Swindon - Kemble re-doubling

[Captain Kernow]

The August 2014 blockade has now been on since last Monday night, and is due to be given up at 0700 hrs on Bank Holiday Monday morning, with the double track commissioned and in use from that time.

 

Here are some photos taken on site visits last Tuesday to the blockade.

 

Kemble - train is 6Y67, with materials for the Kemble crossover site - removing the old 445 points and completing the new facing crossover:

 

 

 

Old and new Up platform starting signals at Kemble, the old bracket signal will have been removed by now:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southern-end of Kemble Tunnel:

 

 

 

New Down direction signal awaiting putting up:

 

 

More photos in next post.

 

[Captain Kernow]

Minety:

 

Details of another of the new signals - this one is the Down Distant for Minety Crossing (which is now being controlled from the TVSC at Didcot from next Monday):

 

 

 

The rather lovely Stationmaster's house at Minety (photo taken with owner's permission):

 

Class 66 on an engineering train passing the Stationmaster's house at Minety on the Down line:

 

 

Purton Collins Lane AHB (planned road closure with stabled ballast train straddling the crossing, waiting to be used later in the blockade):

 

 

Two stabled trains of autoballasters at/on the approach to Purton old station:

 

 

 

 

 

Purton Common level crossing - now pedestrian only - note former GWR company house:

 

View looking back towards Swindon from Purton Common crossing, showing the first of the stabled trains of autoballasters:

 

View looking the other way from the same location, with train 6W51 stabled, waiting next use (this was part of the Balfour Beatty New Track Construction train). The main 'business end' of the NTC train was further around the corner relaying the Up line in the Down direction, but sadly we didn't have time to go to that site):

 

[big jim]

Thats one ugly new signal in kemble!!

[Captain Kernow]

Thats one ugly new signal!!

Yes, I can't see too many books being written about them in the future, they remind me of some nasty automaton from a 1950s sci-fi movie!

[lmsforever]

Which company designed that signal in Kemble and the one at the new foot crossing looks a bit tacky is the future of signals in the UK or are here better designs around?

[RJS1977]

I noticed last weekend they seem to be putting a load of those in in the Littlehampton/Eastbourne area.

[jamie92208]

I suspect that they are the future otherwise known as modular signalling with ease of maintenance and installation rather than appearance as the main point.  If you look carefully they hinge down so no one needs to climb them to change a bulb etc.,

 

Jamie

[RJS1977]

I suspect that they are the future otherwise known as modular signalling with ease of maintenance and installation rather than appearance as the main point.  If you look carefully they hinge down so no one needs to climb them to change a bulb etc.,

 

Jamie

They are also kept folded down (at least the ones on the South Coast last weekend were) prior to commissioning to avoid confusion.

[phil-b259]

I suspect that they are the future otherwise known as modular signalling with ease of maintenance and installation rather than appearance as the main point.  If you look carefully they hinge down so no one needs to climb them to change a bulb etc.,

 

Jamie

Erm LAMPS you mean (bulbs are things that grow in the ground and produce flowers) - though given all these are powered by LED 'light engines / modules' and given you could in theory clean them with a sponge on a stick (like window cleaners do these days) the amount of times they would need to come down would be limited. Just as well really because if you have to fold them down that means you have to take a possession to work on them - no more shining up a ladder and merely making sure you shut the door when a train approached.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

I don't like the way the cable just comes out of the concrete troughing up into the base of Minety down distant. Doesn't look very secure or tamper-proof.

 

Is that just a temporary arrangement?

[Captain Kernow]

I don't like the way the cable just comes out of the concrete troughing up into the base of Minety down distant. Doesn't look very secure or tamper-proof.

 

Is that just a temporary arrangement?

I would like to think so...

[phil-b259]

I don't like the way the cable just comes out of the concrete troughing up into the base of Minety down distant. Doesn't look very secure or tamper-proof.

 

Is that just a temporary arrangement?

I very much doubt it (though obviously the lid will be put back on at some stage) we are talking about as railway installation here not GCHQ. Yes in theory a vandal could come along and slice it or someone could tamper with the aspect being displayed, but that is no different from pretty much every other signal that is or ever has been installed in the country. The railway is full of cables and the only reason for putting them in dedicated troughing routes is to try and prevent acidental damage. It's exactly the same as why the wiring in your house runs in certain directions (I.e. up / down, not diagonally across walls)

[caradoc]

They are also kept folded down (at least the ones on the South Coast last weekend were) prior to commissioning to avoid confusion.

 

Which unfortunately led to Drivers reporting 'new signal blown down' during the Cathcart Circle resignalling; A special notice had to be issued to advise that the signals were meant to be lying down until brought into use !

[Fat Controller]

Which unfortunately led to Drivers reporting 'new signal blown down' during the Cathcart Circle resignalling; A special notice had to be issued to advise that the signals were meant to be lying down until brought into use !

Makes a change from 'There's a bin-bag obscuring the signal..'

[The Stationmaster]

I don't like the way the cable just comes out of the concrete troughing up into the base of Minety down distant. Doesn't look very secure or tamper-proof.

 

Is that just a temporary arrangement?

There's clearly a troughing lid to go back (sometime) but I suspect the way the cable goes over the base is the way it will remain - at least Reading installers used to put a metal shield over that bit of cable and the shield was shaped to fit the concrete base and the cast signal base bolted to it.

 

I'm afraid that of all the latest signal designs I have an extremely low opinion of these - firstly because they don't have low light level/night time dimming (when they are over bright in my opinion) and secondly because of the down right stupid idea of having them fold down.  The second means that effectively a signal is being taken away and should therefore be covered by a notice entry saying exactly that, even if a possession is taken, and in any case why on earth should a possession be taken to work on a lineside signal, total over expensive  nonsense.

 

I think the Dutch idea is far better where for gantry mounted signals all 'the works' are in a cabinet at safe working level on the lineside and fibre optics are used to link that with the lens - which in turn is properly shrouded to minimise any need for cleaning.  Alas these latest NR signals seem to be a triumph of cutting cost and installation convenience over the prime purpose of the signal - operational safety; cart well and truly before the horse.

[synthnut]

I fail to understand the logic behind some of these things! It seems we are heading blindly into a situation where we will be unable to afford to to maintain the railways if you need to take a possession every time any piece of line side kit needs attention. Personal safety is of course paramount, but we seem to have missed the point somehow.

 

I hope these use better drive electronics than some LED traffic signals which suffered from considerable failures. Whilst LEDS might have alleged ultra long service life, the electronics have a definite failure rate! With road signals ,unless they have telemetry to notify of a failure you still need to clean them as often and pick up any defects. Otherwise, you presume that they last forever and they fail after a week and get left! As the initial cost is higher, I do wonder if they represent much of a cost saving, other than energy consumption that is.

 

On a purely aesthetic note, why are these modern signals so damn ugly? Will we all be hailing the class 70 as a modern design classic at the same time?

 

TTFN,

Ben

[edfielden]

Well, it's open!

 

I've popped out each of the past three days to see progress (Sat & Sun I saw mainly peripheral work going on at Kemble, Minety Crossing and Oaksey), and this morning saw 1G21 (0939 Paddington-Cheltenham) emerging from the tunnel at Kemble on the new Down line, and 2G83 (1138 Swindon-Cheltenham) passing Minety Crossing on the new Down line.

 

Incidentally, Minety Crossing will remain closed to road traffic until at least 29th August, to allow for further work to transfer control and monitoring to the TVSC at Didcot. Purton Collins Lane Crossing is also still closed today, although I didn't go to see it myself. Apparently according to a Network Rail chap who I met at Minety Crossing, people have been seen trying to get across both crossings despite them being closed and fenced off...

 

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

Opening of the two tracks got a mention on Regional TV news (BBC) this morning. Pity that all  this new capacity will be largely unused for a few years until more new trains are available. Will presumably be very useful though for diversions while GWML electrification works are ongoing.

[Captain Kernow]

Opening of the two tracks got a mention on Regional TV news (BBC) this morning. Pity that all  this new capacity will be largely unused for a few years until more new trains are available. Will presumably be very useful though for diversions while GWML electrification works are ongoing.

That's precisely why the redoubling was done when it was done.

[tomparryharry]

Thanks for putting your photos on here folks. The last time I went to Kemble was 1985, to see some steamers passing through.

 

Very heartening to see the double line being re-instated.

 

Kind regards,

Ian

[Deppers Fan]

Captain, very informative, as ever.

[RJS1977]

Article on the Swindon panel Group's site about the Kemble resignalling:

 

http://www.swindonpanel.org.uk/2014/08/27/kemble-line-migration/
 

[The Stationmaster]

What interests me is whether or not TVSC works to Gloucester by block bell (as did Swindon) or something less glamourous?

[Icknieldrobin]

Refreshing honesty Captain Thank you. According to the local media here in 'Cheltenhamshire', the doubling was to improve the service to Gloucester and Cheltenham!!! The local MP is still hoping the improvements and additional platform accommodation can go ahead to maximise the benefits of the doubling and also provide additional paths on the cross country services. If this were to go ahead it might provide the GWSR with an easier access to the network than Honeybourne? 

 

Doug

[Boco_D1]

What interests me is whether or not TVSC works to Gloucester by block bell (as did Swindon) or something less glamourous?

Telephone and alarm will be communication between the boxes, the block bell between Swindon and Gloucester had been out of action for some time. so it's been Telephone comms for a while, but with GSMR you can use have the choice of two phones to call the other box so well backed up if one where to fail. The new set up now means that signaller wise the Swindon signaller talks to the TVSC Swindon signaller via telephone and alarm who talks to the Gloucester signaller via telephone and alarm.