Best elevated subway architecture (Dallas, Boston, Cleveland, concrete)

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Until is runs past your bedroom window.

Anyone who saw "The Blues Brothers Movie" should recall the scene early on where Jake and Elwood rent a room in a flophouse right next to the Loop 'L' tracks in Chicago.

The two brothers attempt to hold a conversation in it but find it next to impossible thanks to the CTA 'L' trains passing outside their window every five seconds.

IRL, the trains don't run quite that frequently, but they do run at very close headways on the Loop, which is fed by four different CTA routes, plus a fifth at peak hours.

[ilovelondon]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Anyone who saw "The Blues Brothers Movie" should recall the scene early on where Jake and Elwood rent a room in a flophouse right next to the Loop 'L' tracks in Chicago.

The two brothers attempt to hold a conversation in it but find it next to impossible thanks to the CTA 'L' trains passing outside their window every five seconds.

IRL, the trains don't run quite that frequently, but they do run at very close headways on the Loop, which is fed by four different CTA routes, plus a fifth at peak hours.

Are elevated trains in the US really that noisy? In London, the Overground and the DLR which I posted above, have noise levels that are negligible to those living right next to the lines. It's actually now very trendy to live right next to an elevated railway line that several developments are building mixed-use communities right next to them, as evidenced by my previous posts.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by ilovelondon

Are elevated trains in the US really that noisy? In London, the Overground and the DLR which I posted above, have noise levels that are negligible to those living right next to the lines. It's actually now very trendy to live right next to an elevated railway line that several developments are building mixed-use communities right next to them, as evidenced by my previous posts.

If I interpret those photos you've posted of the brick arch viaducts over the years, most of the London elevated viaducts have the tracks on rock ballast in a concrete or brick roadbed, or something similar, right?

Many older US elevated railways have tracks that are mounted on crossties placed atop steel beams on a steel-pillared structure with no ballast or other solid material surrounding them, or they may be on crossties on concrete supported by this steel structure. I believe that most of Chicago's Loop has tracks laid on the steel beam; Philadelphia's Market-Frankford Line has a concrete roadbed with steel supports, and the half-ties rest on the concrete.

I think the newer section has the rails mounted on rubber pads that dampen the noise. But the trains still make enough of a racket when they pass, thanks largely to the steel structures, to make holding a conversation difficult. Same in Chicago. I suspect the ballast makes a big difference.

I'm supposed to be interviewing a local architect who designed an apartment building located right next to where the Frankford Elevated makes a 45-degree turn to the northeast in the Kensington section of the city. The building is designed so that it's acoustically isolated - there are two sets of walls on the sides facing the elevated, with about four feet of space between the walls. This setup keeps the noise of the trains from overwhelming those inside the apartments.

The newer all-concrete elevated structures found on the PATCO line here in Philadelphia and all the newer rapid transit lines I call the "Second Subway Era" systems in the US (PATCO, opened in 1969, was the first; the rest include everything opened between 1971 (BART in San Francisco) and 1993 (LA's Red and Purple subway lines)) are much quieter than the old steel viaducts.

[ilovelondon]

Ah, that makes sense. Im not familiar with the Blues Brothers, but I remember a scene in Se7en where Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow moved into a flat right by a railway line, and the whole flat was shaking when a train passed by. I wasn't sure if that really existed in real life, or was just an exaggeration.

[RaleighSentinel]

Here is a good Google Earth underside pic of a Chicago L Station. This is the “Chicago” station in the River North neighborhood ~725 N Franklin. And yes, it’s loud under there when a train rumbles by for the readibly visible reasons mentioned earlier.

Google Earth Link https://earth.app.goo.gl/ARvNpP #googleearth

The Berlin S Bahn route mentioned in an earlier post was near and dear to my heart. I used to spend a lot of time on the S1 line. It originally was a suburban rail route from the Capital’s city center (Friedrichstrasse) out to the nice, green, and wealthy suburbs like Zehlendorf, and recreational areas like Wannsee. It was (and still is) an easy link to Potsdam, the state capital of Brandenburg, and the “German Hollywood” of Babelsberg. It is also interesting that it runs both elevated, ground level, and underground along parts of its route. I thought it was always cool when it went underground just before Potsdamer Platz, which during the Cold War, was smack in the middle of a no mans land, populated only by rabbits. After the fall of the Wall, connections were reestablished with the east, and Potsdamer Platz is now a brand spanking new urban megaplex. Berlin has done an excellent job with seamlessly integrating their many modes of public transport like the S-Bahn and U-Bahn with the “Streetcar” Strassenbahnen in the eastern part of the city and the bus networks city-wide. It’s easy to get around there without a car, just watch out for the dog poop that seems to be everywhere. Berliners love their dogs, just not picking up after them...

Like the L, the S-Bahn ain’t the prettiest, but it is superbly practical (much like I found Chicagoans and Berliners).

[Foamposite]

The NYC Els are noisy but you get used to them quick

[Bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by RaleighSentinel

She may not be the prettiest, but neither is she the grittiest, and she is certainly fitting to the glory and architecture of the Windy City... Got to love the Chicago “L.” The pic is of a Pink Line train crossing the Lake Street bridge. The Chicago L is over 125 years old, and Chicago is the only city in the U.S. that still has elevated trains in its “downtown” area.

Ever heard of Miami's Metrorail?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw_yUcQCLOo

It also has the Metromover below Metrorail which are elevated downtown :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV6fvaPcwJs

[P47P47]

The best piece of elevated subway architecture/design is on the Baltimore Metro where a signal is mounted on the outside of the sound barrier wall on a custom mounting bracket, visible from Wabash Avenue.

It's the best because I designed that custom mount when I worked for an electrical subcontractor on the project.

[RaleighSentinel]

Touché and yes, been on both. I always thought of the metro rail as a “downtown” adjacent through train and the metromover as “Something else,” but I’ll give it to you on semantics. They are both indeed elevated, and fit well with Miami’s modern vibe.

[DavePa]

Originally Posted by ilovelondon

Are elevated trains in the US really that noisy? In London, the Overground and the DLR which I posted above, have noise levels that are negligible to those living right next to the lines. It's actually now very trendy to live right next to an elevated railway line that several developments are building mixed-use communities right next to them, as evidenced by my previous posts.

A 100+ year old is noisy on a iron elevated skeleton. The system is computerized and getting upgrades and some new stations and restorations keep many original stations still serving its needs. They are open-stations to the weather. No one boast US rail is the worlds best.

Cities that have it are lucky our auto industry did not devastate it as it did all the trolley-lines. A few cities have some yet. Most have none unless newer lines more recently added.

I find Chicago's L line clean .... and efficient that gets adequate attention to keep it going more decades. I use it from its airports on every visit. Much cheaper then any other form.

Blues Brothers 1970s movie scene with a tiny cheap sleazy rented hotel room with the L going by.
Not the best scene in the movie. Some Chicago blues playing on the record player. Iconic to jump to the future of today.... Now being next to the L is not least desirable. They build new apartment buildings right next to it. No doubt soundproof and insulating windows of today. This building today might be a hgher-rent one redone inside and no sleazy rooms for rent.

---- Got a kick out of this comment on the video scene.
- In NYC they'd advertise that as a "quaint studio close to transportation". $1200/month.
Blues Brothers short 1970s movie scene of supposedly a Chicago transient sleazy hotel next to the L.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th-t6uEefAs

Here a short video showing a original station restored
- from just the ground level and the 125-yr. old iron-skeleton it is on in the core.
Stupid ice cream truck background music though ....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNfToFt39Og

Just a short run on Chicago's L going past some simple narrow stations.
- most are original basically with restorations and maintained today better then the past.
- some being replaced and improvements to add more trains as needed.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T20Wl_YDcAw

Fast motion video from 2014. Red line going 3/4's the length of the city.
- starts farther South and travels in the median of the expressway.
- then goes into a subway thru downtown
- then goes up onto a Elevated half thru the North side of the city .... and
Some oldest neighborhoods.
You can even see weather changes to foggy in the last quarter.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPeco8tW7Tc

But for a --- "American city" Chicago's L is considered good coverage for a city (but much smaller still then our mighty NYC), with full bus coverage to add to it further ... allowing a car-free living if one choses.

I had relatives that lived their whole lives in this city car-free. Though most chose to own vehicles. It is the US after all .....

*** SPARE US THE NEGATIVE ANGLE to your American slights in comments - we all read into them. Like Americans might learn something from you., and another one I remember seems is gone.
- surprised you're being allowed to paste WHOLE PAGES from books or links.
- the thread isn't on MAPS of coverage and lines...... but look and stations.

Elevated lines in the US are generally the oldest transit options and were NOT built for comfort. But were modern options of their day (cheaper then a subway even then) and survived the 20th century to today. Now they are seen as a GREAT ASSET today to preserve .... not merely relics. Especially as the US cities rarely build new lines today.

The US neglected its rail for sure. These systems went thru degrades of neglect (especially NYC's) as did many of our cities in general in radical racial change and declines. No maybe on that.
At least many have been making comebacks today and the younger generations are choosing BIG CITY URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS .... TO RESTORE AND LIVE IN.

These relics if transit .....
- just are basically being improved simply and maintained to gain even more decades of usage. - slower and noisy mostly yes.
- faster then a expressway in rush-hours .... for many it surely is.

*** It's fine to see London and Europe superior then the US. In mass transit .... it is basically. No real high-speed rail in the US and new lines and subways are very few. Most trolleys were decimated by the US auto industry to sell buses. Every city in the US, even to the smallest..... once had ther own trolley systems. Even mighty LA was full of trolley-lines back in the early 20th century.

Forgive my perversion of the English language too..... and yes we know it originated across the pond. The US has a affection to the UK that never seems to lessen. Despite our current President.....