sw4400 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Looking at all the work done recently... the Brown Line rehab of stations and slow zones, the Blue Line slow zone work, the Red Line slow zone and station work north of Belmont and this Spring, south of Roosevelt one thing comes to mind... the Dearborn and State St. Subways. The Dearborn Subway went into service February 25, 1951- 63 years ago and the State St. Subway went into service October 17, 1943- 70 years ago later this year. I know the stations have had work done to them, but what about the actual subway tunnels themselves(aside from the lighting and exit signs)? Structural integretity could start to deterorate over the past half century. Maybe tunnel rehabs were done sometime in the 1980's or 1990's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chgofan78 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 During the summer of 1991, there was the weekend closures of the State Street subway. All Howard/Englewood/Jackson Park trains were rerouted to the elevated structure except the weekends of Taste of Chicago. The work was mostly a deep scrub and minor track work and station maintenance/painting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Not to forget replacing the ties in both subways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
See Tea Eh Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Subway tunnels, if built properly, can last a long time. Out east, there are some railroad tunnels pushing (or exceeding) 100 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4CottageGrove95th Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Subway tunnels, if built properly, can last a long time. Out east, there are some railroad tunnels pushing (or exceeding) 100 years old. I gotta agree with you on that. Personally, I think Chicago subways were well built and built to last. As an example, look at the New York transit system. As you stated, some of the oldest tunnels (cut and cover and deep bore) exist on IRT Division, particularly the Lexington Ave and Broadway-7th Ave branches. And despite the age, exposure to the elements and the constant pounding from heavy steel local and express trains (most of them being 10 cars long; 7 Flushing line runs 11 car trains), this piece of civil engineering has stood the test of time. And they're still going strong. Just take a look at the YouTube video of the 86th street station on the Broadway-7th Ave Line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGfCLhWHDdY So, while Chicago's subways may not be as extensive as New York's, they're still just as well built. However, maintenance is a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 ... So, while Chicago's subways may not be as extensive as New York's, they're still just as well built. However, maintenance is a must. The main issue in Chicago seems water leakage, rather than imminent collapse. If they took getting inundated when someone punched through the freight tunnel in the early 90s, they must be pretty sturdy. I assume that a lot of water pressure was exerted on the exterior of the subway walls, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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