Transpennine Upgrade : Manchester/Leeds

[black and decker boy]

M6 and M60 surface around Manchester is a joke for a motorway, but probably better than most main roads in the area. The Snake Pass road is heading south again on the east side descent, much more and it will end up like the Mam Tor road..

 

The current smart motorway works will include renewing the top surface course of the M6/m60 and m62 which should then last around 10 years though they’ll make it last 20!!

[62613]

No idea, but I wonder if they found that old semaphore signal that was still in there.

 

The stone train was possibly the one from Briggs Sidings to Ashburys I saw when i was driving through Buxton at lunch time. 

It was just peering out of the edge of the undergrowth, minus dolls. On the stone train; big red bogie boxes with a red 66 on the front? About 3.30 p.m. at Ashburys; we had a slight signal check.

[62613]

M6 and M60 surface around Manchester is a joke for a motorway, but probably better than most main roads in the area. The Snake Pass road is heading south again on the east side descent, much more and it will end up like the Mam Tor road.. 

I remarked on the same thing to SWMBO while travelling northabout on the M60 across the Irwell valley. The East Lancs. Road is if anything worse

[4630]

 ...a stone train propelling into the yard at Ashbury's; ...?

 

 

A TOPS list suggests that it was 66136 working 6H52, 1305 Dowlow Briggs Sidings to Ashburys.

[TheSignalEngineer]

Not sure what the County roads are like east oh the hills but on the HA when you go down the A616 through Stocksbridge it seems prone to flooding at the moment. Still, it keeps the traffic reasonably quiet on Mottram Moor.

Edited January 27, 2018 by TheSignalEngineer

[jamie92208]

I had a day out to Manchester today and as well as visiting Heaton Park Tramway and the Transport museum at Boyle Street and took the chance to ride the remaining routes of Metrolink that I hadn't done, namely Oldham to Rochdale and the second City Crossing.   I got on and off the system at Queens Road and thus did 4 trips up and down the lower part of Miles Platting bank.  This meant that I had a good chance to see progress with the electrification between Victoria and Stalybridge, or at least part of it.  

 

Starting at the bottom of the bank and going up.  The portals obviously have the terminating tensioners for the live wiring through the station.  However there are a set of anchor points for guy wires that are obviously going to be used when the wires go up the bank.

 

The next portal seems to have all it's registration arms etc on it.

 

There is then quite a long gap with no structures though there is what appears to be a foundation.

A bit further up there are two masts stacked in the middle.

 

Then after another gap some more complete portals.

 

That was about as far as I could see as we dived into the tunnel to head towards Queens Road.

 

Jamie

 

 

 

 

 

[peanuts]

jamie if you had gone another 200 yds up the bank you would of come across the large access compound on the site of the viaduct to Oldham rd goods .place is crammed with parts for the overhead pallet after pallet of parts ready and waiting for instalation .noticed whilst delivering to site today that some of the tubing is in polished stainless steel

[jamie92208]

On page 9 of the latest Modern Railways there is a piece that says that the electrification could be back on.   Apparently there is a NR study due to report shortly saying what they want to do with the route.  Also the Freight operators are lobbying hard against 'discontinuous electrification' as touted by Grayling, as they want to be able to run electrically hauled freights and want things like loops in the right places.   It could be that the light is becoming visible again. Apparently Grayling is concerned about the political sensitivity of running lots more diesels through scenic areas.

 

Jamie

Edited August 13, 2018 by jamie92208

[phil-b259]

On page 9 of the latest Modern Railways there is a piece that says that the electrification could be back on.   Apparently there is a NR study due to report shortly saying what they want to do with the route.  Also the Freight operators are lobbying hard against 'discontinuous electrification' as touted by Grayling, as they want to be able to run electrically hauled freights and want things like loops in the right places.   It could be that the light is becoming visible again. Apparently Grayling is concerned about the political sensitivity of running lots more diesels through scenic areas.

 

Jamie

 

Only thing to remember is that its the summer holidays for MPs and senior civil servants - which means they aren't around to squash ideas they don't like, particularly those which might show them to have been a bit stupid in the recent past.

[62613]

Quite a bit of vegetation clearance going on between Scout Tunnel and Stalybridge

[iands]

Quite a bit of vegetation clearance going on between Scout Tunnel and Stalybridge

From my time on NWEP, a traction substation/feeder station was planned between Stalybridge tunnel and Scout Green tunnel. Could be some prep work for that.

 

Regards, Ian.

[jamie92208]

From my time on NWEP, a traction substation/feeder station was planned between Stalybridge tunnel and Scout Green tunnel. Could be some prep work for that.

 

Regards, Ian.

 

As far as I now it's been installed, there were photos of the installation earlier in this thread.   They've put a 25Kv feeder in from there down to Stalybridge.   It gives a second source of supply to Victoria.   It's on the site of the old power station. I think however that it was specified to be large enough to power the full route for both passenger and freight  and was well enough in hand for it not to be cancelled or scaled down.

 

Jamie

[peanuts]

Quite a bit of vegetation clearance going on between Scout Tunnel and Stalybridge

all the way upto standage now bro locals along mount view uppermill up on arms about a new fence and tree felling as it spoils thier pretty view of the viaduct according to the saddleworth weekly

[Edwin_m]

As far as I now it's been installed, there were photos of the installation earlier in this thread.   They've put a 25Kv feeder in from there down to Stalybridge.   It gives a second source of supply to Victoria.   It's on the site of the old power station. I think however that it was specified to be large enough to power the full route for both passenger and freight  and was well enough in hand for it not to be cancelled or scaled down.

 

Jamie

From what I read elsewhere the feeder needs to go all the way to Manchester.  The power is needed to cover other electrified routes and nobody knows when electrification will get to Miles Platting never mind Stalybridge. 

[62613]

all the way upto standage now bro locals along mount view uppermill up on arms about a new fence and tree felling as it spoils thier pretty view of the viaduct according to the saddleworth weekly

Hadn't noticed that in my travels over the last two weeks, but the clearance around Heyrod is very noticable. Saw the Uppermill nimbys getting their knickers in a twist, even our Alan commented on it. I've heard that Moorgate Crossing is to close as well, in the same article.

[jamie92208]

When I went over to Manchester in June I was amazed at how much vegetation clearance had been done on the Yorkshire side.   I thought that perhaps the penny had finally dropped about keeping it in check and not having to spend a fortune on mitigation measures in the autumn.  I wonder whether it is is the start of a new policy.

 

Jamie

[mdvle]

On page 9 of the latest Modern Railways there is a piece that says that the electrification could be back on.

 

https://www.railwaygazette.com/news/infrastructure/single-view/view/trans-pennine-upgrade-will-include-electrification-grayling-confirms.html

[62613]

'Straightening lengths of track to improve speeds': That should be fun in the upper Tame Valley! On the Eastern side of Standedge this was done when the line was de-quadrified, but there was room to do it.

[Zomboid]

From what I read elsewhere the feeder needs to go all the way to Manchester. The power is needed to cover other electrified routes and nobody knows when electrification will get to Miles Platting never mind Stalybridge.

Typically the grid owns the cables from the transformer to the feeder station. It's likely that the substation at Stalybridge will be built to perform the function of ending NG ownership of the cables rather than have them responsible for a lot of equipment which will be on railway infrastructure and only accessible under NR rules and practises. This kind of thing is actually fairly common on the Southern HV distribution network, and has precedent on the ECML too. It'll be expanded to become a proper (AT)FS as and when the wires get there.

[peanuts]

'Straightening lengths of track to improve speeds': That should be fun in the upper Tame Valley! On the Eastern side of Standedge this was done when the line was de-quadrified, but there was room to do it.

petty the gentler curved lighter gradiented micklehurst route was discarded so quikley

[Coach bogie]

New Trans Pennine bio mode 5 car unit was on test through York Yesterday.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[black and decker boy]

Typically the grid owns the cables from the transformer to the feeder station. It's likely that the substation at Stalybridge will be built to perform the function of ending NG ownership of the cables rather than have them responsible for a lot of equipment which will be on railway infrastructure and only accessible under NR rules and practises. This kind of thing is actually fairly common on the Southern HV distribution network, and has precedent on the ECML too. It'll be expanded to become a proper (AT)FS as and when the wires get there.

The feeder at Stalybridge was designed to power the route back to Manchester and provide a secondary supply to the Victoria - Bolton corridor which is currently taking the sole feed up to capacity. To get some redundancy back into the Man Vic area OLE, NR have proposed to lay a 25kv cable along the cess from Stalybridge until such time as the OLE progresses along the route!!!

[SHMD]

The sub-station at Heyrod is complete with two Super Grid Transformer connections to the National Grid.

It has lots of switch gear to allow either SGT to (independently) feed National Rail. This has been live for for time now.

 

The 25kV cable is to be laid, in a line side cable tray, from Heyrod to MV.

Most of this cess traywork is done with it appearing at Stalybridge station this week!

 

Here the perpetually 5 minute late 06:52 Leeds to Manchester Picc arrives at Platform 1 Stalybridge showing the recently installed 25kV cable tray fixed to the brick wall.

 

 

I would estimate that ~80% of the tray work has already been installed along the route.

 

 

Kev.

 

[peanuts]

delivered into the OLE compound at collyhurst street this morning talking to foreman where he stated the huge stack of OLE masts at the bottom of the yard are going for scrap along with most of the steelwork around it what a waste 

[phil-b259]

delivered into the OLE compound at collyhurst street this morning talking to foreman where he stated the huge stack of OLE masts at the bottom of the yard are going for scrap along with most of the steelwork around it what a waste 

 

Ahh but sending it for scrap produces a nice bit of cash in the short term - just like selling off the arches and other property over which the tracks run.

 

All very useful for trying to reduce the large hole in NR finances now that they must abide by the will of HM Treasury - who are obviously absolute geniuses when it comes to the finances.

 

The fact that these sort of measures will come back to haunt NR in future years (through having to re-purchase items at higher prices or through a lack of long term rental income) is of no concern to such 'experts', or indeed their masters who will no doubt be enjoying well paid employment elsewhere by the time the aforementioned consequences have to be faced.

Edited October 3, 2018 by phil-b259