East Coast Mainline Blockade for Werrington Junction diveunder

[Donington Road]

2 hours ago, Shed said:

some great pictures.

moving along nicely

 

Thanks too for starting this topic in the first place.

It has been quite enjoyable so far watching and documenting the progress.

[Richard E]

Been out again a couple of times recently but today is really the only one showing progress.

 

Had a quick chat with one of the senior managers on site as well. Apparently they were 3 months late starting the project but are now, just, on schedule but could do with slightly better weather. The site was, last week, under water and one car park still is at present. He reckoned it would be a lot better once Marholm Brook is running in the new course.

 

Apologies for some of the pictures shot through Heras barriers but the steps on the western side are shut whilst they dig a big hole under them.

 

Anyway we now have sleepers and, by the time I write this, rail for almost the full length of both new Stamford lines. They were dragging the rail into place and welding it whilst I was there. The welding was north of the bridge where the track is now fully ballasted.

 

 

 

They were unloading sleepers for the final 60' or so of the down Stamford by Cock Lane footbridge even whilst moving rail. The sleepers were stacked in 5's on the trailer they arrived on (looked like the sort of trailer a farmer would use to move hay bales, not a road artic) but were being unloaded with a tele-handler two or three at a time.

 

 

There are, what look like, S&T junction boxes being put in near the footbridge too. Interesting to see that the majority of lighting on site is LED, you can see the floodlight to the right of the worker in the second picture.

 

 

 

I then went to have a look at Hurn Road. Not too much here, looks like some new steelwork just east of the A15 alongside the existing trackbed although I could be wrong on that. The footbridge over the ECML also has had a side panel removed and a wooden door with a Yale lock inserted so that access can be had to the temporary steps down to the area between the ECML and the existing Stamford lines. Getting through will be a very familiar contortion to anyone who has a duckunder access to their railway room!

 

 

And the new cutting has got a lot bigger meaning that Morgan Lake and Sindall Lake, as the cuttings have become known on site, are now both larger.

 

 

And finally a bit more of the old Hurn Road under the A15 has disappeared. This part of the site has also acquired water pumps to try and stop it becoming Hurn Lake.

 

 

Stay tuned for further updates from Mick or myself.

[Donington Road]

1 hour ago, Richard E said:

Been out again a couple of times recently but today is really the only one showing progress.

 

 

Nice set of informative pictures again Richard.
They have certainly moved on with the track laying since we were down there on Friday.
I did notice last night about 1:00am that they were working as the flood lighting was illuminating the whole sky in that direction. I was tempted to go have a look but the thought of a warm bed was too much!

Definitely new steel work trackside at Hurn Road put in since Friday.
Other than that no further work done on the old Hurn Road under the bridge.
In the last photo the new line needs to go through between the digger and the floodlight, yet they have laid a new piece of footpath next to the wooden fence in the top right background, this will disappear along with the embankment below it, another mystery.

[rockershovel]

I’ve just had a rather interesting phone call from a past colleague. I know some of the Morgan Sindall people from my tunnelling days, and I have some experience of railway crossings. Let’s see what January brings. 

[Titan]

If the design has not changed much since I saw it then it is quite an interesting way of making a tunnel...

[rockershovel]

6 hours ago, Titan said:

If the design has not changed much since I saw it then it is quite an interesting way of making a tunnel...

 

From what I understand, it’s a box jack. The guide tracks are established in driven tunnels, and the boxes go through in open cut during a blockade. It’s not a common technique but well-established, I worked on a similar job near Enfield (Silver Street?) in the 90s. The M1/A43 crossing near Northampton was similar, although the box jack there was done in tunnel due to the depth of cover - that one offers the interesting combination of box jack and earlier,  driven segmental tunnel side by side. 

 

It’s a niche job with a fairly short duration. The relevant experience is in limited supply and mostly London-based, so the ongoing chaos and daily gridlock on the A14 and M1 doesn’t add to the attraction. The usual problems surrounding 24/7 working, rates of pay and IR35 apply... the U.K. civils sector lost the plot on those fronts, long ago. 

 

Edited December 19, 2019 by rockershovel

[Richard E]

Yes, it is a box jack in, effectively, a cutting since the headroom between the box roof and the ECML trackbed is less than a metre. The guide tunnels are going to take about a month to cut, a week or so for each tunnel and a week plus to move the boring machine back into place between boring the first and second tunnels. When installing the box next September the ECML will be lifted, the box, which is curved, will be jacked in, and then the ECML relaid. That is why there is going to be a 9 to 10 day possession of the ECML  (if all goes well) with all traffic being diverted either via the Stamford lines or the joint.

 

On the site visit we were told that it is a cutting edge process since the box is on a curve. Whilst straight boxes and shorter curved boxes have been done before something of this scale with a curved box has not.

Edited December 19, 2019 by Richard E
clarification

[rockershovel]

43 minutes ago, Richard E said:

Yes, it is a box jack in, effectively, a cutting since the headroom between the box roof and the ECML trackbed is less than a metre. The guide tunnels are going to take about a month to cut, a week or so for each tunnel and a week plus to move the boring machine back into place between boring the first and second tunnels. When installing the box next September the ECML will be lifted, the box, which is curved, will be jacked in, and then the ECML relaid. That is why there is going to be a 9 to 10 day possession of the ECML  (if all goes well) with all traffic being diverted either via the Stamford lines or the joint.

 

On the site visit we were told that it is a cutting edge process since the box is on a curve. Whilst straight boxes and shorter curved boxes have been done before something of this scale with a curved box has not.

 

It's a big box and a long path, and the curve will substantially increase the jacking forces. Could be interesting, if I'm still there. 

Edited December 19, 2019 by rockershovel

[jamie92208]

As a matter of interest is it going to be jacked in as a single unit or are they going to use a set of precast units and add them one at a time.

 

Jamie

[rockershovel]

1 minute ago, jamie92208 said:

As a matter of interest is it going to be jacked in as a single unit or are they going to use a set of precast units and add them one at a time.

 

Jamie

 

I can't imagine that it could be anything other than a series of pre-cast units, given the length. That would also provide for steering control around the curvature. 

 

I've done duct crossings involving HDPE or steel ducts pulled back as a single pre-fabricated string, and auger bores involving welded steel pipes assembled into a single string by welding in situ, but never a jack using concrete structures. Quite apart from anything else, I can't imagine how they could be handled, and if they are cast in situ then testing of the concrete strengths is a major constraint. 

 

[Richard E]

iirc from the presentation it is, as RS says, a series of precast sections. 8 jacks will be used, only 4 are required as a minimum but it gives them more control over steering the unit and also as a backup for any failures.

[rockershovel]

1 hour ago, Richard E said:

iirc from the presentation it is, as RS says, a series of precast sections. 8 jacks will be used, only 4 are required as a minimum but it gives them more control over steering the unit and also as a backup for any failures.

 

That’s a general comment on any sort of jacked operations. Tunnel shields are steered partly by selective excavation and partly by manipulation of the rams in appropriate combinations. Any shield or pipejack which requires 100% of its capacity, is in trouble and/or, with no effective steering control. 

 

Same goes for jacked boxes. 

 

At Silver Street, IIRC, the boxes were cast laying on their sides in a mould, on the track. When the required test strengths were seen, they were lifted to the vertical on the tracks by a big Derrick type crane. They were then walked along the tracks using rams, and matched to the advancing string, one at a time. 

 

[Donington Road]

Just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see the first piece of heavy kit on the new alignment.

 

 

[Donington Road]

The Stamford lines progressing towards Walton.

The conduit trench on the right doesn't look very professionally laid out, some one should have gone to Specsavers

 

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, Donington Road said:

Just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see the first piece of heavy kit on the new alignment.

That looms like a well designed bit of serious kit and it looms like the crew have done that manouver a few times before. I like the fact that it was still totated by what our American cousins would call an "Armstrong " version. 

 

Overall it looks as if they want to hand over the new lines at normal linespeed and probably use the existing signal spacing.  That would fit in with the insulated block joints that you saw being fitted earlier.

 

Jamie

Edited December 19, 2019 by jamie92208

[Donington Road]

16 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

That looms like a well designed bit of serious kit and it looms like the crew have done that manouver a few times before. I like the fact that it was still totated by what our American cousins would call an "Armstrong " version. 

 

Overall it looms as if they want to hand over the new lines at nirmal linespeed and probably use the existing signal spacing.  Tbat would fut in with the insulated block joints that you saw being fitted earlier.

 

Jamie

 

There were just three men manouvering it in position and another 23 watching them from under the bridge.

Yeah, good call on the block joints.  It looks like the existing signal in the photo below will be moved to the plinth next to the bridge, where the four higher side panels are.

 

[Richard E]

48 minutes ago, Donington Road said:

 

There were just three men manouvering it in position and another 23 watching them from under the bridge.

Yeah, good call on the block joints.  It looks like the existing signal in the photo below will be moved to the plinth next to the bridge, where the four higher side panels are.

 

 

I recognise that picture ...

 

[Donington Road]

1 hour ago, Richard E said:

 

I recognise that picture ...

 

 

I only illustrate with the best

[ess1uk]

19 hours ago, Donington Road said:

The Stamford lines progressing towards Walton.

The conduit trench on the right doesn't look very professionally laid out, some one should have gone to Specsavers

 

I’ve seen worse

[Richard E]

Some  very iffy pictures today, camera/me seemed to want to focus on the OHLE wires rather than what I wanted to take a picture of. lousy weather too!

 

First off a lot of pre-assembled rebar for piles being delivered along with some other bits and pieces.

 

 

Donington Road was right about the signal. Interesting to see that the signal is fitted on a hinged base.

 

 

 

And they were ballasting and tamping.

 

 

 

 

And the up Stamford has acquired a signal on the new alignment as well.

 

 

Note to self - try and do better next time with the pictures.

 

Also saw several 800's and a couple of 91's pass the site. The vapour trail from the panto head on the 800 is far more pronounced than that from the 91.

[The Stationmaster]

19 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

That looms like a well designed bit of serious kit and it looms like the crew have done that manouver a few times before. I like the fact that it was still totated by what our American cousins would call an "Armstrong " version. 

 

Overall it looks as if they want to hand over the new lines at normal linespeed and probably use the existing signal spacing.  That would fit in with the insulated block joints that you saw being fitted earlier.

 

Jamie

It looks like one of the Plasser 08-XXX series self loading road/rail tamping machines.  Not much armstrong and a lot of clever tech.

[caradoc]

The hinged colour light signals are common nowadays, providing easier access for maintenance and repair. As always however there are unintended consequences; When such signals were being installed in the Cathcart area a few years ago, Drivers reported 'damaged' new signals lying on the ground, until a suitable note was added to the Weekly Operating Notice !

 

[Donington Road]

1 hour ago, Richard E said:

Some  very iffy pictures today, camera/me seemed to want to focus on the OHLE wires rather than what I wanted to take a picture of. lousy weather too!

 

 

At least you got out and braved the elements which is more than I was prepared to do.

 

There were 30 of those pre-assembled cylindrical rebars delivered yesterday afternoon and another 30 today that I can see from your photo. That means there is going to be a lot of piling to be done.

Surprised the tamper was up at that end as there was no ballast down there yesterday.

Nice new signals, I wonder if the one that has been sitting idle for the last eight years on the ECML will come into play during the signalling renewal?

[Donington Road]

Today we have;

a bit of water

a bit of welding

and end with a bit of nostalgia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ess1uk]

Hopefully a couple of dry days should help