RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 19, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 19, 2014 Mike, said it before & I'll say it again - your insights into the background planning works and operations are extremely informative & entertaining too! I still think a book of memoirs would be well received by anyone with an interest in railway workings.... I'd probably need a legal advisor to approve every second paragraph - just look at some of my comments in this thread (almost getting us back on subject) ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted September 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 19, 2014 I'd probably need a legal advisor to approve every second paragraph - just look at some of my comments in this thread (almost getting us back on subject) ! At least you won't be sacked like Gerard Fiennes was. Go on be brave and do it. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCML100 Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 sorry to post this as this might be a little off-topic but here goes anyway: Does any one know what is happening at West Drayton Station at present? The old platform 5 is being worked on with no public access not sure what the purpose of this is? I believe it is something to do with electrification or cross rail or both? could someone enlighten me? Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I will have to check, from memory it might be a new footbridge going in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) OK, Checked and it is quite a lot more extensive than just a new footbridge! The up loop is to be completely relaid and extended on a new alignment. This will entail demolishing most of the existing platform and building a new extended one to match the new alignment which is being extended East towards Paddington with new pointwork going in that end. There will in fact be two new footbridges, one at each end giving additional access from the north side of the station, as well as connecting to the other platforms. All works including electrification as far as Maidenhead are part of Crossrail. Beyond Maidenhead is GWML Electrification. Edited September 25, 2014 by Titan 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted September 25, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 25, 2014 As far as I can remember the GWML electrifiction was announced by Lord Adonis under a Labour Government (No politics I know). It must have been at least 4 and a half years ago and it doesn't seem to me that a single piece of wiring has been strung yet. I know that a lot of bridges have been sorted and that poles are starting to go up but it does seem a tad tardy that it takes nearly 5 years to get the first bit of knitting erected let alone energised. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 25, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 25, 2014 As far as I can remember the GWML electrifiction was announced by Lord Adonis under a Labour Government (No politics I know). It must have been at least 4 and a half years ago and it doesn't seem to me that a single piece of wiring has been strung yet. I know that a lot of bridges have been sorted and that poles are starting to go up but it does seem a tad tardy that it takes nearly 5 years to get the first bit of knitting erected let alone energised. Jamie From what you can see on the ground it seems that quite a lot has been done but for much of it you need to know what to look for. First of all from getting authority there has to be design work and that in many cases needs to be preceded by survey work. In terms of physical work on the ground there have been signs of hole digging for around a year plus some undergrowth clearance plus a gradual nbuild-up of material stocks - now quite considerable - at Moreton Cutting (it now has another name for some obscure reason). At Reading most of the masts and portals etc appear to now be in place between Kennet Bridge and the west end of the station plus the route round to Reading West and round Oxford Road Curve. Obviously the high output train, or various parts of it, suffered a lot of delay which has in turn delayed erection of masts (and probably the sinking of tubes?) but other work has been going on as part of the scheme - bridgeworks plus miles of S&T cable laid, location cupboards going in and so on with even at least one bracket signal structure replaced. Even on our little branchline - not now getting wires until 2018 I understand - the S&T work has been going steadily on. Stringing up the wires is of course the most obvious thing but usually, judging by some past schemes, it is the last thing we get to see as virtually everything else has to be in place first. So yes, as those in the know have told us, it is running late for various reasons but equally there are clear signs of things happening - for example enroute to/from Newbury yesterday I noticed work on signal location cupboards going on at quite a lot of places plus most of the cable apparently in place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted September 25, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 25, 2014 I would think that putting up the knitting will be amongst the last items on the list, as I seem to remember that on more recent screens the metal thieves had the cable/wire away. It was then put up and energised before it could be nicked. Although these days it seems 25,000 volts is less of a deterent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Putting the actual wire up is the easy bit................................................. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 96701 Posted September 25, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 25, 2014 A colleague of mine was involved in putting the contact wire up in Anglia. When they got to the end of a particular wire run, they found it wouldn't tension and further investigations revealed that the first half wire run they'd just clipped up was missing. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 A colleague of mine was involved in putting the contact wire up in Anglia. When they got to the end of a particular wire run, they found it wouldn't tension and further investigations revealed that the first half wire run they'd just clipped up was missing. Likewise on CTRL; sometimes they didn't wait for the line to be put up, but just nicked the drums from the storage areas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 When I was doing some survey/snagging on the first part of the Liverpool to Manchester Electrification, I noticed a small black box, about the size of a lunchbox cable tied to the top of a mast. It had a little aerial on it. Obviously it was not part of the OLE equipment, but it looked like it was put there deliberately. I made enquires and apparantly it is a device that measures vibration. It is tuned to detect a vibration similar to that of a hacksaw cutting through wire. When it does it automatically sends an alert. It can cover quite a reasonable length, I suppose the vibration travels down the wire like the good old tin can and string telephone!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted September 26, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 26, 2014 A friend of a friend was involved with closing the Woodhead line. They started to get problems with the copper fairies so the 1500V DC was quietly turned back on one night. There were no further problems. Jamie 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 (edited) I noticed on the way to the Beaconsfield show yesterday (train to Slough, then bus) that NR were in the process of demolishing the train shed at Maidenhead station. "That really ought to have been donated to a preserved railway, " I thought. Obviously someone else thought the same thing, because when I arrived at Wallingford station at lunchtime to do a stint in the ticket office,and what did I find in the car park (with more parts being delivered later in the day)? :-) Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me.... :-( Edited October 5, 2014 by RJS1977 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Living in Maidenhead I have taken some photos of the train shed. I thought that train shed was going to the Chosley & Wallingford Railway. This might week be the case and it was just the rotten wood that was being removed as the appears to be quick a bit of that.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Nigel - yes, the shed (or at least parts of it) are in the car park at Wallingford! Unfortunately they have had to saw through some pretty substantial beams to get it into small enough chunks to transport by road but hopefully we should be able to get it back together again! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Apparently the work to place one of the masts between Slough and West Drayton has damaged a signalling cable. Looks like they need to dig deeper by hand! Apparently the work to place one of the masts between Slough and West Drayton has damaged a signalling cable. Looks like they need to dig deeper by hand! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Just had a word, no-one has heard any reports of any issues with the OLE works this weekend. If there were any signalling cable issues it must have been something else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 OK, cheers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCML100 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 delays were awful on the gwml today between reading and london must of been a big mishap what ever they did to that signalling cable! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 My understanding (from a former S&T engineer) is that there are usually two sets of signalling cables - one each side of the line to act as backup to each other, so I can't figure out how this has happened! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 (edited) My understanding (from a former S&T engineer) is that there are usually two sets of signalling cables - one each side of the line to act as backup to each other, so I can't figure out how this has happened! I think this is only true with Solid State Interlocking and other modern systems, where a digital data stream on a single cable carries a range of controls and indications via "trackside functional modules" - a bit like DCC accessory decoders. The cable can then be duplicated and if communication is lost over one, the other one is used and an alarm is raised for the technician. However the TFM and its wiring to the equipment itself isn't duplicated (well the TFM is duplicated for safety but that's another story) so if one of these is lost several signals/point/track circuits can be out of use which in itself can be disruptive. Older signalling, such as I think is still in use between Airport Junction and Reading exclusive, has to have every item hardwired back to the nearest relay room. Although the comms from the relay room to the box can be duplicated, putting a digger bucket through a cable run near a relay room will likely sever numerous cores all of which need splicing and safety-critical testing. Edited October 6, 2014 by Edwin_m Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 The stretch my friend told me was talking about was at Airport Junction - apparently the cables on one side had to be temporarily connected some years ago when the junction was laid in. Unfortunately while the cable was disconnected a building on the other side of the line caught fire and burnt through the remaining cable! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted October 8, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 8, 2014 (edited) Today two of us travelled from Leeds to Reading then to Cheltenham and back to Leeds. This gave us the chance to see progress between Didcot and Reading and then between Didcot and Swindon. There seemed to be about 20% of the masts erected between Didcot and Reading and about 70-80% of foundation piles driven with many more deposited at the lineside ready for insertion. Going west from Didcot there were quite a lot of piles driven and , while our already late train waited for another service to pass, I noticed the site for another pile partly excavted and marked with yellow paint. No masts were in evidence between Didcot and Swindon but the various parts of the High Output Wiring train were at Swindon and one was putting what we assume was a training pile into the car park. It's good to see some progress. Jamie Edited October 8, 2014 by jamie92208 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1059 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 It's good to see some progress. Jamie Not really - personally, I'd like to see the electrification decision reversed and then the HST's progressively replaced with re-introduced Westerns, Warships and Hymeks 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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