COM: Glenelg Tramline Upgrade

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Pistol
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#616 Post by Pistol » Thu May 17, 2007 10:01 pm

Gray Street has large amounts of residential properties along it and being a small lane the trams would almost take up the whole of the lane. I for one would not want to be living down there if the trams zoomed past my front door periodically every day. Then you could relax out on your balcony with live electricity wires just centimetres away. I think that West Terrace is the logical choice for the extension of the extension. I mean they have train stops in the centre of freeways in Perth and that works perfectly. Besides having pedestrian walkways could add something to the concrete jungle that is West Terrace.

But look at us - they have just started the extension to UniSA and we are already dreaming what we should do next :D

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#617 Post by James Renfrey » Fri May 18, 2007 1:58 pm

I suppose that it is now too late, but I think that the curves from King William Street into North Terrace
should be replaced by a 'half grand junction' so that future extension of the system would be made less disruptive.

If points (and conduits for the electrical wiring to control them) led to stub ends for the direct connection
of any new works so that trams could traverse the intersection along North Terrace, and to and from
King William Street into King William Road and North Terrace West and East, we would have the possibility
of a loop to replace the 99C buses and an extension past the Oval to North Adelaide.

When the time came for those extensions straight track only would need to be laid to the relevant stub ends.
I would think that in the long run the installation of the point work now would make them much cheaper
and easier to implement.

As for the proposed loop into Grote Street, the location of double track in a grassed reservation on the eastern
side of West terrace, with the remaining traffic lanes in both directions shifted to the West, would be both an
aesthetic improvement to the streetscape and a major convenience to such destinations as Adelaide High
and a Catholic school en route. Many students now walk from Adelaide Station or the nearest point on the
99 bus routes. A narrowing of the unnecessarily wide footpath would make the provision of stops near
the schools less obtrusive on the available road space.

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AtD
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#618 Post by AtD » Fri May 18, 2007 3:04 pm

That's a lot of expense considering there's no serious proposal for any further extensions.

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#619 Post by shuza » Fri May 18, 2007 5:17 pm

The goverment has stated they do want to expand the tram network, they are just investigating which routes/destinations to expand to first.

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#620 Post by crawf » Fri May 18, 2007 7:43 pm

The track laying on KWS has began!! :D

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Norman
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#621 Post by Norman » Sat May 19, 2007 12:00 am

I can't wait till September :D

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#622 Post by Will409 » Sat May 19, 2007 7:47 am

Sorry for not posting an update sooner but I have been called away on other things keeping me off the PC. I got some shots in KWS yesterday afternoon but when I was there, not a lot was happening although fences had been erected. A couple of signs were about stating that the overhead bridges would only be used from 7am to 10pm. There had been some rail shifting in Victoria Square as well in preparation. All the rail lengths had also been welded together.

There was some minor work on North terrace still with the median strips being filled with a very liquidy looking 'sand' from the back of a cement truck. At this very moment on the Belltower North Webcam, they are widening the trench in King William Street.

Photos:
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Waiting for something to do.

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North Terrace from Franklin Street.

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Rails in Vic Square.

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Rail shifting in Vic Square.

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Rail ends showing the unique tramway profile and groove.

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Filling the median strip.

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New substation under Morphett Street Bridge.

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Will409
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#623 Post by Will409 » Sat May 19, 2007 8:13 pm

I have come back from on the ground and as usual, there has been a lot of progress since yesterday. Clearing of the road surface has now just about been completed to Franklin Street/Flinders Street. Sleeper laying has also been finished just after Waymouth/Pirie Streets with rails laid upto Grenfell/Currie Streets. Work is progressing at a furious pace. The pedestrian bridges are a very useful way to get good photos on the worksite without actually being on the worksite if you know what I mean. As you would expect from such a large stage of work, I have dragged back a HUGE amount of photos but I am going to limit myself to 13 photos per post to save on upload time.

I made a run to Glenelg between some shots (about an hour and a half time difference) and the rails had advanced beyond the pedestrian bridge.

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Looking south from the new Rundle Mall stop.

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North from the same vantage point.

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Looking south at Grenfell/Currie Street intersection.

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Pedestrian footbridge at Grenfell/Currie Street intersection.

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Seperating sleepers that had been tied up for transport.

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Earth works near the Franklin/Flinders Street intersection.

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Timber forming for the eventual concrete curb work.

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Aligning the track.

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Track welding.

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Who do you think is going to win?

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More earth work.

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Sleeper laying advanced further down King William Street.

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Another Thermit weld further down the line.

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#624 Post by crawf » Sat May 19, 2007 10:43 pm

Looking good, thanks mate :D

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shuza
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#625 Post by shuza » Sat May 19, 2007 11:03 pm

Whoa! I get tingles up my spine looking at this. Adelaide is finally moving forward.
We should truly be proud of this moment in our city's chapter.

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Pistol
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#626 Post by Pistol » Sun May 20, 2007 6:03 am

Will409 you are a gun :D

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#627 Post by Will » Sun May 20, 2007 10:53 am

Thanks for the images Will409!

Such images are trully inspirational.

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Will409
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#628 Post by Will409 » Mon May 21, 2007 11:57 am

Sorry for the late reply but I wasn't able to gain access to a PC all day yesterday.

Yesterday saw the concrete getting poured in. To give you an idea of how fast this all went, I was at the Rundle Mall/Hindely Street intersection. The first time I passed by it, they were just starting to level out the concrete and 45 minutes later when I passed by again, they were finished. Concreting work started at midnight and was virtually finished by 8pm. About 1km of double track had been laid in concrete and levelled out in just over 18 hours, an incrediable feat.

It must be remembered that we have a Victoria mob (Coleman Rail and Geotechinal Engineering) doing this work and the progress here is generally FASTER then what they would do in Melbourne. Such a length of track has not been finished in such a short amount of time so Adelaide I think has set a new record. It must also be remembered that this extension is new from the ground up which makes this more remarkable.

Anyway, as the concrete was being poured in, the new forming for the median strip was also installed. The curve from North Terrace to King William Street will be installed over the June long weekend and the final section of tracklaying will be done through Victoria Square in July. I have a strong feeling that the overhead and platforms will be installed in late July and through to the end of August.

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jimmy_2486
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#629 Post by jimmy_2486 » Mon May 21, 2007 5:33 pm

GOD DAMN!!! thats fast

Now i know why Victorian number plates say "ON THE MOVE"

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Will409
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#630 Post by Will409 » Mon May 21, 2007 6:01 pm

Photos from yesterday morning.

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Pouring concrete into the new crossing by Hindely Street.

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Close up of the pour.

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Track work.

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Checking the depth of the track.

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More track work.

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New drain cover being installed.

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Vic Square.

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King William Street from Vic Square.

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Bolting down the rails.

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Goofing off in this photo.

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More concreted track.

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