HS2

[Michael Hodgson]

 

24 minutes ago, Gatesheadgeek said:

As long as I put a top on it, my cat would welcome such an addition as a means of making it easier to get off the flat roof!

Be careful though ...

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/local-news/pet-owners-warned-after-cat-3688111

[jbqfc]

11 hours ago, Northmoor said:

After a series of storms in West London some years ago, Thames Water specifically stated that it was much more cost effective - and considerably quicker to implement - to install waterbutts from the guttering downpipes, to every house.  I've always found it baffling how many people never bother to have one then irrigate their gardens with drinking water.

 

for a water butt to be of use it has to rain my two 210 litre one are empty after just two weeks 

 

John 

[melmerby]

12 hours ago, Gatesheadgeek said:

This is very true but unlikely to change. Requiring planning consent would just be unenforceable with the already hard-stretched planning departments. 

Agreed

Of the 4 most recent drive "upgrades" in my road, 2 have used tarmac, two concrete.

 

One of the block drives which was laid by a previous owner just before the property was sold was almost immediately ripped up and replaced by the new owners with tarmac.

This particular property has changed hands a couple of times recently and has had 4 different drives in 5 years.

Apart from anything else what a waste of resources.

[The Stationmaster]

13 hours ago, Northmoor said:

After a series of storms in West London some years ago, Thames Water specifically stated that it was much more cost effective - and considerably quicker to implement - to install waterbutts from the guttering downpipes, to every house.  I've always found it baffling how many people never bother to have one then irrigate their gardens with drinking water.

Part of my house guttering feeds to a soakaway but most of it feeds to a 5,000 ltre un derground tank I had installed when we built the house.  The garage guttering feeds three waterbutts abd what is left after they are full goes into the underground tank.  The greenhouse guttering feeds a water butt. but the garden sheds have no guttering - alas.  I get a reduction - not a lot - on my water bills because we don't feed any rainwater into the w sewer system.

 

(by the way the overflow from the 5,000 litre tank goes down to teh chalk layer near the apple tree)

[jamie92208]

3 more TBM progress updates posted yesterday and today. Cecilia and Florence are both now past the 11km mark out of 16 with Florence at 11.4 They are both going a t a cracking rate of over 30m per day, double their de stated design speed.   Lydia has now dug 80m and is nearly one tenth of the way to the end.  It's picking up speed.  I read somewhere else that much of it is a refurbished TBM from two of the Crossrail drives but with a new cutting head.  Anyway here is the latest graph.

It s going to be interesting as to what happens at OOC.   The next two TBM#s to aunch are due to be the ones goine west from OC launched from the Victoria Road crossover box.   They were due to be followed by the machines heading south east to Euston launched from the same place.  They need to drive through the lowest level of OOC station, presumably skidded across like happened in the Channel tunnel crossover caverns and also at several crossrail stations.   The Logisitics tunnel is for the delivery of segments to these two and also the removal of spoil but OOC can't be fitted out until their tails are past the logistics tunnel.  I presume that this has all been planned and tat the machines are being built as I type.  I wonder if the people who have paused Euston have realised the negative publicity that will arise from these two multi million pound machines being mothballed just when their team of highly skilled tunnellers have got them working.   

 

Jamie

[melmerby]

8 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Part of my house guttering feeds to a soakaway but most of it feeds to a 5,000 ltre un derground tank I had installed when we built the house.  The garage guttering feeds three waterbutts abd what is left after they are full goes into the underground tank.  The greenhouse guttering feeds a water butt. but the garden sheds have no guttering - alas.  I get a reduction - not a lot - on my water bills because we don't feed any rainwater into the w sewer system.

 

(by the way the overflow from the 5,000 litre tank goes down to teh chalk layer near the apple tree)

I have my Railway Room, Shed & 2 Greenhouses going into water butts.

 

Unfortunately our estate has some strange boundaries and my house roof drains on my neighbour's side of the fence*! Similarly the neighbour the other side has a drain on my side.

Quite clearly not condusive to water butts, as putting them would impede the side accesses, unless the roof drainage is completely re-thought on all properties.

 

*they are still actually on my property but there is a joggle in the side boundaries to cater for it. The external chimney flue is also in the same area.

[Steadfast]

More stone for HS2, Tytherington last week loading for Quainton.

Linked from my Flickr if you want to see it big!

Former Euro Cargo Rail 66032, returned to UK spec after its time in France, is seen sat in Tytherington Quarry as the shovel goes off to get one of last load of stone to finish the train off. It is amazing how quickly two of those Liebherr machines can fill a train. The loco has been run round, the train has been brake tested and is ready to roll, running as 6M58, the 01.53 departure for Quainton Railhead.

 

Samsung S10 on Night Mode, still impressing me with its image quality.

 

Jo

[jamie92208]

This fascinating video has just been posted on Youtube.  Some very interesting details about how the so called V piers are being g built over the lakes in the Colne Valley.

 

 

For some reason the link has failed Arun Sharma has reposted one that works a few posts below. 

 

 

Jamie

Edited June 9, 2023 by jamie92208

[melmerby]

Impressive.

[melmerby]

20 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I wonder if the people who have paused Euston have realised the negative publicity that will arise from these two multi million pound machines being mothballed just when their team of highly skilled tunnellers have got them working.   

 

They're Politicians. Nuff said.

Intelligence isn't high on their skill set.

[ClikC]

7 minutes ago, melmerby said:

They're Politicians. Nuff said.

Intelligence isn't high on their skill set.

 

* "Skill Set"

[Siberian Snooper]

My opinion of politicians is not for this forum, I visited parliament along with a train load of other Devonport employees and personally met 6 MP's.

 

 

[Guest]

I seem to recall years ago that building an experienced tunnelling workforce was a benefit of the planned UK infrastructure. Skills developed on Crossrail would transfer to HS2 through various phases and then I think onto Crossrail 2 (Chelsea-Hackney). 
 

We’ve lost that a bit with all the delays and cancellations. Possibly Northern Powerhouse Rail will follow on from HS2 from Crewe to Manchester. 
 

I read that the pilot tunnel from OOC to Euston will still go ahead as it’s the only way of digging the tunnels and removing spoil once OOC becomes operational. 
 

The current programme for HS2 is a complete and utter mess. OOC will be unable to support a decent HS2 service frequency, which means that services will have to stay on WCML until the full line is open. Short sighted Treasury-driven “cost saving” at its finest…

[lmsforever]

Today I went to Wendover mkt as usual  but could not go via Butlers Cross as usual so turned left expecting to come out at the bypass , but as we approached this area we had to follow a brand new road that looped across the work site onto an impressive bridge and came out at the end of the bypass. This an impressive construction and makes our journey interesting  also the hole that has been dug  outside of Stoke Manderville plus a wall is being built here as well to match one opposite  .

[billbedford]

8 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

This fascinating video has just been posted on Youtube.  Some very interesting details about how the so called V piers are being g built over the lakes in the Colne Valley.

 

 

YouTube tell me the "This video is private"

[melmerby]

6 minutes ago, billbedford said:

 

YouTube tell me the "This video is private"

It does now, it didn't when it was posted, as I watched it.

I can't now.

[Ron Ron Ron]

1 hour ago, Gatesheadgeek said:

……I read that the pilot tunnel from OOC to Euston will still go ahead as it’s the only way of digging the tunnels and removing spoil once OOC becomes operational……..
 

The Euston tunnels will started from the OOC end.

They will have to install, assemble and ready the 2 TBM’s, then start tunnelling to a least a point where they’re clear, we’ll beyond the OOC station box, so that the HS2 station construction and fit out, can then be progressed.

The logistics service tunnel that’s being bored right now, links a site at Atlas Rd. near Willesden, to the eastern end of the OOC site.

This is the route through which the spoil will be removed and the concrete tunnel linings and other materials and equipment will be delivered to the main tunnels.

Once that’s all completed, the OOC station can be completed and made operational .

Whether the tunnelling will really pause at that stage, or by then be allowed to continue, is unclear.

There is no “pilot tunnel” as such.

 

 

.

 

[Arun Sharma]

This link still works

 

 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

The Euston tunnels will started from the OOC end.

They will have to install, assemble and ready the 2 TBM’s, then start tunnelling to a least a point where they’re clear, we’ll beyond the OOC station box, so that the HS2 station construction and fit out, can then be progressed.

The logistics service tunnel that’s being bored right now, links a site at Atlas Rd. near Willesden, to the eastern end of the OOC site.

This is the route through which the spoil will be removed and the concrete tunnel linings and other materials and equipment will be delivered to the main tunnels.

Once that’s all completed, the OOC station can be completed and made operational .

Whether the tunnelling will really pause at that stage, or by then be allowed to continue, is unclear.

There is no “pilot tunnel” as such.

 

 

.

 

Thanks for clarification, the logistics tunnel is what I meant rather than pilot. 

[Ron Ron Ron]

A view from one of the new tower blocks in Acton, looking east, with central London in the distance.

 

To the left, under the glass balcony, you can see the Victoria Rd crossover box.

 

Beyond, is Old Oak Common, with the HS2 station construction site sandwiched between the Elizabeth Line depot building (on the left) and the GWML and the Hitachi, North Pole IET depot (on the right).

 

Note the conveyor belt system linking the sites with the Willesden (Euro Terminal) logistics site (off to the left of shot).

A second conveyor will be installed from Victoria Rd, to deal with the spoil from the UP line, Northolt east tunnel bore.

You can see the bridge section of this 2nd conveyor, has already been installed over the road.

 

 

 

 

A close up of OOC....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

[martin_wynne]

 

 

[Ron Ron Ron]

.

 

 

[Ron Ron Ron]

The first  of the 2 TBM’s  to be used on the Bromford tunnels, has been named.

” Mary Ann”

 

https://mediacentre.hs2.org.uk/news/hs2-unveils-huge-tunnel-boring-machine-ready-to-dig-hs2s-bromford-tunnel-in-the-west-midlands

 

Mary Ann will be joined later by Dorothy, which was previously used at Long Itchington.

 

 

 

.

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Ron Ron Ron

[The Stationmaster]

In  worrying HS2 fashion my fencing contractor turned up for work yesterday only to find that his job for the day had been cancelled, with no explanation of why  and no prior advice.  Fortunately that meant his blokes got a few hours work done on the fence in my back garden instead - after they\d travelled back from the HS2 site.  

 

And whoever is letting thar HS2 fencing contract is likely to face a hefty bill for plant hire in respect of machinery my contractor has hired-in specifically for HS2 related work.  

[big jim]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

In  worrying HS2 fashion my fencing contractor turned up for work yesterday only to find that his job for the day had been cancelled, with no explanation of why  and no prior advice.  Fortunately that meant his blokes got a few hours work done on the fence in my back garden instead - after they\d travelled back from the HS2 site.  

 

And whoever is letting thar HS2 fencing contract is likely to face a hefty bill for plant hire in respect of machinery my contractor has hired-in specifically for HS2 related work.  

the time to worry is when your fence suddenly becomes metal palisade fencing without explanation or advice!