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With repairs complete, Orange Line resumes warp speed between Forest Hills and Green Street

Orange Line repairs yesterday near Green Street. Photo by MBTA.Orange Line repairs yesterday near Green Street. Photo by MBTA.

The MBTA reports crews finished up repairs between Forest Hills and Green yesterday, meaning the end of the speed restrictions that let inbound commuters carefully scrutinize all those emergency-exit distance markers for the past few months.

Jack Freeman tweeted this morning:

Well, I would say the Orange Line construction over the weekend was a success - thanks MBTA!

Hillary adds:

Yes, exciting to see train approach Green St @ full speed, not creeping along like a toddlers' Santa Land ride.

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Comments

Kinda funny - I count 10 guys standing around looking at a machine that does most of the work - and it looks like nobody's even driving the machine (or is that a head in the crack in the door/window). Do they each take an hour a day plus one supervisor? Or is it 8 supervisors and one driver who happens to be on break?

The T has a lot of problems not of its making, but they sure don't help themselves with pictures like this.

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The problem was some custom part that even the Orange Line's crack blacksmiths couldn't simply reproduce (yes, of course the Orange Line has blacksmiths - somebody has to make the replacement parts on those trains that are no longer made).

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Blacksmiths are on crack?

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Maybe it looks like they are standing around be cause it's a still picture.

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Kinda funny - I count 10 guys standing around looking at a machine that does most of the work

If your only connection to construction work is the Lego blocks that mommy keeps in your old bedroom as a shrine to her baby, you might find that amusing.

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Funny like a sad clown.

Unfortunately N-W I grew up in a RR town and I know all too well how this system works. Oh if the walls in that RR shop could talk...

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Sometimes the reason you see so many workers standing around is due to OSHA standards due to accidents or deaths in the past (or somebody thinking its a risk). It is why you typically see 2 or so people around a manhole if somebody is down below. Sometimes you do all have to stand around awhile one thing gets completed. This is also typical in technical theatre, sometimes you are just waiting on the audio guy to finish up his work before you can do anything else (though it is not common, there are usually many different crews working on different things on stage and you do get in each others way eventually). Though the imagery is not so helpful in this case, and I am sure there are other things that could be done.

Maybe they really like watching the machine work? ;)

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Although 10 does seem to be a bit of overkill - but hard to tell what was actually going on. The more perplexing question is why the MBTA chose this photo to put out (they get the credit in the caption) - the photog couldn't wait around to get the guys in action? If I were the MBTA PR head - this is not something I want distributed. Hell - the photographer should have at least told 'em to fake it and at least pretend to be working for the picture!

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There was some standing around, but the machine did have a driver and at least 4-6 people involved in ensuring it was in the right place and aiming those boring things in the right places. Very cool equipment and process to watch with a toddler!

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Notice that the wheels of the machine are not on the rail yet, and at least two of the workers appear to be pivoting the machine into position.

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The MBTA photographer doesn't have permission to be in an active worksite, or near that machine when it's operating. So he got there right before the guys started working in the morning, and told the guys to "OK, now stand around and look like you're watching that big thing do something. Great, one more...OK, done! Now you're Internet famous hehehe."

It's the MBTA version of the white kid, the black kid, and the wheelchair-bound Asian kid having an impromptu study group under a tree.

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