Personal Projects, Photography, and Pointless Pontifications
Touring RTD / DTP’s New Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility
Back in early 2015, when RTD’s A, B, and G commuter rail lines were still under construction, Dave Schaaf managed to get the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club a tour of the Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility – the maintenance and administrative hub of the new system. The only catch was we could only do it during the week, so on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2015, I blew off an afternoon of work to go see a brand new railroad maintenance shop under construction.
RTD’s initial commuter rail system was built as a public/private partnership. Denver Transit Partners was a company started by a a host of other companies to design, finance, build, and then operate the new electrified commuter rail system. (Commuter rail being full FRA-compliant electric multiple unit cars, as opposed to the light rail system that RTD operates directly.) The system initially consisted of the airport (A) line, the B line to Westminster, and the G line to Wheat Ridge, as well as a central Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility to be located along the B/G mains just to the east of the former Rio Grande (now UP) North Yard.
In January 2015, the system was still coming together. The A line had been completed and the new Hyundai-Rotem Silverliner V cars were starting to arrive in Denver. The CRMF was largely done as a building, but was still being fitted. The dispatching center, located upstairs, was still very much a work in progress, with contractors actively configuring and coding the system while we were touring. Contractors outside were still building catenary, and contractors inside were installing large fixed equipment, such as the car lifts. The first test trains would operate only three months after our tour, so the sense of urgency was very much in the air.
There’s not much else to say that’s not better said in pictures.
Looking at the south end of the Car Maintenance Facility from the 48th Ave bridge. The Rio Grande’s North Yard (now UP) is on the left out of frame.
The south end of the building
The parking lot on the southeast side of the building. The offices and dispatch center are in the part straight ahead. Car repair bays are on the left.
Our tour guide from Denver Transit Partners gives us an intro as we all sign in and sign our release forms.
A look at the dispatch room and consoles. Very much still a work in progress.
The Denver Union Station end of the dispatcher diagram.
A line on the bottom, B/G on the top past the Car Maintenance Facility
The B/G lines on the top and the A (airport) line on the bottom
The power distribution diagram on the big board shows all the catenary and feeders are isolated
The one at the dispatcher console, however, shows that the Sandown feeder station is hot and energizing the catenary out east. Still some bugs to work out.
Touring the parts storage room
A look at the car maintenance bays. Tracks are 11 (nearest) for truck/traction motor work, 10 & 9 for bigger repairs, and 6-8 (far side) for running repairs.
A look down the truck and traction motor maintenance area.
Two of the turntables in the floor used to move trucks around. The stands at the left will hold a truck up for work.
A look at track 11, with all of its hydraulic car lifts, and track 10 to the left with RTD 4003 & 4004 on it.
The hydraulic lifts in the floor can either left a car by its wheels (as it would in this mode) or using the lifts under the big square plates can lift a whole carset off its trucks. They go about 8 feet up.
Uh oh, the car lifts aren’t quite working. Going to have to pull the floor panels to fix one.
One of the hydraulic lifts is being troublesome, so one of the construction guys has the plates off and is working on it.
The truck washing room. It’s literally a carwash for the railcar trucks to get the grime off of them before they’re repaired.
A look at the parts washing room, with four Ramco washers for degreasing and cleaning parts.
Car 4004 sits in track 10 (with 4003 behind it, semi-permanently coupled).
Maintenance track 9, showing the various platforms for car access.
Tracks 9-11 don’t have overhead power for safety and ease of maintenance, so these little tugs move the cars around by remote control
If you ever wondered what the top of the HVAC unit looked like, you’re in luck.
The corresponding electrical gear on 4003, including the pantograph for contacting the overhead catenary.
A look at the electrical gear on top of 4004.
And 4003’s overhead gear also labeled for your interest.
Since I’m an electrical guy, I figured I’d label all that nifty stuff on the top of 4004 (coupled to 4003 in the background).
Recently delivered cars 4004 and 4003 sit in track 10.
A look at tracks 8 (in front) and 7 (to the right) for routine maintenance and running repairs. These tracks will have overhead catenary.
Running repair track 6’s door, with the big cutout for the catenary bar (it’ll be a rigid bar inside, not a wire) overhead so cars can run right into the building under power.
One of the insulated joints in the catenary leading into the running repair bays on the western tracks.
Running repair tracks 7 & 8 again.
Another look at the northern approach tracks. The RTD mainlines are on the left.
Looking at the northern approach tracks from one of the running repair bays.
A look at the approach tracks to the building on the south end.
The eastern tracks in the car facility do not have overhead such that heavy repairs can be performed without danger of electrocution (or wires in the way).
The Rocky Mountain Railroad Club members on the RTD tour stop for a group photo with 4004
