Westbahnstrasse Tram Track Rehabilitation Project: Track Work

Summer 2009

Placing tram track in the street is a key part of the tram track rehabilitation project. The track must be placed at the right elevation and then the track support structure and street are built around it. The track needs to be level and the joints need to be welded to provide a comfortable ride. If the track is not exactly right it will cause maintenance problems for the tram wheels and the rails for the next 25-years! Here are photos of the track placement process.

Click on any photo to see a larger version from my flickr photos.

All photos are available on my flickr set Westbahnstr Tram Track Renewal

Ready to start placing the track.

On this section they placed pre-fabricated sections of track. You can see one of the pre-fabricated sections in the background by the crane.

Making sure that the track is at the right elevation.

A variety of jacking devices and measurement tools are used in the process of setting the tracks.

When tracks are at the right elevation, the workers bolt the track to the adjoining section.

This photo shows the workers bolting one of the steel bars that keeps the two tracks the correct distance apart to the track, but the same tools are used to bolt one section of track to the next.

The process of placing the track, making sure it is in exactly the right position, supporting the track and welding the rail is very involved. Here's an overview photo, several smaller ones below. They keep checking elevation and placement all through the construction process.

I guess they succeeded between the 2nd and 3rd photos below right.

Welding the track was pretty cool, so I took lots of photos. I have placed them on their own page.

Westbahnstrasse Tram Track Rebuild Welding Photos

Here's a video showing how the workers built the permanent track support structure.

Here's a link to all five Westbahnstrasse Tram Track Rebuild videos.

Back to Westbahnstrasse Tram Track Reconstruction 2009 Homepage.

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