JJ

I think the design has changed. The model in the Council Offices shows it has a thicker pylon with a circular hole through it. Also the pylon is curved more towards the bridge deck( not as upright).
JJ

I had a look at Charlemont today, they are putting the handrails on at the moment. There’s going to be perforated metal infills to the stairs and they will have signposts indicating which to use for inbound and outbound trams.

The guys on site also told me that the bridge will have glazed panels and cover plates so the finished article will look very different. They were laying some fine granite around the base of the stairs next to a new jetty on the canal.

Also this week the framework for the canopies at Connolly started to go up. I’ve attached a picture of the first one. There are four in total which will be installed over the coming weeks.

JJ

While you are waiting here’s a couple of shots I get recently of the tram on the bridges at charlemont ……..
JJ

A couple of answers to the above.

The original tram system was based on the earlier horse trams which were built from about 1871 on. The system consisted of many individual lines and the electrification of these started around 1896. It grew gradually over the years before being outclasseed in every sense by the growing bus market.

Jim Kilroy’s book Irish trams gives a very detailed accout of all this.

There were many objections to the electrification as people were concerned about the effects on the horses ( they thought they would be electricuted) and it also involved the digging up of some existing lines and the installation of the overheads ( the overheads were all based on using only poles. No building fixings were used)

Taney bridge cost about €9m to build and was designed by Roughan and O’Donovan engineers. One of the reasons for its shape was to allow it to be constructed simultaneously with a new road widening and junction reconstruction scheme at Taney Junction. The total span is about 180m. I’ve attached a picture of the old bridge which spanned about 8m !

I’d agree with the commments about HaArcourt Street. The general houskeeping by the contractors was disgraceful.

The recent derailment was an total non event. It happened during testing and in particular during a shunting movement. Irish Rail had three such de-railments the same week in their Inchicore depot. In railway terms its no worse than a flat tyre on a bus.

Cheers all,
JJ

🙂

I´m really tired of hearing all this crap about the cost of Luas. The facts are :

The original cost was for a single line, one depot, no connection to Abbey Street and Connolly and fewer trams. It was also costed almost 10 years ago !!

The current cost reflects the new configuration (changed at the incistance of the government remember!). So now we have two lines, two depots, more trams and additional track not to mention Connolly as a major new terminus and interchange. Three years ago the government accepted a tender cost of 700million plus a risk and contingency figure of 80million. The final outurn costs are in line with those figures.

Supposing I as an Architect designed a house to a budget and to a brief then gave the client a guarantee that the price would not change from the first estimate done 10 years earlier despite the fact that its now bigger, in a different place and made from different materials, would I be taken seriously ? I certainly would not be in business very long !

By the way as an interesting aside on the Origin Gallery issue in Harcourt Street, my friend in the RPA told me that Noelle CS wrote a few months ago requesting an additional stop be provided in Harcourt Street as the stop at the Odeon is too far from her premises !!!!

Gabriel, well done on the photos, I´m out of the country on hols at the moment and its great to be able to see the latest pictures.
Keep up the good work !!

JJ

What an amusingly appropriate counterpoint ( no pun intended ) to the Spike !!!

😉

I know of two examples. One’s in Brighton ( tiny and unimpressive ) and the other I saw recently on a visit to Rome in the Gardens of the Borgia palace ( looked lovely lit up by internal lights in the fading evening light ). Also seen in Genoa was Renzo Piano’s cable lift in the docklands, much more impressive and great fun.

Given the Gravity Bar and the Chimney do we really need another high vantage point from which to gaze upon the city and in particular Temple bar(f)?

JJ

Nottingham is due to open in March. They have had some complaints about noise from their Trams. The extract below comes from http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/news.html
I think its likely that similar issues will arise here in Dublin.

As far late night running its a commercial decision as far as Connex are concerned. they will want to balance patronage with costs for drivers, Control Room staff additional maintenance and cleaning. The Light Rail Orders allow running 24hrs if needed.

JJ

“28 sites in Nottingham are to see noise tests undertaken following complaints received from residents over the disturbance the Nottingham Express Transit trams are causing. It has led bosses at NET to saying that double glazing may be required for homes, at the expense of the tram company. Of the 28 locations 6 are places where residents have complained with the remainder being in public places such as the Old Market Square. The main noise worries appear to be at the Noel Street junction where two lines diverge and it is this junction which is the cause of the majority of the complaints. Some local residents have spoken to the Nottingham Evening Post saying that the noise and vibrations have recently got so bad that tiles have fallen down off the roof and that the problem isn’t only the trams on the track but is also partly the use of the bell at the junction. The other main area for concern is in Cinderhill where fencing has recently been erected to help protect from the noise. Despite these noise concerns the Nottingham Tram Consortium have said that they have only received 25 complaints about the noise in the past year. Mike Casebourne, Project Director, said “we’re pretty sure we’re going to wind up insulating half a dozen properties near the Noel Street crossing and a couple of homes where Noel Street joins Gladstone Street.” The cost would be around £16,000. “

Ahem,
Thats one platform in each direction:rolleyes: The Jervis stop is split for this reason. The millennium walk arrives at the ped crossing between platforms ( if they were exactly opposed the walkway would arrive in the middle of the southern platform) .

Most platforms are between 500m and 750m apart. I think Connolly and Store Street are the closest.

As regards the fit French. Paris,St Denis has a tram system almost identical to the LUAS along with at least a dozen other French cities, the Luas was designed originally by a French company ( Semaly acting as consultants to CIE) and is identical to Montpelier, Orleans and Lyon. I think its horses for courses as they say. The capacity is dictated by the expected patronage, and in any event in the long term the Sandyford line is planned to be upgraded and the infrastructure has been sized to accommodate longer trams and ultimately Metro.

Personally I think the problems are going to be at Heuston. The 30m trams will be full by the time they arrive there and whilst there is a third platform in front of the station there are no additional trams available to run the shuttle between there and Connolly.

As you say we will just have to wait and see.

JJ

Blue,
They are check rails to prevent a derailed tram from striking the bridge abuttments. The trams will travel through here at almost full tilt….about 70kph.

JJ