NWTransport: Welcome Aboard the Monorail

Alright, it's time for my favorite part of this extra-long set, and perhaps the part that the rest of it was all an excuse for -- a look at the Seattle Center Monorail! Despite being a short two-stop shuttle between Westlake and the Seattle Center, this is still a fairly important transportation link (until the light rail station at Seattle Center opens, but that's not for another few decades) and one of only a few monorail systems in the US that serves a public transit purpose, along with being one of the first monorails built anywhere. 

The remodel added a big advertising LED screen above the platform screen doors, along with a color-changing light system, though it only seemed to change color for Kraken ads like the one here, not any of the others. While the screen doors make it look like the platform is fully enclosed, there's actually a big open space above the false ceiling beams, something that's very obvious on a cold December day -- and a rather strange choice, since it means the whole mall is effectively open to the outside. 

I have no idea what all of the little lights on some sort of control panel in this room off to the side of the platform are, but they've been there since well before the remodel -- I remember being fascinated by them as a kid!

 

The best part about the Monorail is that it's still using the original 1962-built trains from when it was built as part of the Century 21 exposition, making them the oldest non-suspended monorail trains still in service (the original Disneyland Monorail trains were a similar design and a few years older, but they were replaced long ago). 

The Seattle Monorail system is very simple -- there are two tracks and two trains, just running back and forth (without even any intermediate stations), meaning the trains are semi-permanently attached to the track and never have to switch tracks. At the Westlake end, the rebuilt station only has one platform, so there are retractable walkways to connect up to the red train (the blue train is on the closer track and pulls right up to the platform). 

The interior of the cars is a bit plainer than their outside appearance might apply, but it too is basically original to the 1960s construction -- right down to the minimal heating, absent air conditioning, and non-existent insulation, which can make it less than pleasant during non-ideal weather conditions. 

The Monorail is also the only rail system I'm aware of with fully-open drivers' compartments -- and before COVID times, you could even sit right nest to the driver up against the windshield! The entire train is controlled through the touchscreen next to the driver (here's a much better picture) along with a joystick; honestly, being a monorail driver is something of a dream job for me, but I wouldn't be able to afford to live in Seattle on what they get paid, sadly. 

The tinted portion of the windshield got in the way, but I still quite like how this picture of the Space Needle turned out, especially with its christmas lights on top!

This time it's the ad-wrap's turn to ruin a photo, but one of the few points of interest along the Monorail route is near the Seattle Center end, where it passes through the middle of the Frank Gehry-designed MoPop building (which I still think of as the EMP, it's original name).

Arriving at the station, here's a couple views of the blue train in the background, and a closeup of the front of the red train. The blue train was parked in the station because they were only running one train at the time, something that's pretty much standard these days. The station itself is pretty bland and utilitarian, which is surprising considering how much effort went into styling the trains themselves, along with many of the other Century 21 buildings. It has some mid-century flair to it, but not nearly as much as the original Westlake station once did. 

The Monorail operators can't help but style as many things as possible to match the aesthetics of the trains themselves! The information booth in the first photo is the original ticket booth, which sat in the middle of the space now occupied by the faregates in the second. With both stations being terminals and no track switches, there's nowhere to put a dedicated maintenance facility, so this station is where all the work is done -- there's a whole workshop area below the platforms that you can look down into when the trains are out of the station. 

I like the little historic signs at the entrance, talking about how this is the last original Alweg monorail (the company that pretty much defined how we think about monorails today) still remaining. And as for that neon sign, I'm not sure how original it is, ...

But it's still here, and still cool, too. Anyway, that wraps this up -- next Tuesday will be the time for an all-new set, which I haven't picked out yet.