East West rail, Bletchley to oxford line

[Ron Ron Ron]

46 minutes ago, Tony Teague said:

 

I may be quite wrong but I didn't think the bin-liners ran any more?

 

The unloading point has long gone.

So has all the track north of Quainton, with the whole of the old formation excavated and cleared away.

 

A new Calvert unloading terminal (waste transfer siding) is planned, but in a different location, on the east side of the new HS2 and Aylesbury link alignments,.

A new road bridge will provide a connection with the Calvert waste site. 

 

 

 

.

Edited May 13 by Ron Ron Ron

[Ron Ron Ron]

1 hour ago, big jim said:

56 seconds in is the spur to the left I think, that’s certainly the old alignment and it looks to have been upgraded

 

More than upgraded Jim.

It's a brand new formation, built roughly along the old alignment.

There's also a 2nd curve , between that one and HS2, that will carry the southern access link from the HS2 infrastructure depot, across E-W Rail, to join HS2 to the south.

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7eb9c9ed915d74e33f2084/C222-ATK-CV-DPL-020-000016_0.pdf

 

(Zoom right in for more detail)

 

 

.

[Mike_Walker]

36 minutes ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

 

The unloading point has long gone.

So has all the track north of Quainton, with the whole of the old formation excavated and cleared away.

 

A new Calvert unloading terminal (waste transfer siding) is planned, but in a different location, on the east side of the new HS2 and Aylesbury link alignments,.

A new road bridge will provide a connection with the Calvert waste site. 

 

 

 

.

I was under the impression that not only had the trains stopped running and the old unloading siding gone years ago but the landfill site had been filled and capped off so is the new siding necessary?

[simon b]

10 minutes ago, Mike_Walker said:

I was under the impression that not only had the trains stopped running and the old unloading siding gone years ago but the landfill site had been filled and capped off so is the new siding necessary?

 

The trains were stopped for the HS2 works, they are using hgv's at the moment to bring it in. The site isn't full just yet, but I think they are going to burn the rubbish to generate power instead of bury it.

[simon b]

2 hours ago, melmerby said:

On an earlier post with the track around Calvert the signal on the WB line clearly has a Left feather

 

2 hours ago, big jim said:

56 seconds in is the spur to the left I think, that’s certainly the old alignment and it looks to have been upgraded

 

That's what I'm getting at, they've got everything there except the point itself. Surley it should go in now rather than cause disruption later, or is it not much of a problem to add one in when required?

[Bernard Lamb]

This just turned up. March 6th 2012 according to the caption.

Bernard

 

[phil-b259]

13 hours ago, simon b said:

 

 

That's what I'm getting at, they've got everything there except the point itself. Surley it should go in now rather than cause disruption later, or is it not much of a problem to add one in when required?

A point which is not used is a maintenance liability and as such installing one at this stage when there is no guarantee it will be used (if left long enough critical parts such as the switch and stock trails will need renewing even if only used in one direction). Consiquently it’s much more sensible to not install it at this stage.

 

By contrast signalling alterations are VERY expensive to do retrospectively (hence why you sometimes get signals still illuminated in a Forrest of birch trees with pointwork removed). This is particularly true if retrospective changes need to be made to interlockings - and East West Rail is getting a brand new Smartlock installation by Alstom who will demand a huge fee to make changes once commissioned.

 

Hence the result you see here - from a signalling perspective everything is installed from the get go even if it may not be used for years while from a p-way perspective they have only installed what will be used from day one and will need to add things later if train services alter.

[The Stationmaster]

On 14/04/2024 at 09:18, phil-b259 said:

The line is not open to traffic yet and will be under an engineers possession.

 

In such possessions points may be wound on manual and left in configurations which would not be be possible were they being moved by am interlocking for the purpose of setting routes and changing signals to proceed.

 

 

That's one of the best ways I know of to get points run through.   Unless they are hand points always leave the two ends in correspondence even if you're only barring them over otherwise you'll eventually pay the penalty for not doing so

[phil-b259]

4 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

That's one of the best ways I know of to get points run through.   Unless they are hand points always leave the two ends in correspondence even if you're only barring them over otherwise you'll eventually pay the penalty for not doing so

Totally agree - but the point is there is no way a fully functioning signalling system would leave them that way. 

Edited May 14 by phil-b259

[Markmiller2008]

On 12/04/2024 at 22:51, Davexoc said:

Looking back towards Verney Junction, another section of road that has been mainly resurfaced. I noted that the signals are labelled OBxxxx, I would guess that was short for Oxford Bletchley (or Bedford). How long before it all appears on the likes of 'Opentrains' or 'Traksy' I wonder???

And, anyone know what ROC it will come under the control of?

Should have bought shares in whoever supplies the yellow barrier, there are miles of the stuff....

 

 

 

A quick look at the track side of the new Winslow station....

 

 

That is it for now....

 

Rugby ROC are controlling the signalling once commissioned 

[jamie92208]

7 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

A point which is not used is a maintenance liability and as such installing one at this stage when there is no guarantee it will be used (if left long enough critical parts such as the switch and stock trails will need renewing even if only used in one direction). Consiquently it’s much more sensible to not install it at this stage.

 

By contrast signalling alterations are VERY expensive to do retrospectively (hence why you sometimes get signals still illuminated in a Forrest of birch trees with pointwork removed). This is particularly true if retrospective changes need to be made to interlockings - and East West Rail is getting a brand new Smartlock installation by Alstom who will demand a huge fee to make changes once commissioned.

 

Hence the result you see here - from a signalling perspective everything is installed from the get go even if it may not be used for years while from a p-way perspective they have only installed what will be used from day one and will need to add things later if train services alter.

I think that the Carlisle avoiding lines still exist in the interlocking below the panel despite having been removed 40 years ago.

 

Jamie

Edited May 14 by jamie92208

[lmsforever]

Heard yesterday that Quainton centre aregoing  to be running trains to where the HS2  are dumping rocks and when they finish   they will run through to  Aylesbury   Parkway this is for six years and then it will be regular on Sundays.

[ess1uk]

3 hours ago, Markmiller2008 said:

 

Rugby ROC are controlling the signalling once commissioned 

I posted that on the last page

[phil-b259]

17 hours ago, lmsforever said:

Heard yesterday that Quainton centre aregoing  to be running trains to where the HS2  are dumping rocks and when they finish   they will run through to  Aylesbury   Parkway this is for six years and then it will be regular on Sundays.

Good news for the folk at Quainton - However do do hope that it’s been made clear to them this is not a permanent arrangement as in any sane country (I.e. not one being run by a party desperate to cling on to power and only caring about the short term) then the reintroduction of national rail services between Aylesbury and Bletchley would be an integral part of the east - west scheme.

[Pannier Tank]

3 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

reintroduction of national rail services between Aylesbury and Bletchley

 

There was never such a service to reintroduce?

[Bernard Lamb]

43 minutes ago, Pannier Tank said:

 

There was never such a service to reintroduce?

There was if you went via Cheddington.😀

Bernard

[Pannier Tank]

5 minutes ago, Bernard Lamb said:

There was if you went via Cheddington.😀

Bernard

 

Very true! It involved a change of train though?

[Bernard Lamb]

7 minutes ago, Pannier Tank said:

 

Very true! It involved a change of train though?

I would have thought so. Though a passenger service of any sort was well before my time.

Bernard 

[D826]

1 hour ago, Pannier Tank said:

 

There was never such a service to reintroduce?

Fair comment.  Met excepted, anyone for a Pullman to Baker Street ?  

 

I think the essential point though is that as Aylesbury ever expands, (poor old Aylesbury) it seems very odd that no immediate connection  is being made to enable rail to be used between there, and the range of destinations on EW rail.

 

Maybe the Met had the right idea with Granborough Road and Verney Junction after all.😉

 

As an Aylesbury boy, with a railwayman father too, it's an eternal regret I was born just too late to see trains on the Great Central London Extension route.

 

The route north of Quainton - and connection to the former Oxford to Bletchley line was only lost fairly recently.  The failure for its reinstatement to be part of EW rail is testament to short sighted decision making and a lack of serious approach to integrated transport policy and climate change objectives.

 

Now, back to dreams of catching the Master Cutler and flying through rural North Bucks and Northants.

 

Best regards 

 

Matt W

Edited May 15 by D826

[Bernard Lamb]

Just recieved another photo.

From the other side of the gate this time and a few days earlier. March 1st 2012.

Bernard

 

 

[Davexoc]

9 hours ago, Pannier Tank said:

 

There was never such a service to reintroduce?

 

Not a regular service but.....

 

 

Marylebone - Aylesbury - Quainton Road - Milton Keynes - 6th December 1986

[WCML100]

12 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

Just recieved another photo.

From the other side of the gate this time and a few days earlier. March 1st 2012.

Bernard

 

 

 

 

For a split second - I thought, blimey that has big buffers! lol!