East Coast Mainline Blockade for Werrington Junction diveunder

[Crun]

Views from Hurn Road bridge. Returning the fields to agriculture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Crun

[Donington Road]

Short summary of ongoing work yesterday.

 

 

[Richard E]

3 hours ago, Donington Road said:

Short summary of ongoing work yesterday.

 

 

 

Watched this at tea time, nice video and some nice camera work there.

[melmerby]

Whilst they were stressing/de-stressing the rails, I assume they pull the rail clips.

Did they replace the original ones with new? Was that what was in the blue boxes?

If not, how come there seemed to be some left over?

 

[Donington Road]

1 hour ago, Richard E said:

 

Watched this at tea time, nice video and some nice camera work there.

 Thank you Richard.  It was a bit hit and miss with some of the video, straight into the sun and hand held with some of it and I can't see what is on the screen unless its an arms length away!

 

It is getting harder to find anything interesting to video and report on now that there is much less personnel and equipment on site.  Before hand, it was easy to get a timeline of future events by either second guessing or feedback from staff around the site, plus we lost those regular monthly meetings at Loxley.

 

The intriguing bit now is how all these new entrances at Hurn road are going to tie in with each other.   When it is completed the issue is how do they get heavy equipment should it be needed to the north of the dive under.  As the old wide Hurn Road from Lincoln Road is now railway, the existing Hurn Road from the dual carraigeway at Waterworks Lane is too narrow and not suitable for anything other than large vans.  Keith suggested this evening that maybe the entrance they are creating next to Brook Drain near the cottages will cut across Hurn Road into the field on the north side joining up to the existing haul road, thereby creating a loop around the top of the embankment.  All other guesses on a postcard please.

[Donington Road]

29 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Whilst they were stressing/de-stressing the rails, I assume they pull the rail clips.

Did they replace the original ones with new? Was that what was in the blue boxes?

If not, how come there seemed to be some left over?

 

 

In the area where the cutting and welding of the rail takes place the clips are replaced with new ones, perhaps about twenty clips per rail from the bit I watched.  All though I missed the stressing bit and only captured what you saw in the video I don't know how many cuts and re-weld there was in a given length of track.  Judging by the amount of blue boxes on the hand trolley and those at the trackside it did seem an awful lot of clips to exchange.

 

I really don't understand how the rail is stressed on curved sections.  On straight sections the rail is stretched then welded up again but on a curved section my thought process thinks the radius will be pulled tighter rather than stretching the rail.  Does it need more cuts and stressing per length on a curved section and less on a straight section of track?

 

I was a bit mad with myself about missing the stressing operation but I have yet to find a way of being in two places at the same time.

[rodent279]

I have a question. Once the rails are stressed, is that it, are they then stressed for the life of the track, or do they need re-stressing periodically?

And once a rail has been stressed, can it be re-used, and stressed again, at a different location?

[phil-b259]

On 09/10/2021 at 18:22, Crun said:

There will be further tarmac layers for the gate to be supported and locked into I think.

 

I think ess1uk is referring to is the tendency for P-way machines / equipment / deliveries to hit them!

 

Most vehicle access gates down my way have been bashed and sit out of true - some to the extent that you cannot close them properly and they have to be chained together rather than using the built in sliding bolt setup to secure them

[corneliuslundie]

"they have to be chained together"

I thought that was what baler twine was for. Most farm gates around here seem to use it instead of hinges and catches. And plenty have dents where they have been hit by tractors etc.

Back on topic, I too have never quite understood rail stressing on curves.

Jonathan

[Crun]

An article from New Civil Engineer:

 

Werrington upgrade | Inside the record-breaking box jack pushed beneath the East Coast Main Line

 

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/werrington-upgrade-inside-the-record-breaking-box-jack-pushed-beneath-the-east-coast-main-line-15-10-2021/?eea=TkZiZ2VYd0ZvdS9NQklLeVY4V1Q1ZXhNZDdCTlluWG1VL0FaWXZzV29yc3dOeEhUNElsWUVMOWRFQnd0M1pURg%3D%3D&utm_source=acs&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CONE_NCE_EDI_ALL_MORNING_151021&deliveryName=DM10084

 

"That’s surprising, especially considering whole roads and tracks had to be shifted 50m eastwards to make way for the new structure – but the locals seemed more curious than anything. In fact, Skelton has recently taken a group on a tour of the site, among them retired engineers and a fanatical octogenarian."

 

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Crun

[Donington Road]

9 hours ago, Crun said:

An article from New Civil Engineer:

 

Werrington upgrade | Inside the record-breaking box jack pushed beneath the East Coast Main Line

 

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/werrington-upgrade-inside-the-record-breaking-box-jack-pushed-beneath-the-east-coast-main-line-15-10-2021/?eea=TkZiZ2VYd0ZvdS9NQklLeVY4V1Q1ZXhNZDdCTlluWG1VL0FaWXZzV29yc3dOeEhUNElsWUVMOWRFQnd0M1pURg%3D%3D&utm_source=acs&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CONE_NCE_EDI_ALL_MORNING_151021&deliveryName=DM10084

 

"That’s surprising, especially considering whole roads and tracks had to be shifted 50m eastwards to make way for the new structure – but the locals seemed more curious than anything. In fact, Skelton has recently taken a group on a tour of the site, among them retired engineers and a fanatical octogenarian."

 

 

 

Thanks for posting that article.

Graham Skelton is a most likeable person, his enthusiasm and knowledge almost certainly transmitted to the workforce on the Werrington site.  I found him extremely helpful, he always had the time of day to stop and answer any question that was put to him in minute detail.

[Donington Road]

Starting to dismantle and take away the office buildings at Hurn Road yesterday.

 

[Crun]

Thursday 21st October

 

Views east from Lincoln Road bridge. Almost clear of left overs and the field is greening up nicely:

 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Crun

[Crun]

Views from Lincoln Road. Still no tarmac on entrance:

 

 

Concrete blocks still remain:

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Crun

[Crun]

Views from Hurn Road. A newly dug trench for pipes:

 

 

The field is nearly level. Concrete rubble is being gathered:

 

 

 

 

Awaiting a surface:

 

 

Still removing soil/rubble. Re-profiling the embankment slopes:

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Crun

[Crun]

SE Views from Hurn Road bridge.

The field is nearly back to its former state:

 

 

 

 

 

Collecting concrete rubble:

 

Dumping concrete rubble:

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Crun

[Crun]

SW Views from Lincoln Hurn Road bridge. Clearing waste wood:

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Crun

[PenrithBeacon]

Can you say anything about the activity?

[woodenhead]

6 minutes ago, PenrithBeacon said:

Can you say anything about the activity?

Diggers digging, dumpers dumping and pipes a piping.

 

Looks like clean up work, the orange JCB with the wooden beams in it's bucket looks to be recovering a temporary access bed.

[Crun]

13 minutes ago, PenrithBeacon said:

Can you say anything about the activity?

Photographs annotated.

[Crun]

Views west from the A15 bridge. Scraping and re-profiling the slopes:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Crun

[Crun]

Views east from the A15 bridge:

 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Crun

[corneliuslundie]

All we need now is trains.

Jonathan

[Welly]

^^^

Only a matter of time...

[Ncarter2]

On 14/10/2021 at 23:18, melmerby said:

Whilst they were stressing/de-stressing the rails, I assume they pull the rail clips.

Did they replace the original ones with new? Was that what was in the blue boxes?

If not, how come there seemed to be some left over?

 

By pulling the clips I assume you mean removing them? If so, then yes all clips will be removed over the length to be stressed. 
The blue boxes appear to contain the stressing rollers, in this case they look like the Vortok combination roller. Generally, the clips are reused, especially on a new layout like here.