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IoW light rail conversion proposed


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11 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

 

 

Correct!

 

The 20 minute interval service needs 3 trains to make it happen - only running 2 trains will give alternating 20 minute and 40 minute service intervals.

 

BR knew this - yet it still removed the double track between Brading and Sandown to cut costs when the 1938 stock was bought over!

 

They disguised it by saying that the double track / ability to pass trains at Brading was 'not needed' as a 20minute interval service would be offered - and it was for a year or two until further financial cuts were demanded and the stock started to become unreliable. With the ability to pass at Brading no longer an option the timetable was thus forced into the uneven 20 / 40 minute pattern we have seen for the past two decades.

 

 

 

Would Brading be a passing place for a 3 train service? Or would trains for that only cross at Sandown and on the double track section in Ryde?

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7 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

Would Brading be a passing place for a 3 train service? Or would trains for that only cross at Sandown and on the double track section in Ryde?

 

The Brading passing loop is only needed for a 30 minute service using 2 trains crossing there

 

As was described earlier, if a 3 train service is operated then trains will cross at Sandown and on the double track section at Ryde.  This gives a 20minute interval service.

 

If, as has been the case for around a decade, there are only 2 trains in operation and passing can only be done at Sandown and in Ryde that will give an uneven 20 / 40 minute service - which is why the passing loop at Brading is being installed to even it out.

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13 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

The 20 minute interval service needs 3 trains to make it happen - only running 2 trains will give alternating 20 minute and 40 minute service intervals.

 

BR knew this - yet it still removed the double track between Brading and Sandown to cut costs when the 1938 stock was bought over!

If I remember correctly, one of the main reasons for removing the up line between Brading and Sandown was due to slippage of the embankment on Morton Common, near the A 3055 road bridge.  This may have been a legacy from when this section was doubled and additional material was tipped on the upside to widen the formation.

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a lot of the redundant rail from the lifted double track was used by the IWSR for the extension from Hvenstreet to Smallbrook, as was a lot of rail from the Alton-Farnham line. I'm one of the few IWSR members who can claim to have driven an electric train on those rails at 70mph! :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

These facebook posts show progress at Sandown and Shanklin (the split-level platform and miles of fencing look.... interesting), and Smallbrook. Note the missing Up signal alongside the headshunt.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/355569249197459/permalink/478321476922235/

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/355569249197459/permalink/478111670276549/

 

All the new signals at Brading are now up, though only one has route indicators curiously. Ramps down to the foot crossing are underway and copers back on the Down platform.

 

51120314165_da07a46ed2_z.jpg

Brading by Chris, on Flickr
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Brading by Chris, on Flickr
51119432208_2d74f1c231_z.jpg
Brading by Chris, on Flickr

51128071357_1a96f4c0b2_z.jpg
Brading by Chris, on Flickr
51128087114_d696077829_z.jpg
Brading by Chris, on Flickr
51129146550_4da7d52e8a.jpg
Brading by Chris, on Flickr
51128087039_48474efd99.jpg
Brading by Chris, on Flickr

Edited by Christopher125
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6 hours ago, Christopher125 said:

All the new signals at Brading are now up, though only one has route indicators curiously. 

Presumably the southbound one? So that trains towards Shanklin can use the platform with direct access to the street if it's not passing another train.

 

Though I'm kind of surprised they haven't gone with sprung points like at Sandown, it's a rather marginal benefit really.

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4 hours ago, Zomboid said:

Presumably the southbound one? So that trains towards Shanklin can use the platform with direct access to the street if it's not passing another train.

 

Though I'm kind of surprised they haven't gone with sprung points like at Sandown, it's a rather marginal benefit really.

 

NR dislikes sprung points - too much chance of the switch rail / stretcher bars breaking due to fatigue as trains repeatedly push it over which creates a derailment risk. Again the spectre of Grayrig has a lot to answer for....

 

Those that already exist can stay but no more will be installed on passenger lines.

 

Given the railway is shut I'm surprised that there hasn't been more done in the way of a signal upgrade - particularly making the two passing loops (Sandown as well as the new Brading one) the same,

 

 

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Fair enough, though I wonder what the risk actually is on a route like the IOW, where more of a light railway approach might be appropriate. There's not much more similarities between the IOW railway and the WCML than the track gauge.

 

But I have no idea what was considered and ruled out.

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45 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

Given the railway is shut I'm surprised that there hasn't been more done in the way of a signal upgrade - particularly making the two passing loops (Sandown as well as the new Brading one) the same,

 

I was under the impression Sandown was being resignalled to match Brading, it certainly looks that way.

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On 20/04/2021 at 23:53, Christopher125 said:

 

All the new signals at Brading are now up, though only one has route indicators curiously.


51119523711_9b056692c2_z.jpg

 

Does anyone know why there are two sets of route indicator lights on this signal?  I'm sure in the past there would only have been one, which would normally have applied to the diverging route.

Edited by bude_branch
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On 23/04/2021 at 17:19, bude_branch said:

Does anyone know why there are two sets of route indicator lights on this signal?  I'm sure in the past there would only have been one, which would normally have applied to the diverging route.

 

I don't know for sure, in this case, but such use of feathers has been used in other locations, where both routes are of the same speed limit. Very rare, but they do exist. The sole example I can recall was on the entrance to the platforms at Margate, where the route dissected on a curve and both tracks were 45 mph restriction.

 

Either that, or there is a distinct chance of the Bembridge branch re-opening??

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Various news reports surfacing this afternoon that the reopening has been delayed still further until at least late Summer, maybe even December.

 

Software issues with the new stock apparently.

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The news of the delay does not bode well for the late evening boat to Portsmouth being reinstated. That in turn spoils my day of Isle of Wight Steam Railway followed by Speedway at Smallbrook Stadium and home to Wimbledon on the last boat/train. I was hoping to be able to do that trip on 8th July as the Speedway includes Sidecars which on the big track on the island should be very entertaining. I may have to change my plans somewhat. 

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1 hour ago, Talltim said:

Further to my previous message, the above is very disappointing but I have to remember that I am only affected once or maybe twice while those who live on the island and use the railway regularly are in a far worse place. Also it will adversely affect both the steam railway and the Speedway promotion which after the problems they have faced over the last year is something they can do without. 

Edited by Chris116
Missing words!
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"Issues with use on third rail..."

 

Just remind me again, what powered said trains when they were on London Underground?  Oh yes, electricity from a live rail!

 

And I am pretty sure they didn't have software, probably not so much as a pocket calculator when they were originally built.

 

All very odd....

 

 

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3 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

"Issues with use on third rail..."

 

Just remind me again, what powered said trains when they were on London Underground?  Oh yes, electricity from a live rail!

 

And I am pretty sure they didn't have software, probably not so much as a pocket calculator when they were originally built.

 

All very odd....

 

 

 

But surely they’ve been substantially rebuilt since then, so that may not be relevant. Presumably the third rail issues are new because they are not relevant for the 230s, though how much software is actually in a D-train?

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2 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

"Issues with use on third rail..."

 

Just remind me again, what powered said trains when they were on London Underground?  Oh yes, electricity from a live rail!

 

And I am pretty sure they didn't have software, probably not so much as a pocket calculator when they were originally built.

 

All very odd....

 

 

They had electronics in 1978 when the stock was designed. Its possibly the replacements/updating of those electronics that is the problem. 

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37 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

They had electronics in 1978 when the stock was designed. Its possibly the replacements/updating of those electronics that is the problem. 

 

They were also 4 rail originally, which has some differences from the Network Rail 3 rail system (particularly relating to track circuits?).

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45 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

They were also 4 rail originally, which has some differences from the Network Rail 3 rail system (particularly relating to track circuits?).

Yet the preserved Metropolitan Bo-Bo Sarah Siddons has ran successfully on the main line third rail.

 

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12 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Yet the preserved Metropolitan Bo-Bo Sarah Siddons has ran successfully on the main line third rail.

 

Is Sarah Siddons running on the Isle of Wight?

 

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I doubt Sarah Siddons would fit through Ryde Tunnel but the possibility is intriguing. 

 

Does the Island Line have mainland safety systems, e.g. AWS and TPWS? 

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