MUNI time lapse video

Church and 30th St. San Francisco MUNI Construction from Ken Murphy on Vimeo.

Our friend Ken Murphy of Blinky Bug and History of the Sky fame just posted this incredible time lapse movie, watching as construction workers replaced San Francisco metro train tracks outside of his apartment. The work was done from October 8-12, and the movie spans 12 minutes. It’s amazing how much goes into something that looks so simple.

5 thoughts on “MUNI time lapse video

  1. Maybe this will reveal my own ignorance, but I think that the thing that was coolest to me was that they still use railroad ties underneath the concrete overlayment. I suppose I don’t have any other ideas as to how they’d keep the tracks at the correct distance from each other, but the fact that there are ties hidden under the surface is pretty cool. :)

    1. The ties don’t hold the gauge as much as they spread the load. Even with light rail the weight needs to be transferred smoothly to the ground beneath and not to the brittle concrete. True that reinfoced concrete ties are being used these days but good ol’ wood ties do a better job albeit at a higher price. — Keith T., Seattle, WA

    1. IT IS DIFFICULT TO TELL WHETHER THEY USED THERMITE, but it certainly was interesting to try to capture all the different techniques and skills used. It appears to have been well thought out technically. What a brilliant idea to photograph the whole process to document this historical event. Well done, good and faithful!

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