West LRT | 7 Stations | 8.0 KM | In Service

[Innersoul1]

Originally Posted by You Need A Thneed

WEST LRT Project in Review 2011.

It does include a little blurb about the copper roofs.

Very Cool! I will note that the roof at Shaganappi is already turning green. Saw it with my own two eyes on the weekend.

[Calgarian]

So the roofs will turn green then, it will just take a long time. Sounds like the decision was due to to the low maintenance copper will require.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

So the roofs will turn green then, it will just take a long time. Sounds like the decision was due to to the low maintenance copper will require.

I think if the copper is used for a roof, and it eventually turns green, then it's not a bad choice. With Sunalta however, where the copper is basically the entire cladding of the station, they should have sealed it. Anyway, maybe once the WLRT is built and in use it can be revisited at a later time.

[jsbertram]

This reminds me of the roof on the Cathedral north of Olympic Plaza.

Quite a few years ago, they spent a whack of money replacing the entire roof because minimal maintenance had been done since the building was completed in 1904.

The bright & shiny copper roof glistened in the sunlight, and everyone was happy they'd invested in a '100 year roof'. However, they skipped on sealing the copper, so within a few years it turned green.

Someone high-up in the church decided that a green roof was ugly, so more money was spent painting the green copper back to a reddish-copper colour.

Today, we can see the results of the bright prairie sun bleaching out the red. They now have a luvverly pink roof.

Until someone coughs up the bucks to paint it red or copper-red again ....

I wonder how much has been spent since they put on the low-maintenance copper roof.

[srperrycgy]

Enjoyed the warmer weather and my new DSLR camera on a photo walk along the entire West LRT route.

West Entrance at 69th Street Station.

WLRT-05062012-5 by srp775, on Flickr

East Entrance at 69th Street Station.

WLRT-05062012-6 by srp775, on Flickr

Looking eastward from Christie Park Gate.

WLRT-05062012-10 by srp775, on Flickr

Tracks near Sirocco Station.

WLRT-05062012-18 by srp775, on Flickr

Damaged Pathway, Deep Puddle. Some of the paving work done has signifigant cracks after the winter.

WLRT-05062012-17 by srp775, on Flickr

West entrance to 45th Street Station.

WLRT-05062012-25 by srp775, on Flickr

Interlocking east of 45th Street Station.

WLRT-05062012-28 by srp775, on Flickr

South entrance to Westbrook Station.

WLRT-05062012-34 by srp775, on Flickr

North entrance to Westbrook Station and TOD building work.

WLRT-05062012-40 by srp775, on Flickr

Activated signals near Shaganappi Point.

WLRT-05062012-41 by srp775, on Flickr

Sunalta Station. I wasn't the only photog taking pics here. Was it one of you guys?

WLRT-05062012-50 by srp775, on Flickr

11th Street West Station.

WLRT-05062012-53 by srp775, on Flickr

Rail connection made.

WLRT-05062012-57 by srp775, on Flickr

More pics from today: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lrtincalgary/sets/72157629617750876/

[Jimby]

great photo update and congrats on the new camera!

[srperrycgy]

Originally Posted by Jimby

great photo update and congrats on the new camera!

Thanks. I was in The Camera Store to buy a bag and I'm sure happy to have been hired full-time this week so I can afford more accessories.

[The Chemist]

Great pictures - looks really close to finished.

How on Earth is it going to take nearly a YEAR before the WLRT is open to the public? It looks like it could be done in 4 or 5 months, at most.

[kw5150]

Exciting stuff, thanks for the picture tour!

[srperrycgy]

Originally Posted by The Chemist

Great pictures - looks really close to finished.

How on Earth is it going to take nearly a YEAR before the WLRT is open to the public? It looks like it could be done in 4 or 5 months, at most.

Appearances can be deceiving. There is a lot of work to be done. Caternary is only up on the guideway to Shaganappi Point. The summer construction season is just starting and barring another Spring snowfall, will be very busy along the 8km route.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by The Chemist

Great pictures - looks really close to finished.

How on Earth is it going to take nearly a YEAR before the WLRT is open to the public? It looks like it could be done in 4 or 5 months, at most.

The target opening is Dec 2012 (just before the Mayan Apocalypse).

The construction will appear to be done in the fall, but it will still take several months of commissioning and testing and training staff (ie: motormen) on the new facilities.

We'll even be teased by seeing trains running on the new line - but empty.

The NE extension opening will have to satisfy us all until then.

[mersar]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

The target opening is Dec 2012 (just before the Mayan Apocalypse).

The construction will appear to be done in the fall, but it will still take several months of commissioning and testing and training staff (ie: motormen) on the new facilities.

We'll even be teased by seeing trains running on the new line - but empty.

The NE extension opening will have to satisfy us all until then.

CT is still staying the target opening is now spring 2013, not December 2012 as it was previously planned for. Of course this may be to just make it look better when its actually ready in December, but every publication thats come out of the WLRT Project in the last 6 months has said 2013 now.

[Coldrsx]

Love the station designs and use of copper.

The pace of your WLRT is astounding.

[nname]

Just for a comparison, the first test train ran on the Canada Line on April 1, 2008, but the line wasn't open until Aug 17, 2009.

[srperrycgy]

Originally Posted by nname

Just for a comparison, the first test train ran on the Canada Line on April 1, 2008, but the line wasn't open until Aug 17, 2009.

That's good, but if you are comparing the two lines; it's apples and oranges. The Canada Line is automated and definitely required more test time. The West LRT isn't the same and won't need that much work to get up and running.

[lineman]

Energized and tested tension lengths 2-4 today. Good to go. A test train will be escorted through soon!

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by lineman

Energized and tested tension lengths 2-4 today. Good to go. A test train will be escorted through soon!

I was looking at the wires last time as in town, the elevated section between downtown and the Sunalta section seems to have extra heavy duty wire rigged. Any insight to why?

[MMMBeer]

Latest update newsletter (May) is on westlrt.ca It's been a while since the last one (March).

Nothing earth-shattering in terms of developments as far as I could tell - probably why they waited 2 months since the last one.

[Full Mountain]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

I was looking at the wires last time as in town, the elevated section between downtown and the Sunalta section seems to have extra heavy duty wire rigged. Any insight to why?

I think it has too do with the increased power requirements of the 4 car trains, so they've run dual wire, lineman?

[MasterG]

Calgary Herald article reflecting the cost overruns and public art components. Interesting note, at the end they mention that a text train will be running on the completed section early next week.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgar...in%20west%20LRT%20tab/6609387/story.html