Mark Dickerson Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 I'm looking forward to taking the train into Oxford next week, but it's bittersweet - if I ever decided to commute that way there would be little improvement in return timings over the coach services as it appears I'd have to go into Marylebone and come back out again to Oyster Zone X. A pity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Pannier Tank Posted December 11, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 11, 2016 On the Bletchley side of the line. I have the run round loop signal behind our house. Quite like hearing the old oil burners grumble waiting for a clear route over the flyover When I was a lad we had 9F's on Iron Ore Trains climbing the bank as they came off the Bletchley Flyover on their way to South Wales. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caradoc Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Oxford Times report and (short) video of the 'official' opening train to Marylebone, 0720 from Oxford this morning (although the service actually started yesterday, first day of the new timetable): www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/14959830 Surprisingly, the train (a loco hauled set) departed from the Down main platform (to me, always, Platform 2, but now officially Platform 4); Presumably it reversed south of Oxford station? Even more surprisingly, there are no reports of any of the delicate residents of North Oxford being overcome by the awful noise of the new train service. I look forward to using this route as an alternative to the GWR. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 The Chiltern LHCS reverses at Hinksey, I believe, since it won't fit into the bay platforms (1 & 2). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Are these to be loco hauled services on a regular basis, or was this something a bit special for the first day? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenrithBeacon Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 All reminds me of people who purchased houses next to the Chiltern line in Aylesbury in the early 90s and then moaned when 165s were left idling near them after Chiltern Route Modernisation. ... That I can understand. It's one thing to buy a house next to a line where you can have a reasonable expectation that trains come and go, it's another altogether to have the trains parked up outside your house with the engines running. Seems to me that Chiltern were being unreasonable neighbours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1059 Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Oxford Times report and (short) video of the 'official' opening train to Marylebone, 0720 from Oxford this morning (although the service actually started yesterday, first day of the new timetable): www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/14959830 Surprisingly, the train (a loco hauled set) departed from the Down main platform (to me, always, Platform 2, but now officially Platform 4); Presumably it reversed south of Oxford station? Even more surprisingly, there are no reports of any of the delicate residents of North Oxford being overcome by the awful noise of the new train service. I look forward to using this route as an alternative to the GWR. I think the beef the residents had over the lack of 'quiet track' was that the Council had granted planning permission or suchlike (although whats it really go to do with them ?) to NR on the basis that dampened track (rubber cushioned ?) was used through Wolvercote. NR then said they weren't going to use the quiet track anymore as it was too expensive and wouldn't help with the noise much anyway, and the Council did nothing. I lived in a house in Appleford backing onto the line for several years in the 80s - with far heavier freight trains than today (MGR's and aggregates) and a major order of magnitude more noticeable than what will go past Wolvercote and after a while you simply don't notice them anymore Are these to be loco hauled services on a regular basis, or was this something a bit special for the first day? One working each way on weekdays, I believe, is Class 68 worked Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovex Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 And if they were unaware of the existence of the railway when they bought their houses, then they could have an entertaining time sueing their solicitors for not mentioning it in the searches. Or not. As it was never my job as a former conveyancing solicitor to point out things the other side of the garden fence. Oh and this would probably not have shown up on any local search Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 31A Posted December 12, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 12, 2016 In the mid '80s I bought a flat overlooking Cambridge station, the south end of the carriage sidings and the carriage washer road were right behind it then came the freight yard (at the time quite busy with Speedlink etc. traffic), then the station itself and the loco stabling sidings. At the time I made the purchase I remember the solicitor specifically pointing out that the railway was right outside and if it felt like it BR could put up a big depot building (for example) without having to seek planning permission (I think he said). Times must have changed! I took note of what he said, but it didn't concern me and for several years I enjoyed the grandstand view from the kitchen window! At first there was quite a lot of noise at night as the loco hauled sets were shunted by 08s as was the freight yard, with the 21T hoppers for the Fen Drayton sand traffic being knocked about like skittles at night (I think they were cutting out cripples) but I soon got used to it, and over the years the passenger trains became EMUs which hardly made a noise at all, and the freight died away almost to nothing. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 (edited) Planning permission may not be needed by railways for many things, because they constitute "permitted development", directly associated with the business of operating a railway. However, a local authority can make requirements in respect of some aspects of PD, and, even when there is no obligation, railways will often concede points to neighbours simply to make everyone's lives easier. I've forgotten the detail, but BR tested the PD rights, and was upheld in the courts, with a signalbox at IIRC Macclesfield. Some of the PD rights are quite extensive, stemming from the original acts under which railways were built, and in some cases subsequent acts covering things like electrification - there is a lot of "make and forever maintain" , drafted in very broad terms, in those acts. Kevin Edited December 12, 2016 by Nearholmer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D826 Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 That I can understand. It's one thing to buy a house next to a line where you can have a reasonable expectation that trains come and go, it's another altogether to have the trains parked up outside your house with the engines running. Seems to me that Chiltern were being unreasonable neighbours. Quite the reverse - I think Chiltern addressed it at the time by requiring engines be shut down if stabled for more than a certain period - very reasonable. If you buy a property next to operational railway land activity may intensify - that's a risk you take. No one halts the traffic on the A4 into London on the basis of noise and fumes. Proportionality required at all times in my opinion. Best Regards Matt W Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 The Chiltern LHCS reverses at Hinksey, I believe, since it won't fit into the bay platforms (1 & 2). New lighting has been installed alongside the north end of No.2 Reception at Hinksey to help with the reversing move. I got quite a shock last week as I approached Oxford with 6V25 and saw that the lovely old GW canopy had been removed from the up platform..! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrushVeteran Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Nice to see a freight from Bicester MOD heading towards Oxford at lunchtime today. Long may it last and eventually take some of the heavy stuff off the A34! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Houses were built alongside the line out of Aylesbury opposite the stadium and guess what they discovered trains actually used the line twice every hour.This was in 115 days when BR were trying to close the line down ,they shouted in the local press about noise and vibration we want our rates reduced and they got it .Most people in the town were of the opinion that all our rates should be reduced because of the traffic but no dice.The class 165 sidings are well away from houses and yet they still moaned but didn't get what they wanted .The attitude to railways and other transport systems is I will use them but don't put them next to me. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERGE Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 (edited) Prior to the construction of Hitchin Flyover a local campaigner made the mistake of calling at my door. His major objection was the construction traffic going past his house. I pointed to the new housing estate opposite my house and asked if he'd objected to the construction traffic that created and the permanent increase in traffic when the residents moved in. Funnily enough he hadn't. Also the fill for the embankment was sourced locally by shaving off a bit of a side of a hill, crossing only a public footpath in the process. The crossing point gained a hut and a keeper with traffic lights to give the footpath priority. Edited December 12, 2016 by LNERGE 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caradoc Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 New lighting has been installed alongside the north end of No.2 Reception at Hinksey to help with the reversing move. I got quite a shock last week as I approached Oxford with 6V25 and saw that the lovely old GW canopy had been removed from the up platform..! That's the 1910 canopy which, when Oxford station was rebuilt (extremely) cheaply in the early 1970s, was simply refurbished, leaving a gap between it and the new canopy at the station buildings. I hadn't realised it was being removed, will it be replaced at some stage ? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted December 12, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 12, 2016 Some of the PD rights are quite extensive, stemming from the original acts under which railways were built, and in some cases subsequent acts covering things like electrification - there is a lot of "make and forever maintain" , drafted in very broad terms, in those acts. True. Duckponds and church rooves come to mind as maintainable items agreed by the railway pioneers.. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Except that I think those are obligations to "make and forever maintain" things, rather than rights to do the same. Can be a subtle distinction, though, because, while most stations, for instance, were proposed by the railways, and are matters of right through the relevant act, some are matters of obligation. Eridge, which I think you know, I'm fairly certain is subject to an obligation, being the price exacted by the owners of Eridge Castle for withdrawing their objection to the construction of the line. K Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
locoholic Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Travelled from Haddenham & Thame Parkway to Oxford and back today. Both trains busy, Chiltern Trains must be happy. Can't believe how many years it's likely to be before I can travel on the tracks that disappear off at Bicester towards Bletchley - what a hopeless country! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Pannier Tank Posted December 13, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) Can't believe how many years it's likely to be before I can travel on the tracks that disappear off at Bicester towards Bletchley - what a hopeless country! Looking forward to the eventual re-opening, although without the likes of Swanbourne Sidings etc it won't have the same appeal. Interestingly, the Bletchley end of the Branch-line terminates at what is now called "Swanbourne Siding" which is located at the site of the old Newton Longville Signalbox which controlled the entrance / exit to London Brickworks Siding. The former "Swanbourne Sidings" was located a mile or so further to the west on the outskirts of Newton Longville Village, Swanbourne Station was located a further couple of miles to the west. Edited December 13, 2016 by Pannier Tank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrushVeteran Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) Well my local newspaper, The Oxford Mail, was full of news about the reopening yesterday and the naming by Michael Portillo of a class 68 68010 'Oxford Flyer'. Its just a bit of a pity the press and a reporter on board the press train yesterday tried to paint a bad picture of some of the comments made by the travelling public. I know from experience that the travelling public aren't at their best first thing on a Monday morning so would probably not give such favourable answers when going to work.....................especially if they had to use Southern who were on strike! The positive news is however that the East West line from Bicester to Bletchley has received government backing to be fast tracked and construction may be put out to private contractors to speed the process up. Work is due to start next year and completion is set to be before 2020. Edited December 13, 2016 by BrushVeteran 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Pannier Tank Posted December 13, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2016 The positive news is however that the East West line from Bicester to Bletchley has received government backing to be fast tracked and construction may be put out to private contractors to speed the process up. Work is due to start next year and completion is set to be before 2020. Albeit with a missed opportunity, no Electrification. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted December 13, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2016 Albeit with a missed opportunity, no Electrification. I suggest you have a read through the GWR or MML electrification threads before commenting further on this aspect as they will aptly explain why it is totally unrealistic at this time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 Albeit with a missed opportunity, no Electrification. Have you seen some of the road bridges? OHE would add a heck of an amount to the cost and it's inclusion would probable have been enough to kill the scheme completely. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkie Posted December 13, 2016 Author Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) Just found out that the line behind my house that runs over the flyover is called varsity line http://www.openrailwaymap.org/mobile.php? Edited December 15, 2016 by porkie 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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