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Christopher125

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    BBC: Isle of Wight rail work falls further behind after flooding

     

    Quote

    South Western Railway (SWR) said it could not give a specific re-opening date but expected the railway line to remain closed into the autumn.


    It said newly laid ballast had been washed away from underneath sleepers and electrical, signalling and points equipment had also been damaged by the water.

    In a statement, the operator said: "We had been aiming to reopen the Island Line in the first half of next month, but flash flooding has added uncertainty to our programme.

     

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    4 hours ago, Chris116 said:

    They should get one for the Lymington branch so it could be an electric railway seven days a week. 

     

    That's been the case for a few years now hasn't it? Last photo of a 158 on flickr is 2018.

     

    Here's a video of the testing at Fareham, looks like some management turned up to check how things are going: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wIrkqN73lg

     

     

     

    • Like 4

    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted

    The IW Council have published a summary of their 'restoring your railway' proposals, the best they could come up was Ryde-Newport... via Sandown, a laughably impractical idea using 'hybrid light rail'. A missed opportunity and a waste of £50,000 unfortunately.

     

    https://iwightinvest.com/regeneration-prospectus/restoring-your-railway/

     

    https://iwightinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/RYR-SOBC-Executive-Summary.pdf

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    It's been quite the palaver, but in the next few days the pedestrian structure at Skew Bridge near lake will be lifted back into place - the post below details the night it was removed.

     

    Safe to say the access point for the road-rail crane is not one you'd expect... anyone know why it couldn't just trundle along the railway from Sandown (or Shanklin)?

     

    https://www.facebook.com/beaverbridges/posts/10151383295919986

     

    Quote

    This weeks task for the team trackside Isle Of Wight:


    - Enable access trackside 
    - Remove existing pedestrian crossing 
    - Supply and lay track mats
    - Construct temporary stone RRAP
    - Create crane pad trackside 
    - Break out and free ends of the bridge structure 
    - Lift out whole the bridge and transfer to staging point 
    - Secure ends of bridge and RRAP to prevent unauthorised access
    - Split bridge into 3 sections
    - Load out for full off site  refurbishment 
    ‘It’s not the load you carry that weighs you down, it’s the way you carry it’

     

     

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    On 29/05/2021 at 22:17, Mike Storey said:

     

    My prediction of mid- June for completion of all works does not look so shabby.

     

    So, even if the trains had worked perfectly from the off, there would have had to be some significant temporary works, or workarounds, to allow them into service. In a way, Vivarail have let SWR off the hook slightly. But, no matter, the trains seem to be working better now, so we should not be far away from Island testing and driver training...... he says hopefully.

     

    They are pretty much there now, still finishing off Brading but the ramps are nearly done and just needs lighting, fencing and surfacing to complete AFAICT. 

     

    Anyway, big news today - 484001 has been towed through the tunnel by a unimog, both Up and Down lines apparently. Didn't venture onto the pier though.

     

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/355569249197459/permalink/509569960464053/

     

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/355569249197459/permalink/509546340466415/

     

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/355569249197459/permalink/509570217130694/

     

     

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    3 hours ago, 009 micro modeller said:

     

    Is it not going to have them installed? Even the St. Albans Abbey branch stations have information screens now, as well as (perhaps even more surprisingly) Sugar Loaf on the Heart of Wales line: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Loaf_railway_station

     

    AIUI only Shanklin is gaining any screens (Pier Head and Esplanade already have them) - one appeared late last year under the canopy next to the taxi rank.

     

    002+003 did another return trip to Fareham last night, that surely bodes well?

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    16 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

    It depends on the service being offered, If the frequency drops to hourly (or increases to every 20 mins) then the passing loop won't be needed.

     

    I was just remarking on the 'off peak season' - aside from Winter Sundays, evenings etc it's half-hourly all year round.

     

    Even when they aren't, without passenger information screens it would seem unwise to confuse people by putting Down trains in the Up platform.

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    31 minutes ago, Mike Storey said:

    Officially, (according to info on another site) the foot crossing is controlled by permission given from the signaller at St Johns to the member of staff at Brading, on request, to use it, who then has to supervise its use. So, unless you turn up somewhat early for your train (which wheelchair and other such users tend to do) you won't be using the foot crossing, unless willing to pick up a fine.

     

    I've seen the suggestion that permission would be gained from the signalman but it's not clear how this would work - the station is unstaffed and the foot crossing carries a reasonably well used footpath. They could re-route it but I've seen nothing mentioned so far.

     

    Quote

    Of course, it is irrelevant in the off-peak season, when all trains will use P 1.

     

    Are you sure? I was expecting trains to pass at Brading all year round.

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    5 hours ago, Zomboid said:

    Even temporarily the notion of replacing a bridge with a level crossing wouldn't fly.

     

    Perhaps, but it's all semantics - the foot crossing will be open and available regardless.

     

    Besides, with the stairs of this temp bridge located at the far Ryde end of the platform the foot crossing won't be much further to walk anyway.

     

    Quote

    The old bridge is part of a public footpath isn't it?

     

    Nope, the footpaths use foot crossings either side of the station.

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    3 hours ago, roythebus1 said:

    Wheelchair accessibility is probably the answer.

     

    I'm not sure I follow? Neither footbridge will be PRM-compliant, anyone using a wheelchair will need to use the foot crossing at the other end which is being rebuilt with suitable ramps down to track level.

     

    3 hours ago, Zomboid said:

    I think that if you proposed replacing a bridge with a level crossing you'd get laughed out of the safety review panel committee, or whatever body makes those decisions. You wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on at the hindsight reviews if something did go wrong and someone got hurt.

     

    Nothing's being replaced - there was, and still will be, a footpath crossing at the other end of the station which will also give access to the other platform.

     

    The footbridge is additional, and won't be needed until passenger trains start serving Platform 2... eventually. The bi-directional signalling could even delay that, if services start off hourly.

     

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, Mike Storey said:

     

    Ah yes, but we don't know how long it will take for the old one to be re-vamped to its new purpose. I say this because there is still work going on at Pier Head and St Johns (on the previous contract), and quite substantial in the case of the former, when the railway should have been opening about now.

     

     

    True, but why would it matter? Passengers can just use the foot crossing at the other end, which they'll probably prefer to this temporary one anyway. The whole thing is bizarre.

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    SWR were offering carriages free to a good home, so someone shelling out £32k for a rusted-through shell seems... unlikely.

     

    Anyway, the temporary footbridge is now going up at Brading so the old one can be sorted out - quite why it's needed with a foot crossing and no trains for many months is hard to understand, but the views should great....

     

    51175434549_2f261b25d0_z.jpg

    Brading by Chris, on Flickr

    • Like 5

    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    5 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

     

    I am not sure we will see how far delayed the infrastructure works are, especially as there is little possibility of train running for some time, so nothing to compare it against. There are reports of a problem with two bridges, not height-wise, but width-wise. Not sure how true that is, but at least two people have reported it on another site. I agree Vivarail's delay may prove longer, but I am still not clear why SWR have let them take all the blame.

     

    Hard to say what the situation is regards signalling and any remaining gauging issues, but this aerial footage does suggest the stations should be ready - the island at Brading was, and presumably still is, going to take a little longer to commission. 

     

     

     

    • Like 2

    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted

    27 minutes ago, Mike Storey said:

    In brief, the allegation (by Phil Marsh, not exactly unversed in this subject) is that the SWR infrastructure works had little possibility of being completely finished and commissioned by mid-May anyway. If that is true, why has Adrian fallen on his sword, and why have SWR let him?

     

    If the infrastructure work isn't finished it won't be far off and much - though certainly not all! - is Covid related. Vivarails delay will be many, many months and Adrian has admitted can't be blamed much on the pandemic.

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    IoW light rail conversion proposed

    in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)

    Posted · Edited by Christopher125

    Remember these have a new traction package with AC motors, and these tend to struggle with the 3rd rail I think it's safe to say?

     

    Getting them to behave has often required extensive testing at Old Dalby, Wildenrath, Bournemouth etc but Vivarail ran out of time on the island and some limited running on Bombardier's short test track never seemed sufficient.

     

     

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