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East Coast Mainline Blockade for Werrington Junction diveunder


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49 minutes ago, Donington Road said:

 

The signal to the rear with the 'X' on it was erected in late 2011.

It has never been used.  Why? I don't know.

It is surprising that the bag over it has lasted that long and the 'X' is done in gaffer tape.

It's certainly of a newer pattern than the existing one. It's similar to the Up Slow signal.

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5 minutes ago, melmerby said:

It's certainly of a newer pattern than the existing one. It's similar to the Up Slow signal.

Quite possibly provided during the Spalding/Sleaford/Lincoln resignalling as a replacement for P493 but not brought into use/put on hold until this project came along. Will be interesting to see what happens with it. 

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2 hours ago, melmerby said:

It's certainly of a newer pattern than the existing one. It's similar to the Up Slow signal.

 

The existing one is probably from the original Peterborough PSB resignalling as it is of the style extensively used by the ER in a lot of its schemes of the time with the long hoods, the signal head sitting forward of the post on an angled bracket and the junction indicator on the top of the post behind. 

Edited by DY444
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5 hours ago, melmerby said:

It's certainly of a newer pattern than the existing one. It's similar to the Up Slow signal.

 

Here are some photos of the signals taken last year.

The original is certainly suffering from a bit of rust rot and the ladder looks a bit iffy.

 

signal2.jpg.6591fa16d2567f771c3ca9755466f485.jpg

 

signal3.jpg.9c4962b1a9880cd7d6afed7650d020d7.jpg

 

signal1.jpg.e8ed14a17862fbf6aa8d3677ed873cde.jpg

 

 

I used to sit at home many years ago watching Deltics zooming by, now all I can see is the top of the piling machine.:cry:

 

IMG_3193.jpg.1fc8913e2c2495e019f0bf9861bef17f.jpg

 

 

 

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16 hours ago, melmerby said:

Very informative, thanks.

It certainly looks like a new style LED signal giving 4 aspects from 2 LED units.

 

Were the new style LED heads being installed 9 years ago?

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57 minutes ago, Richard E said:

 

Were the new style LED heads being installed 9 years ago?

LED signals were installed in 2009 on East London Line, so almost certainly prior to that on other areas of the national network. 

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3 hours ago, iands said:

LED signals were installed in 2009 on East London Line, so almost certainly prior to that on other areas of the national network. 

Among my own photos I have 4 aspect Dorman heads in use at St Pancras International in November 2007, a 4 aspect head installed and waiting commissioning at Hook in February 2009, and a 3 aspect head in use at Twyford in May 2009.  So they were very definitely in use in not only 2009 but also in 2007.

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26 minutes ago, 62613 said:

I'm sure I can remember at least one at Cheadle Hulme in the summer of 2007, so installed as part of the WCML upgrade.

Cheadle Hulme is different, that’s an Ansaldo unit using halogen GU10 style lamps (not actually GU10, but that style) and dichroic reflectors.  Designed for a d.c. railway making 50Hz immunisation ‘fun’.

Paul. 

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On 05/04/2020 at 16:17, DY444 said:

The existing one is probably from the original Peterborough PSB resignalling as it is of the style extensively used by the ER in a lot of its schemes of the time with the long hoods, the signal head sitting forward of the post on an angled bracket and the junction indicator on the top of the post behind. 

 

On 05/04/2020 at 18:59, Donington Road said:

 

Here are some photos of the signals taken last year.

The original is certainly suffering from a bit of rust rot and the ladder looks a bit iffy.

 

signal2.jpg.6591fa16d2567f771c3ca9755466f485.jpg

 

signal3.jpg.9c4962b1a9880cd7d6afed7650d020d7.jpg

 

signal1.jpg.e8ed14a17862fbf6aa8d3677ed873cde.jpg

 

:good_mini:

 

Great Illustrations of the style of signal the ER used widely in a number of schemes up to the 1970s. 

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It also shows how much different areas of the Nationalised railway still did their own thing a quarter of a century on.

You would think there would be a standard pattern of everything for new installations but apparently not.

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19 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Cheadle Hulme is different, that’s an Ansaldo unit using halogen GU10 style lamps (not actually GU10, but that style) and dichroic reflectors.  Designed for a d.c. railway making 50Hz immunisation ‘fun’.

Paul. 

And the colours of the aspects as they originally came 'somewhat different' from BR spec ;)

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Hi,

 

It is not all that uncommon to see signalling equipment installed and bagged up months or even years before they are required simply because it was the easiest time to install it, usually because of access.

 

For instance, there are now axle counters installed in the Paddington Area, but it will be over 12 months before they are actually brought into any kind of use, one because the Christmas blockade was the only time that the access (to the extent needed) was possible and two to enable all the equipment to soak tested.

 

Simon

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2 hours ago, St. Simon said:

Hi,

 

It is not all that uncommon to see signalling equipment installed and bagged up months or even years before they are required simply because it was the easiest time to install it, usually because of access.

 

For instance, there are now axle counters installed in the Paddington Area, but it will be over 12 months before they are actually brought into any kind of use, one because the Christmas blockade was the only time that the access (to the extent needed) was possible and two to enable all the equipment to soak tested.

 

Simon

There were signals installed down the Badmninton road in preparation for reversible signalling that was never commissioned and they were removed as part of the work and resignalling for electrification.  Some of them must have been there for around 20 years or more.

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4 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

or more

I’m fairly certain that reversible working signals were provided at Patchway when it was relaid in 79 that were still unused about 5 years ago.

Paul.

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14 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

I’m fairly certain that reversible working signals were provided at Patchway when it was relaid in 79 that were still unused about 5 years ago.

Paul.

I know there was definitely one reversible signal between Stoke Gifford and Patchway that was never commissioned and every time I passed that way I looked out to see if it had toppled any further towards going down the bank.  Shows how time flies when you say it was that far back!

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Just checked and Patchway relaying was 1 April 1980!  Notice doesn’t show reversible signals but 1 week later the reversible crossover was added, so I would be surprised if the signals were not also provided at the same time.

Paul.

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13 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Just checked and Patchway relaying was 1 April 1980!  Notice doesn’t show reversible signals but 1 week later the reversible crossover was added, so I would be surprised if the signals were not also provided at the same time.

Paul.

That fits with the dates for westward expansion of reversible signalling which reached Hullavington in 1981 - and I'm fairly sure didn't get much further although some signals were definitely installed west of Badminton and right through to Patchway but never commissioned.

 

So my 20 years is really more like 40 years!!

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Similarly, Bi-Di signals (for routine use) were installed on the ECML in the 1980's, between Peterborough and Huntingdon, but were never used for many years, although they have been utilised subsequently under the drastically reduced requirements of SIMBIDs operation.

 

The implementation of routine Bi-Directional working on pairs of running lines, as practiced on the continent for many years, was deemed "unsafe" for the UK, in a combination of TU and H&S Executive resistance. Quite why, I have long forgotten. In a period of relatively low intensity, it would have saved many hundreds of thousands of your English pounds (probably £millions over the years) both, in times of line blockage, by avoiding bus substitution, by avoiding the substantial costs in time and, to some extent wages, if on overtime, in setting up Single Line Working, by increasing capacity during such incidents, and also by allowing some increased flexibility with the regular timetable. SIMBIDS, whilst allowing non-Pilot working, still imposes significant capacity constraints.

 

Oh, for the ability to have been able to use that, when the OLE, inevitably, came down but did not affect the opposite line, from time to time. These days, with the vastly increased service intensities, it would have less impact (?), but would still be very useful.

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3 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

 

 

The implementation of routine Bi-Directional working on pairs of running lines, as practiced on the continent for many years, was deemed "unsafe" for the UK, in a combination of TU and H&S Executive resistance. Quite why, I have long forgotten.

There was a nice illustration of this on US railways the other day on Virtual Railfan cameras at Ashland VA

Two Amtrak expresses are running side by side on the double track.

 

See about 10:05 mins in.

 

Edited by melmerby
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13 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

Similarly, Bi-Di signals (for routine use) were installed on the ECML in the 1980's, between Peterborough and Huntingdon, but were never used for many years, although they have been utilised subsequently under the drastically reduced requirements of SIMBIDs operation.

 

The implementation of routine Bi-Directional working on pairs of running lines, as practiced on the continent for many years, was deemed "unsafe" for the UK, in a combination of TU and H&S Executive resistance. Quite why, I have long forgotten. In a period of relatively low intensity, it would have saved many hundreds of thousands of your English pounds (probably £millions over the years) both, in times of line blockage, by avoiding bus substitution, by avoiding the substantial costs in time and, to some extent wages, if on overtime, in setting up Single Line Working, by increasing capacity during such incidents, and also by allowing some increased flexibility with the regular timetable. SIMBIDS, whilst allowing non-Pilot working, still imposes significant capacity constraints.

 

Oh, for the ability to have been able to use that, when the OLE, inevitably, came down but did not affect the opposite line, from time to time. These days, with the vastly increased service intensities, it would have less impact (?), but would still be very useful.

 

I agree 100%, no 1000% Mike ! During my Control career I was responsible for the WCML in Scotland, and on far too many occasions to recount we had one line blocked, whether by an infrastructure fault, train failure or external incident, with the other line open to traffic. However on the key part of the line (ie with no diversionary route) between Law Jc and Gretna Jc there is no bi-directional signalling and in addition nearly all the crossovers were worked by Ground Frames or GSPs, requiring in some cases 4 (four) staff on the ground to introduce Single Line Working. Plus of course getting those staff to the more remote areas took time too, so that it was not unusual to wait 60 to 90 minutes just to get the guys on the ground. Every time such an incident occurred bi-di signalling would have saved huge delay and disruption, as I regularly moaned commented to senior management. I believe the crossovers are now being progressively controlled from the West of Scotland SC, but still no bi-di signalling !

 

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10 hours ago, PenrithBeacon said:

There are locations for bi-directional working in the UK, or perhaps I've misunderstood?

 

There are indeed, but far too few, particularly on key routes such as the WCML, as per my post above.

 

In Scotland the Glasgow/Ayr route between Elderslie and Kilwinning had bi-di signalling installed when resignalled to Paisley SC, along with electrification, in 1986, invaluable during disruption, even though a full service cannot be operated, and used occasionally on the night shift during engineering work. Bi-di working has now been extended from Elderslie right through Paisley, including on all three lines between there and Shields Jc !

 

There is also a section of the ECML signalled for bi-di working between Innerwick and Grantshouse, on one occasion we used this (at the request of the freight operator) to allow one freight to overtake another, with neither having to stop ! Probably not possible nowadays however, with increased passenger service on the route.

 

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