic.  Through road traffic should be redirected to Hebron Road. 

The local area residents and merchants should participate in the decision as when to move to pedestrians and light rail only.   Store deliveries should be late-night from the beginning.

Station stops should be as frequent as along Jaffa Road, meaning three or four intermediate stops.  But station stops should not be directly opposite each other, but be staggered, each stop just beyond the intersection in each direction, with traffic light preemption by the trains for both efficient train operation and use of sidewalk space.

More advanced track-laying should be employed, either prefabricated track panels or Altsom’s Appitrack technique, either of which can result in even less noise and vibration than the Jaffa Road installation, as well as less time.

Attached figures:

Prefabricated construction:  Trench dug, gravel base provided, track panel inserted, reinforcing bars and rails of adjacent sections welded together, and not shown, the gap between sections filled with asphalt.   My sketch

Boston E-line train of two Breda-built Type-8 low-floor cars on South Huntington Avenue sharing their lane with automobiles.  The E-line behaves like a streetcar from the Heath Street terminal and bus transfer point to Brigham Circle, where it enters a reservation in the middle of Huntington Avenue, then enters a portal to the 1941-built Huntington Avenue Subway, after passing Northeastern University’s surface station platforms.  Then the first underground subway station is named “Symphony” for the home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra above. It eventually runs through switches near Copley Square to the 1914 Boylston Street Subway shared with four other lines and then into the 1897 Tremont Street Subway, which is possibly the original light rail installation, at least for North America   A Beacon Street surface reservation section of the C-line, which also operates into the Boylston and Tremont Streets’ Subways, is the oldest active electrification of a railway in North America, from 1887.   Photo from Tadd Anderson, Boston Street Railway Association, www.thebsra.org

 

 

  

[daveklepper]

Despite the Jerusalem Post knowing that I sent the full report to the parties involved,  Community Council, Mayor's transportation and city planning chiefs, Egged bus cooperative, Citypass Light Rail, Emeritus Heb. U. Music Dept. Head whose wife is active in the Council, and will send to Israel Ry., they agreed to print the letter this Friday.  It lacks the part about Beit Shemesh.  No word about what pix they will use, and that will probably be a last-minute decision on space and make-up needs.    Thanks again to Schlimmm and Overmod.

[daveklepper]

Didn't score.   Instead they printed a letter from a resident of the neighbornhood that pointed out that the original plan was shared use of the exclusive bus lanes, and that the neighborhood really wants electric buses.  So I have quickly put toether a report to send to the Mayor, Egged bus cooiperative, Citipass light rail, establishments in the neighborhood that have web addrsses,  perhaps the police, and here is the text of this half-a-day effort report:

BLUE LINE LIGHT RAIL

 

Existing Plans have Problems

 

The plans discussed in Jerusalem Post 15 July articles should be scrapped because of two major faults, first the discussed damage to either Hamisela Park or the fabric of Rehov Emek Refaim and the soul of the German Colony; secoond and important the fact that only a single-track line is planned.  It will simply be impossible to provide the level of service required and the reliability of service required with the single track the length of either of these streets.  I can speak from experience of serving as acting dispatcher for a single-track museum trolley operation with the need to keep thee fully-loaded streetcars on some sort of schedule. In the UK, the light rail lines that were built single-track have been, are, or ar planned double track, either entirely or just where practical, to overcome schedule reliability and capacity problems.  On modern light rail systems, single-track sections are only used in emergencies for repair conditions or for short distances, such the track through the Tower Arch in Freiberg, Germany.  Single-track lines can be useful for commuter operations, where a number of trains can be fleeted from suburbs to city in the morning and back in the evening, but not an in-city transit system.  There are four different solutions to both problems.

 

Solution  One, One-Way Streets:   Make Emek Refaim one-way southbound and Derech Harikevet one-way northbound,  On each of these streets one of the two vehicular roadways will be converted the light rail track in the same direction as the remaining roadway.  Since a more drivers heading southbound turn right from either road now than turn left, the eastern roadway, the existing northbound roadway, should become the new Blue-Line southbound light-rail track, paved for emergency vehicular use.  Similar thinking makes the southbound lane of Derek HaRikvet the northbound vehicular lane, and the existing northbound lane the northbound light-rail track, again paved for emergency vehicular use.

 

 

Figure 1.   At Essex Street, the Hudson and Bergen County Light Rail System of New Jersey Transit preserves double-track operation by having one track in a lane shared with general traffic, the ligh trail trains operating as streetcars/trams, and the other track in a lane reserved for transit and emergency vehicles only.  Photo set me via Trains magazine website Forum by “Overmod.”

 

 

Solution Two Steetcars/Trams here, Not Light-Rail on Emek Refaiml   The light rail trains will operate as streetcars/trams, with both existing lanes shared with general traffic going in the same direction.  This street has the advantage of exposing light rail passengers to the convenience of shops and restaurants in the manner the F line does on San Francisco’s Market Street.  But of course frequency of service needs to be greater than a single track can provide, but there is no problem for one track going each way in the same lane used by general traffic.  Noise levels can be even lower than on Jaffa Road with the most modern track construction.  There are many examples of modern light-rail lines using some streetcar-type operation.  The one most familiar to me is the E line in Boston, in shared lanes between Brigham Circle and Heath Street, but elsewhere separate from traffic in a center reservation and in a subway.  Similarly, Essex Street within Bergen and Hudson Counties’ Light Rail in New Jersey.  The track through the Freiberg Tower Arch is another example.  Michigan City, Indiana, has suburban trains running between South Bend and Chicago and freight trains sharing their two lanes with general traffic and obeying the same traffic signals, and a similar situation exists with Amtrak intercity trains at Jack London Square, Oakland, California.  Dallas, Portland, Oregon. Philadelphia, and Seattle all have modern streetcar lines in addition to light rail lines.  Other North American cities have new “heritage” streetcar lines with modern streetcars constructed to resemble those of a century or half a century ago in appearance or actual historic cars modernized with today’s safety features and sometimes even air-conditioning.  Examples include Tampa, San Francisco (which also has modern light-rail, trolley-buses, heavy high-speed rapid transit, and commuter rail). Kenosha, Wisconsin, and again Dallas, with St. Louis and El Paso. Texas, under construction.    

 

Electric buses as proposed in a letter in the Jerusalem post 22 July would be ideal for Emek Refaim alone, but lack the capacity and long-term economical operation between downtown and more distant points to be served by the Blue Line.  But they would do a better job than a single-track light-rail line in this application, which will also lack the capacity.

 

 

Figure 2,  Dallas has the largest North American light rail line system.  Dallas also has one modern streetcar line and one heritage streetcar line on lanes shared with general traffic.  The picture is of the Brookville Equipment “Liberty” model modern streetcar in Dallas.   Photo from Brookville

 

 

 

Solution Three, Steetcars/Trams on Derek HaRikevet,   Similar to Solution Two, the light rail trains will operate as streetcars/trams, with both existing lanes shared with general traffic going in the same direction.  Traffic in Derech HaRikevet is light, and reliability of streetcar operation there should not be much different than light-rail operation.  No incursion of park area should be required.  Light traffic should mean operation as consistent as for light rail.  Other advantages include minimum disruption of the community during construction and restoration of a link to the historic 1888-1892 pioneering work of  Joseph Navon who brought  the Middle-East’s first railroad to Jerusalem on this route.

 

 

 

Figure 3.   The Michigan City, Indiana, station location for the Chicago, South Shore, and South Railroad.  The railroad uses a street as right-of-way, with trains obeying traffic laws and traffic lights.  In addition to electric commuter trains to an from Chicago, now with modern stainless-steel equipment, freight trains behind diesel locomotives are daily during periods of light general traffic.  Photo from files of the Central Electric Railfans Association.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solution Four:  The Bus-Lanes on Hebron Road:   The busses do not need to be excluded.   The downtown “Bus Tunnel” subway, Seattle; the transit tunnel through Mount Washington and the right-or-way south to Overbrook leading south from Pittsburgh; and 7^th Avenue, Calgary, are among other examples of transit-vehicle-only lanes shared by busses (bus rapid transit) with modern light-rail trains.

 

  

 

Figure 4. A Sound Transit Light Rail Train in the Seattle “Bus Tunnel” subway, where buses and light rail trains share stations and tunnels.   Photo from Headlights,  a publication of the Electric Railroaders Association, www.erausa.org

 

 

 

Egged may have objections to this solution as adversely affecting its own operations, and a solution to this issue is also available.  I propose that southbound-only Egged Kav 6 and Kav 66 buses use the southbound lane of the Red Line light rail from the north of Givat HaMivtar Station to the south of Shimon HaTzadik station.  Equipment on both buses and at stations will probably be required so the Light Rail Command Center will know the location of each bus when on Light Rail right-of-way.  Before this equipment is obtained, a trial run early in the morning during a period of no service should be arranged, with southbound articulated bus running on the southbound track running alongside a light rail train on the northbound track.

 

Figure  5,   Looking south where Egged Kav 6 and Kav 66 buses can easily move from the southbound lane ot Shufat Road to the right track into Givat HaMivtar station without altering traffic arrangements.  My photo

 

 

 

 

Construction

 

Constructing one block at a time, and using prefabricated track and roadway panels can furher minimize disruption to the community.  Prefabrication can save time and reduce the lengthening of time required for block=by=block construction.

     

   

 

Figure 6,   Prefabricated Construction

Beit Shemesh

 

For many reasons extension of rush hour light rail service to Beit Shemesh should be a priority.  The type of equipment used on the Red Light Rail Line can run on Israel Railway tracks electrified with catenary at 750V DC.  The electrification can include the necessary insulation for conversion to much higher voltage AC in the future, when a Israel Railways direct connection to the New  Central Jerusalem Railroad Station is achieved.  Meanwhile, light rail trains can run f rom Beit Shemes to the center city via railway-light railway connection.  The Citipass equipment might require wheels with wider bearing surfaces to insure reliable operation through Israel Railway switches..  There may be better models for the “tram-trains” in this service as shown in Figure 7.

 

 

Figure 7.   One of the two Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Electroliner trains that made the 90-mile trip form downtown Chicqago to downtown Milwaukee in two hours.  Entrance to Chicago from Evanston was on the tracks of the elevated railway and in Milwaukee, streetcar tracks were used, shared with general traffic a shown on South 5^th Street.  In the countryside, speeds exceeding 80-miles-per-hour were needed.  Light meals and refreshments were available from a compact snack-bar.   Photo posted in response to my request by “Schlimm” on the Trains magazine website Forum.

 

 

 

David Lloyd Klepper, student, Yeshivat Beit Orot, Shmuel ben Adiya 1, Jerusalem 97400, email [e-mail] better.

MIT EE, SB ’53, SM ’57.  USA Army Vet.  Former President, Klepper Marshall King, Ltd. White Plains, NY  Acoustical Consultants.  Former President, Electric Railroaders’ Association, New York.  50+-year member, Light Railway Transit Association, London, other rail and public transit interest groups.  Contributor to website www.proaudioencyclopedia.com.  Board certified charter member, Institute of Noise Control Engineering.  Fellow, Acoustical Society of America and Audio Engineering Society. 

16 Tamuz 5776,  22 July 2016

 

 

[Dragoman]

Please let us know how it the article received!

[daveklepper]

My letter apparently has been accepted for publication in this Friday's Jerusalem section, photos were requested, and one on Essex Street with the LRV and the Electroliner in Milwaukee have been submitted, along with an old and well-published pix of a South Shore traini loading at the Michigan City station.

[rcdrye]

The South Shore's double track street running section was in East Chicago, IN on Chicago Avenue.  It was actually three tracks until about 1940, as the Hammond Whiting and East Chicago had a third track (bidirectional) on the street.

[wanswheel]

NICTD press release, May 19, 2016

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) announced today that it received approval from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation to enter Project Development for its long anticipated project to double track the South Shore Line from Tennessee Street in Gary, Indiana, to the Michigan Blvd. in Michigan City, Indiana, a distance of approximately 25 miles.

The estimated $210 million project is expected to add 5,000 - 8,000 daily riders to the South Shore Line, increase train frequency by 30%, and improve on-time performance. In addition, double tracking the South Shore Line will allow the railroad to significantly reduce travel times along the line especially at station locations farther away from Chicago.

In March of this year, the NICTD Board of Trustees approved a $4M contract for HDR Engineering to lead the preliminary engineering and environmental studies necessary to request a federal rating of the double tracking project next year. The approval to enter Project Development by the FTA represents their validation of the importance of the project, and also puts the project into the federal pipeline for a 50% matching grant under their Capital Investment Grant program. The Northwest Indiana RDA has committed $1.6M, and Northern Indiana RDA has pledged $800,000 towards the HDR contract.

It is NICTD’s goal to seek a project rating by the FTA in late 2017, which if successful, would lead to a funding recommendation in the President’s 2018 budget. Once approved by Congress, the project is anticipated to commence construction in 2019, with completion in late 2020.

According to NICTD’s General Manager, Michael Noland, the double tracking project “leverages upon years of intelligent, targeted and sustained reinvestment in the infrastructure of the South Shore Line. People always ask me, when can we reduce the travel time to Chicago from South Bend to 90 minutes, or 60 minutes from Michigan City? I tell them double track the railroad, and we can make that happen.” Noland stated that “double tracking the railroad unlocks the incredible potential of this region.”

Bill Hanna, President of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority stated that, in his opinion, “once the federal government approves the project, tens of millions of dollars of investment will pour into the region for transit oriented development opportunities along the rail line in Hammond, Miller/Lake Street, Michigan City, Gary, East Chicago, Chesterton, and Portage.” Hanna emphasized “this type of investment is only the tip of the iceberg of the economic development that is associated with the completion of this project.” The return on investment for the State of Indiana is huge, according to Hanna. “It’s probably a minimum of 4 to 5 times the State investment that’s required, and a key element, in tandem with the West Lake extension, in attracting and retaining population to this region.”

The next step in this process, in addition to completing the preliminary engineering and environmental studies, is locking up the all important local/state share of $105 million to qualify for federal funding.

[Buslist]

daveklepper

Is ir not double in front of the Michagan City downtown station?

 

not for many years. Have a look at street view on Google Earth.

[Buslist]

MidlandMike

 

 

Buslist

There is no double track street running in Michigan City, all single track.

 

 

 

 

IIRC there was double-track street running in Hammond, but I beleive it was re-routed.

 

That was rerouted when the Indiana Toll Road opened, mid 50s.

[daveklepper]

Schlimm and Overmod, thanks

[daveklepper]

Is ir not double in front of the Michagan City downtown station?

[MidlandMike]

Buslist

There is no double track street running in Michigan City, all single track.

 

IIRC there was double-track street running in Hammond, but I beleive it was re-routed.

[schlimm]

daveklepper

An Electroliner on a double-track street-running section in Milwaukee.

[Overmod]

daveklepper

If you have a photo of Hudson and Bergen County Light Rail on the street-running portion in Essex Street, please send or post.

Westbound view of the track layout:

 

[daveklepper]

Yes, in answer to your question.   If you have a photo of Hudson and Bergen County Light Rail on the street-running portion in Essex Street, please send or post.   Thanks!

[Dragoman]

I have no photos, but wish you luck!

 

If you desire "train-tram" opeational examples, you might also look at New Jersey Transit's River Line.

 

I also read that there is a plan for a Haifa - Nazareth train-tram.  Is that likely to be more train than tram?

[Buslist]

There is no double track street running in Michigan City, all single track.

[daveklepper]

Also, the Seattle "Bus Tunnel" with lihgt rail train and bus, or separate photos of train and of bus at the same station.   Calgary 7th Street, same idea, and Pittsburgh Mt. Washington Tunnel and Overbrook line, same idea.

[daveklepper]

There is somewhat of a controversy regarding the second Jerusalem Light Rail Line with regard to a particular neighborhood where residents (quite rightly, I think) are objecting to destroying important parts of the neighborhood's fabric.  I would like to help by presenting some out-of-the-box alternatives that do not seem to have been considered, and also show how the new line can also benefit more distant suburbs.

The dream is that with the cooperation of the two relevant museums, the two Electronliners will be completely overhauled and loaned to Israel for trial "tram-train" operaton, and returned to the USA after approval of the commuters is as whole-hearted as I expect it to be, and then a number or serioal-produced copies will be built and used regularly. That is a dream, but meanwhile there is a practical problem to solve.   Wanted are:

Photo of modern South Shore equipment on a double-track street-running section in Michigan City.   If a freight and/or traffic light is also in the picture, even better.

An Electroliner on a double-track street-running section in Milwaukee.

A two-car current (not PCC or Boeing) Boston E-line train between Brigham Circle and Heath Street (again double-track street running).

Any of the modern streetcar, not light rail, lines on a double-track poriton of the line, if such exists, Portland, Dallas, etc.

They can be posted on this thread for me to copy or sent as an attachment to daveklepper@yahoo, with all the information needed for credit.

They will be incorporated into an English Language article for the Jerusalem Post. and/or a report to Citypass and the Municipality.

Thanks!