GWML Electification

[Suzie]

I am surprised they did not go the whole hog and have competing operators going to Bristol - one via Bath and one via Parkway.

[The Stationmaster]

I am surprised they did not go the whole hog and have competing operators going to Bristol - one via Bath and one via Parkway.

 

Technically, and subject to whatever is in place regarding moderation of competition, there is no reason that I can see preventing anybody making an open access application to do precisely that.  However I'm fairly sure that the line capacity to permit it over the whole route from London doesn't exist east of Reading or rather definitely won't exist once the full proposed electric service is running on the Main Lines and Crossrail are pouring considerable numbers of trains onto the Relief Lines.

 

To split the two routes between franchised operators is perhaps not such a good idea as it would probably impact on resource costs to the overall detriment of both.

[royaloak]

Technically, and subject to whatever is in place regarding moderation of competition, there is no reason that I can see preventing anybody making an open access application to do precisely that.  However I'm fairly sure that the line capacity to permit it over the whole route from London doesn't exist east of Reading or rather definitely won't exist once the full proposed electric service is running on the Main Lines and Crossrail are pouring considerable numbers of trains onto the Relief Lines.

 

To split the two routes between franchised operators is perhaps not such a good idea as it would probably impact on resource costs to the overall detriment of both.

It would be classed as revenue extracting so wouldnt be allowed.

[The Stationmaster]

And now an update - on various works in hand at Twyford and sorry but the views from the footbridge of platform works had to be taken through slighty grubby glass.

 

New stop marker boards on the Up Relief platform - quite why the 387 4 car mark couldn't have been put on the same post as the 2/3 car dmu marker must remain an eternal mystery I think.  Note on the 'long train' marker the reference to an 8 car setting for 12 car 387s, the same applies on the Down Relief so clearly it will be 'front 8 coaches for Twyford on a 387.  Note also the difference between a 387 marker - white figure on a circular blue background, and an 80X marker  - white figure on a rectangular purple background.

 

 

 

The marker on the Down Relief platform for short formation new trains and any length of trains worked by Class 16X units

 

 

Extension work on the Up Main platform restoring to (almost) its original length - it was shortened when the linespeed was raised and the track geometry altered for HSTs.  Note it appears to be using exclusively tube-piled foundations.  If you look carefully you will so see an 'S' board for all lengths of Class 387 trains and I presume the SDO number is again 8 but it isn't clearly visible in this view - no doubt it is probably temporary pending the platform lengthening?

 

 

Extension work on the Down Main platform viewed first from the footbridge and then from the Down Relief platform (you can't get to the Up Main platform as it is 'protected' by anti-suicide fencing and the gates are kept locked shut).  note that in this case the foundations are part site cast concrete and part foundation tubes - probably due to the change in ground conditions as the ground is much softer where the tubes have been used.

 

 

 

And finally the new bargeboarding has now been installed on the Down Relief platform canopy.  While the original style looks to have been faithfully copied for some reason - look at the corner - it finishes several inches higher than the existing bargeboarding on the canopy end. Some idiot has this week written to our local 'paper complaining about two different lengths of boarding being installed at the same time - alas he's rather off the mark as the end canopy, no doubt with occasional repairs and renewals, has been there for over a century!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2017 by The Stationmaster

[SouthernMafia]

ORR have confirmed Paddington to Didcot can now be fully used for electric services. This will commence with a soft launch of 387s on 28th December before a full launch on 2nd January.

 

As usual it came right down to the wire...literally !

[HillsideDepot]

ORR have confirmed Paddington to Didcot can now be fully used for electric services. This will commence with a soft launch of 387s on 28th December before a full launch on 2nd January.

 

As usual it came right down to the wire...literally !

 

And the resulting sigh of relief from GWR management could be heard at least as far as the stop blocks at Penzance, I would think!

[royaloak]

And the resulting sigh of relief from GWR management could be heard at least as far as the stop blocks at Penzance, I would think!

They have learnt not to count their chickens, they have been let down so many times now they are expecting the usual farce (and I dont use that word very often) come launch day.

[caradoc]

Twyford looks a bit different from when I worked there occasionally in the early 80s, although at least the main station building remains. Do trains actually stop at the Main Line platforms often, either in normal service or when the Relief Lines are closed for any reason ? It seems a lot of trouble and expense to extend the Main Line platforms, rather than leaving them alone and using SDO, or even doing a 'Pangbourne' (although Twyford being the junction for the Henley branch might make that unacceptable ?)

[SouthernMafia]

Twyford looks a bit different from when I worked there occasionally in the early 80s, although at least the main station building remains. Do trains actually stop at the Main Line platforms often, either in normal service or when the Relief Lines are closed for any reason ? It seems a lot of trouble and expense to extend the Main Line platforms, rather than leaving them alone and using SDO, or even doing a 'Pangbourne' (although Twyford being the junction for the Henley branch might make that unacceptable ?)

A handful of trains are booked to use the mainline platforms in both peaks but none are booked during the day.

Also useful when running a 2 track railway, and during Henley Regatta.

1C90 1706 Pad - Westbury and 1J93 1805 Pad - Frome are the two busy trains in the afternoon Peak, which I see continue to call in January in the new timetable, I thought they might go with the introduction of Class 1Dxx 387 services which call Maidenhead and Twyford only before Reading. The Henley branch has also been retimed allowing a 20 minute connection off the HSS trains. I'm sure the residents of the branch will voice their views to the platform staff at having to wait around for 20 minutes now, even though previously at least once a week they would miss the 3-6 minute connection due to late running on the mainline. And having been one of those platform staff they really do love to come and tell you all about it.

[HillsideDepot]

And the resulting sigh of relief from GWR management could be heard at least as far as the stop blocks at Penzance, I would think!

 

They have learnt not to count their chickens, they have been let down so many times now they are expecting the usual farce (and I dont use that word very often) come launch day.

 

I very nearly added now "they" (everyone involved, but the front line staff especially) just have to hope it all works as they expect and have been trained for. 

 

I assume that the IETs will extend their electric operation to Didcot on the same date.

[St. Simon]

I assume that the IETs will extend their electric operation to Didcot on the same date.

Hi,

 

In all honesty, this is still under discussion, my APCO installation is ready (albeit bagged up until the 28th) for use, but whether it'll be used immediately is being discussed by GWR.

 

There is more to it, but I can't reveal it.

 

Simon

[The Stationmaster]

A handful of trains are booked to use the mainline platforms in both peaks but none are booked during the day.

Also useful when running a 2 track railway, and during Henley Regatta.

1C90 1706 Pad - Westbury and 1J93 1805 Pad - Frome are the two busy trains in the afternoon Peak, which I see continue to call in January in the new timetable, I thought they might go with the introduction of Class 1Dxx 387 services which call Maidenhead and Twyford only before Reading. The Henley branch has also been retimed allowing a 20 minute connection off the HSS trains. I'm sure the residents of the branch will voice their views to the platform staff at having to wait around for 20 minutes now, even though previously at least once a week they would miss the 3-6 minute connection due to late running on the mainline. And having been one of those platform staff they really do love to come and tell you all about it.

 

There have already been some moans about the 'loss' of the connection off the 17.06 but very little said about the acceleration of the overall timing of the 17.18 Padd and its connection (the 17.06 currently gives a Padd - Henley total journey time of 37 minutes for 36 miles and is heavily used, the 17.18 current overall journey time is 55 minutes and this will reduce to 44 minutes in the January timetable; the 18.05 Padd currently gives a 40 minute overall journey time while the additional new connection out of the 17.49 Padd will give a 43 minute journey time and the 18.19 Padd will give a similar time).  The later evening through train at present is the 19.05 from Padd with a 52 minute journey time but the 18.48 and 19.18 from Padd in the new timetable will both offer a 45 minute journey time.

 

Just for amusement I've checked the journey times of the two evening through trains to Henley in the 1967 timetable - the 17.18 Padd had a journey time of 55 minutes while the 18.15 Padd had a journey time of 59 minutes.  So while electrifcation will (re)introduce the inconvenience (for most commuters) of a change at Twyford journey times will generally be reduced.

[62613]

It was a popular retort amongst the thrusting dynamo elite in my day, that one person's twenty years of experience equalled only one year's experience multiplied by twenty, and was thus often dismissed as Luddite. Until they needed advice on how to get out of any mess in which they might find themselves.

 

An absolute classic example, which happens to be true, and which involved a newish duty station manager who later went on to become the MD of one of the TOC's (but who has since left the industry for a top job elsewhere), concerns the following: An HST had failed in a through platform, due to the non-functioning of something critical in the cab, and was causing horrendous delays. Control asked the manager to check out what was wrong. The manager asked if the other cab was ok, and was told it was. The manager then demanded that the "good" end was run around and attached to the front of the train. All explanation from station staff and train crew that this would not work was dismissed as unhelpful, and the manager pulled rank and insisted they went ahead. So they did, and after many minutes more and many further delays, the power cars ended up facing each other. They then asked the manager what they should do next......

Well O.T. , but here's someone mis-identifying what Luddism was all about; as someone who had some schooling in The West Riding of Yorkshire, I can tell you it wasn't as its presented today.

[Geoff Endacott]

Luddites would be tearing down the wires.

 

Geoff Endacott

[adanapress]

Re: the Ministry's endless fiddling with situations,    I recall a quite from Geoffrey Ford ( then District Motive Power at Norwich Thorpe ) back in the mid-1950s  saying '' that every time we re-organise the railway dies a little''  .  .  .   or maybe he was re-quoting someone else.     It was certainly true then,  now?  ,,  ,,  ,, 

[jim.snowdon]

Luddites would be tearing down the wires.

 

Geoff Endacott

They haven't got as far as Swindon to be torn down yet.

 

Jim

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Re: the Ministry's endless fiddling with situations,    I recall a quite from Geoffrey Ford ( then District Motive Power at Norwich Thorpe ) back in the mid-1950s  saying '' that every time we re-organise the railway dies a little''  .  .  .   or maybe he was re-quoting someone else.     It was certainly true then,  now?  ,,  ,,  ,, 

 

Gerald Fiennes said something along the same lines.

 

If you want to read a really depressing book over Christmas, then try "On the Wrong Line" by Christian Wolmar. It's about railway privatisation; need I say more?

[jjb1970]

 

 

If you want to read a really depressing book over Christmas, then try "On the Wrong Line" by Christian Wolmar. It's about railway privatisation; by Wolmar, need I say more?

 

There you go, corrected  

[Mike Storey]

There you go, corrected

 

Thank you Roger.

[Ron Ron Ron]

....I assume that the IETs will extend their electric operation to Didcot on the same date.

 

 

Since the route has been given the OK, there have been a couple of reports on other forums, suggesting that some IET's have had their pans up all the way from PAD to Reading, this week.

Example....

 

 

Very smooth Journey on an IET from Paddington on Tuesday evening at about 21:15 - departure delayed due to some other incident on the main line. When we left the train at Reading the pans were still raised and from the noise levels I assumed we travelled under the wires from Paddington.

 

 

.

[St. Simon]

Since the route has been given the OK, there have been a couple of reports on other forums, suggesting that some IET's have had their pans up all the way from PAD to Reading, this week.

 

The OLE being safe to use doesn't necessarily mean that Electric IET operation will extend to Didcot on 2nd January.

 

In fact, if there are units being run past Maidenhead with pans raised in service, this is against GWR instructions and the driver is actually dis-obeying the lineside signage. The example you gave Ron might have been some sort of test run, but I highly doubt it as it was a service train.

 

Simon

Edited December 23, 2017 by St. Simon

[The Stationmaster]

The OLE being safe to use doesn't necessarily mean that Electric IET operation will extend to Didcot on 2nd January.

 

In fact, if there are units being run past Maidenhead with pans raised in service, this is against GWR instructions and the driver is actually dis-obeying the lineside signage. The example you gave Ron might have been some sort of test run, but I highly doubt it as it was a service train.

 

Simon

 

I think it used to be far simpler when all you had to do was erect a few lineside signs and post a Notice telling Drivers where the signs were

[jim.snowdon]

The OLE being safe to use doesn't necessarily mean that Electric IET operation will extend to Didcot on 2nd January.

 

In fact, if there are units being run past Maidenhead with pans raised in service, this is against GWR instructions and the driver is actually dis-obeying the lineside signage. The example you gave Ron might have been some sort of test run, but I highly doubt it as it was a service train.

 

Simon

If the Inspector from the ORR has given authorisation for it to be taken into use, as against simply energised for testing purposes, then it will have been cleared by NR for operation. That will also be the key to taking the signage out of use.

 

Jim

[St. Simon]

If the Inspector from the ORR has given authorisation for it to be taken into use, as against simply energised for testing purposes, then it will have been cleared by NR for operation. That will also be the key to taking the signage out of use.

 

Jim

There are other forces in play that may prevent electric IET operation extending in January other than the OLE being live.

 

The signage at Maidenhead has not been taken out of use yet, it won't be taken out of use until at least January.

 

Simon

Edited December 25, 2017 by St. Simon

[jim.snowdon]

I wonder what the chances are of the January timetable change actually happening on time on the Western. Compared to previous major electrifications, the Great Western's does seem to be the most chaotic.

 

Jim