Year 2, Day 153: 30 March 2014

Great news! The work in the track area, which was scheduled to last until the wee hours of Monday, has been completed way ahead of schedule. By shortly after 9AM, most of the crew and heavy equipment had left for the day. This gave me a rare opportunity to catch a few minutes of stillness on the job site: 

The hook on the large crane--which had been busily transporting
equipment, rebar, and hoppers full of gravel all weekend--
now in repose, just waiting for the crane operator to drive it away.

A solitary worker pauses for a few minutes to smile for the camera
before beginning to return the site to a state of readiness
for the coming week.

Year 2, Day 152: 29 March 2014

It's been another long day of work along the trackbed.

An added challenge to the project has been the extreme winter weather,
and even though it's the end of March, a ground warmer was brought in
to make it easier to dig under the tracks.

The pictures don't show as much detail as i wish, but the workers are digging
a hole or trench under the tracks to accommodate the power lines.

This is southernmost of the work areas. The conduits for the electrical lines
are bunched in a series of groups.

The work continues through the night once again. I took a few more pictures late tonight, but these are the only ones that turned out well enough to post. 

Year 2, Day 151: 28 March 2014, Pt. 2: Friday Night Lights

This was the scene late Friday night, as the weekend work-a-thon began. Work will continue round the clock once again this weekend.

Year 2, Day 151: 28 March 2014

The cement truck returned this morning.

Year 2, Day 150: 27 March 2014

Another day of organizing and working behind the scenes in preparation for the next weekend-long work-a-thon. This weekend, in addition to street closings in the Farwell and Glenwood area, southbound Red Line trains will bypass Loyola, Morse, and Jarvis stations, while crews continue the important task of running power lines from the substation to the tracks. Here's more information on the weekend changes in service from the CTA website.

In other news, i'm very pleased to announce that plans are now being finalized for yours truly to tour the substation some time during the next couple of weeks. 

Year 2, Day 148: 25 March 2014

The work went smoothly over the weekend and even finished earlier than anticipated. Let's hope that the same will be the case next weekend! Meanwhile, although most of the work continues to be happening behind the walls, this worker attached a light fixture to the outer wall today. 

About a month ago, i received a message regarding the possibility of gaining access to the substation. I've sent a couple of emails to the CTA contact i was given, but have not yet heard anything back. I hope to hear something soon, so i'll be able to finally see what's happening beyond the brick walls.

Year 2, Day 146: 23 March 2014: Snow

 Winter has become like a bad houseguest this year, refusing to leave 

long after it's worn out its welcome. And so, despite yet another round of snow, 

work continued on the trackbed on this cold Sunday morning.

Year 2, Day 145: 22 March 2014, Pt. 2: The Night Shift

The work will continue throughout the night and straight on into the wee hours on Monday. One of these days, i'm going to have to get myself a real camera, especially for night shots (although my little Galaxy S3 does a pretty good job for a phone camera). 

Ready for the night shift.
Those safety vests sure are shiny!

Year 2, Day 145: 22 March 2014

It's been a busy morning at track level, as work is done to bring the power lines from the substation out to the tracks. The work is focused on tracks 1 & 2, the southbound tracks on the western side of the embankment. The southbound trains have been diverted to track 3, while the northbound are on track 4, the outside track usually used by the northbound Purple Line at rush hours.

As thrilling as this view is, the better spot for catching the action is west of the tracks where workers and machinery create a busy scene along Glenwood.  

A smile and a wave from the crane operator!

Sparks!

And more sparks!

About an hour and a half after the first series of pictures were taken, a lot of progress had been made.