As promised in my earlier post, here are my thoughts from my 1st Link light rail trip.
After an uneventful trip on Sounder Commuter Rail from Tacoma to King St. Station Seattle, I made my way uptown to the Westlake Transit Tunnel station. Upon boarding the Link, I 1st noticed the smell of old socks; rather than that new car smell I had expected. I checked my own pair of socks, they are of relatively recent vintage; thus I suspect the car's HVAC system was the culprit. After sitting @ Westlake for 15 minutes, a voice from above said: " The signals in the tunnel are not working; we cannot proceed until they are working." After deboarding, I watched METRO supervisors direct METRO busses around the idle trolley, all the time wondering why they were allowed through the tunnel when the trolley wasn't. This question posed to a METRO supervisor whom I know from the NW Railfan Group, brought a response that"... the trolley is operated under Federal rules requiring an functioning signal system." Apparently the busses that share the tunnel aren't under the same requirements. I was also told the trolley signal system outside the tunnel is separate; " Trolleys may be operating South of the Tunnel." Indeed they were.
OK, so I finally made my way to an operational trolley @ Stadium Station, 5th Ave. South & Royal Brougham Way, for my trip to Tukwila & back. This car smelled better, a medium load of mostly lookie - loos on board. A smooth trip with several thoughts of note:
-- Link Rail shops visible from West/South facing seats as we round the curve above 6th Ave. South & Forest Ave.
-- Good view of BNSF South Seattle Intermodal yard from South seats as trolley passes over Interstate 5 / BNSF / Boeing Access Road.
-- Rebuilding of MLK Jr Way as part of Link construction down the middle; partially paved bomb craters replaced with smooth concrete.
-- Several stations WAY up in the air; Mt. Baker & especially Tukwila International Blvd. The latter stop WILL be cold & windy in winter, being open air & roughly the same elevation as the runways @ Sea Tac Airport.
-- A 7 mile or so gap between South stations of Tukwila Int'l Blvd & "Rainier Beach ",( MLK @ Henderson Ave.) A stop should be placed in North Tukwila, either @ Interurban Ave & 133rd, or E. Marginal Way S. & Boeing Access Rd. to serve local residential & business needs, including Boeing & The Museum of Flight.
Overall, a good 1st impression despite the signal snafu, which the evening news said was caused by a Seattle City Light power failure, not the system itself. Funny thing though, I didn't notice anyone else losing power ?!?