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It's really cool that they can use the train tracks to bring stuff into and out of the station. It seems obvious in retrospect, but that had never occurred to m

It's really cool that they can use the train tracks to bring stuff into and out of the station. It seems obvious in retrospect, but that had never occurred to me before.

blamazon 5y ago
In New York City there is currently a project ongoing deep underneath Grand Central Terminal to add an entirely new 8-track, 350,000sqft station connecting Grand Central to the Long Island Railroad. Similarly, all materials for that project enter and exit from the other end of the project tunnel in Queens. New York City at ground level has no indication that the work is ongoing 140 feet below their… well, feet. Very neat!
Symbiote 5y ago
If you use the London Underground late enough, you occasionally see engineering trains pass through. I think they move them to sidings in central London very late in the evening, so that after the last passenger train has departed (00:30-01:00) the equipment/materials can be where they're needed in just a few minutes. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_engineering_stock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_engineering... [2] A web search for "London Underground engineering train". [3] http://cartometro.com/cartes/metro-tram-london/ http://cartometro.com/cartes/metro-tram-london/ (detailed map, showing sidings etc)
- _jal 5y ago
  Speaking of special-purpose trains, the NYC MTA used to run an armored train for collecting fares from stations. https://untappedcities.com/2016/02/12/the-mtas-special-armored-money-train-that-ran-from-1951-to-2006-in-nyc/ https://untappedcities.com/2016/02/12/the-mtas-special-armor...
  - frosted-flakes 5y ago
    Lots of systems did that, including Toronto, and for daily trash collection too. But logistically it's simpler to do that via surface streets nowadays, especially with late-night or all-night train service.
lbriner 5y ago
It's not that "obvious" and is not always used. For a start, the power is often off at night so you need one of the few battery locos. You also need a clear route from the station to the nearest loading/offloading point, which might be several mile away from the station. A lot of time, materials and tools are simply loaded through the station manually and since you are not allowed to store anything flammable below ground, some of it needs to be taken back out at the end of the shift. They are not keen to lose station time but sometimes I think they could afford to lose an hour either end when they are doing engineering work in a station. At least in this instance, they needed to close the station which saves so much time.
elahd 5y ago
This isn't just a construction phenomenon. The NYC MTA uses trains for collecting garbage and, until recently, money. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-refuse-rigs-collect-90-tons-garbage-day-article-1.124042 https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-refuse-rigs-collect... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_train https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_train

It's really cool that they can use the train tracks to bring stuff into and out of the station. It seems obvious in retrospect, but that had never occurred to me before.

blamazon 5y ago

In New York City there is currently a project ongoing deep underneath Grand Central Terminal to add an entirely new 8-track, 350,000sqft station connecting Grand Central to the Long Island Railroad. Similarly, all materials for that project enter and exit from the other end of the project tunnel in Queens. New York City at ground level has no indication that the work is ongoing 140 feet below their… well, feet. Very neat!

Symbiote 5y ago

If you use the London Underground late enough, you occasionally see engineering trains pass through. I think they move them to sidings in central London very late in the evening, so that after the last passenger train has departed (00:30-01:00) the equipment/materials can be where they're needed in just a few minutes. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_engineering_stock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_engineering... [2] A web search for "London Underground engineering train". [3] http://cartometro.com/cartes/metro-tram-london/ http://cartometro.com/cartes/metro-tram-london/ (detailed map, showing sidings etc)

_jal 5y ago
Speaking of special-purpose trains, the NYC MTA used to run an armored train for collecting fares from stations. https://untappedcities.com/2016/02/12/the-mtas-special-armored-money-train-that-ran-from-1951-to-2006-in-nyc/ https://untappedcities.com/2016/02/12/the-mtas-special-armor...
- frosted-flakes 5y ago
  Lots of systems did that, including Toronto, and for daily trash collection too. But logistically it's simpler to do that via surface streets nowadays, especially with late-night or all-night train service.

lbriner 5y ago

It's not that "obvious" and is not always used. For a start, the power is often off at night so you need one of the few battery locos. You also need a clear route from the station to the nearest loading/offloading point, which might be several mile away from the station. A lot of time, materials and tools are simply loaded through the station manually and since you are not allowed to store anything flammable below ground, some of it needs to be taken back out at the end of the shift. They are not keen to lose station time but sometimes I think they could afford to lose an hour either end when they are doing engineering work in a station. At least in this instance, they needed to close the station which saves so much time.

elahd 5y ago

This isn't just a construction phenomenon. The NYC MTA uses trains for collecting garbage and, until recently, money. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-refuse-rigs-collect-90-tons-garbage-day-article-1.124042 https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-refuse-rigs-collect... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_train https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_train