RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted May 30, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 30, 2016 I presume the upper wire is the return wire. interesting to hear they've got to Scours Lane - that's an awful lot done in just over a week! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Budgie Posted May 30, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 30, 2016 Have there been any incidents of cable theft? I assume switching on the juice will put an end to that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arun Sharma Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Thank you Richard and Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 I presume the upper wire is the return wire. interesting to hear they've got to Scours Lane - that's an awful lot done in just over a week! Sorry, looking at the map again, probably not as close to Scours Lane as I thought but certainly some wires for a short distance east of Tilehurst. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 (edited) The cable running along the outside of the posts without insulators is an earth bonding wire.Don't know if it's installed yet, but there's also an autotransformer feeder going up too, which runs at 50kV from the contact lines and 25kV from earth. Edited May 30, 2016 by Zomboid 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted May 30, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 30, 2016 Sorry, looking at the map again, probably not as close to Scours Lane as I thought but certainly some wires for a short distance east of Tilehurst. Ah, I suspect then that it will be the Main Lines wired as far as one of the terminating gantries just to the west of Tilehurst East Jcn/ just off the platform end - they were ready to wire - apart from the tensioning units - the week before last. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Have to say though that I am very surprised - given how far behind the project is - that there hasn't been a blockade of at least two lines this weekend. Apart from a couple of members of the Orange Army inspecting a mast near Goring, I've seen very little sign of activity the last two days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted May 30, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 30, 2016 Have to say though that I am very surprised - given how far behind the project is - that there hasn't been a blockade of at least two lines this weekend. Apart from a couple of members of the Orange Army inspecting a mast near Goring, I've seen very little sign of activity the last two days. Talking to somebody at Railex yesterday we both expressed a similar view - but in respect of the fact that 'they' could have a double line possession on either the Mains or the Reliefs just about every night of the week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted May 30, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 30, 2016 (edited) Have to say though that I am very surprised - given how far behind the project is - that there hasn't been a blockade of at least two lines this weekend. Apart from a couple of members of the Orange Army inspecting a mast near Goring, I've seen very little sign of activity the last two days. That is most likely due to resource issues (people and plant). The UK railway industry has been suffering from a significant skills shortage for a number of years including everything from (FOC drivers for engineering trains) through to Signal testers and OHLE installers, thus the pool of people and kit is not as large as you might think. Thus means when bank holidays come round it is normal for the available men and plant to be concentrated in one place for specific 'big jobs'. For example - most nights if you visit the operating floor of Three Bridges ASC over a normal weekend / overnight there will usually be lots of engineering activity going on as engineers seek access to keep the railway going. This weekend - exactly when you would think its an ideal opportunity to get in there has been hardly anything happening. However there is a big relaying job taking place on the Arun Valley this weekend plus I believe there were once again significant works going on around London Bridge. Both these sorts of things will have sucked men and plant in from a wide area leaving nothing available to do works elsewhere on the BML. So it may be that with the GWML there resources are simply not available to progress things this weekend - even though it appears to be a missed opportunity on the surface of things. Edited May 30, 2016 by phil-b259 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 But are there not a dedicated group of OHLE installers for the GW electrification scheme? And if not, why not? Urgency, or lack of, seems endemic in this project. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivegreen Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Urgency, or lack of, seems endemic in this project. So it would appear, Peter - and this is an approved and essential project! Yet supporters of the much-debated HS2 (which, in its current form I believe to be fundamentally ill-conceived) would have us believe it will be completed within budget and on time? Ha! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zomboid Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 But are there not a dedicated group of OHLE installers for the GW electrification scheme? And if not, why not? Urgency, or lack of, seems endemic in this project. They'll all be subcontractors, and if they've been working nights the last few weeks it's not necessarily that easy to switch to a huge blockade, which probably wasn't booked a year ago.Plus they might have been working on EGIP this weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestPines Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I would have thought GWML work this bank holiday would have been largely further west - there was a blockade covering Wootton Bassett to STJ plus Filton Bank all weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted May 31, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 31, 2016 (edited) So it would appear, Peter - and this is an approved and essential project! Yet supporters of the much-debated HS2 (which, in its current form I believe to be fundamentally ill-conceived) would have us believe it will be completed within budget and on time? Ha! A big difference with HS2 is that large chunks of it can be built independently of an operational railway. If you have a look at HS1 or even Crossrail it shows that completing complex construction projects on time and in budget is not impossible on new builds. What really screws things is where you are trying to rebuild an existing asset while keeping it open. In such a situation things become much more time critical - i. e. you don't have the same flexibility to rearrange construction tasks due to say difficult weather conditions or unforeseen ground conditions, both of which can be done on 'greenfield' construction projects. When working on an open asset even the most minor of changes can cause big ripples - if a team encounter difficulties in piling say - on a greenfield site its relatively easy to move the team to crack on at another site while the issue is resolved and thus keep construction on schedule. You also need to remember that if the railway is completely separate from the existing network, then it can be built using construction regs. Dawlish if you recall was classed as a construction site for most of the time the sea wall was being repaired, NOT officially a railway precisely because this meant that the requirement to have specialist staff (e.g. a requirement to have PTS) could be removed thus making arranging staff and equipment a much cheaper and simpler process. By contrast if a piling team on the GWML encounter a piling team then they cannot simply be moved to another location as easily, you need to consider whether the alternative site is in a block, whether the site safety arrangements are still the same, how you will get people / equipment on and off the open railway etc. This all means that problems can easily wreck the planned schedule with recovery a lot harder to achieve. Edited May 31, 2016 by phil-b259 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted May 31, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 31, 2016 (edited) A big difference with HS2 is that large chunks of it can be built independently of an operational railway. If you have a look at HS1 or even Crossrail it Shows that completing complex construction projects on time and in budget is not impossible on new builds. What really screws things is where you are trying to rebuild an exsisting asset while keeping it open. In such a situation things become much more time critical - i. e. you don't have the same flexibility to rearrange construction tasks due to say difficult weather conditions or unforeseen ground conditions, both of which can be done on 'greenfield' construction projects. When working on an open asset even the most minor of changes can cause big ripples - if a team encounter difficulties in piling say - on a greenfield site its relatively easy to move the team to crack on at another site while the issue is resolved and thus keep construction on schedule. You also need to remember that if the railway is completely separate from the exsisting network, then it can be built using construction regs. Dawlish if you recall was classed as a construction site for most of th time the sea wall was being repaired, NOT a railway precisely because this meant that the requirement to have specialist staff (e.g. a requirement to have PTS) could be removed thus making arranging staff and equipment a much cheaper and simpler process. By contrast if a piling team on the GWML encounter a piling team then they cannot simply be moved to another location as easily, you need to consider whether the alternative site is in a block, whether the site safety arrangements are still the same, how you will get people / equipment on and off the open railway etc. This all means that problems can easily wreck the planned schedule with recovery a lot harder to achieve. That is down to possession planing and management Phil - simple as that and hardly a black art for experienced engineers and and people who know how to arrange work and worksites within a possession. The simple and very obvious fact with GWML electrification right from the start of physical work out on the ground is that it has been a sadly mismanaged mess with numerous locations where a team carrying out a particular task has had to go into an area several times because earlier stages of work have not been completed. 5 day/night (per week) working is, literally, child's play to arrange between Reading and Didcot if anyone should care to give 5 minutes thought to how it should be done. Spending an entire engineering train shift - which costs hundreds of £s - to unload 2 or 3 masts (as has happened on a number of occasions to my knowledge), or sending a train out to pick up masts that have previously been unloaded in the wrong place, is a symptom of bad planning and bad supervision and has little to do with a shortage of staff to do the job. The area has been swamped with various types of road/rail machines for months a year or more but progress has been painfully slow - today enroute to Newbury I passed three road-rail machines fitted for foundation tube driving on the lineside at Lands End where there were also some other machines. Go down from Reading to Newbury, where work was suspended some time last year in order to concentrate on the main line route and there are unused tubes vanishing in undergrowth, some part driven, gaps between those that were driven and even three masts erected west of Midgham. When you see that sort of situation it is simple a reminder of the messy way work has been carried out between Reading and Didcot - a bit here, a bit there, and making no easy progression for those coming along fitting out the masts and gantries. And while progress beyond Patchway and in South Wales seems to have been more logical an important thing to bear in mind is that stations apart Reading - Didcot is one of the simplest sections to electrify between Scours Lane and Moreton Cutting, just 16 miles of quadruple track plain line and near limitless possession opportunities without any need for serious alterations to train services. Anyway a bit of progress update = Masts have now appeared in some places on the Up side between Woodley Bridge and Twyford as well as some on the Down Side and more on the Down side lying ready to be erected. Between Woodley Bridge and sonning Sdgs there is evidence of digging on both sides of the cutting but seemingly no foundation tubes yet in place. Similarly some tubes are still seemingly missing on the Downside between Sonning Sdgs and Kennet Bridge although it looks as if most, if not all, are in place on the Up side. There is considerable progress being made at the west end of Reading in erecting masts and fitting booms and a couple of structures have acquired some fittings for wiring, there is a stockpile of foundation tubes in Triangle Sdgs and i believe there is still a steelwork stockpile on the site of the diesel depot office block. As mentioned above there has been no progress on the Newbury line beyond Reading West apart from 3 masts appearing on the Up side west of Midgham and major bridgeworks currently in hand at Newbury East Jcn (site); Thatcham footbridge renewal is also complete. I did note that all the bracket signal structures between Theale (inclusive) and Newbury West have been replaced by structures to suit 25kv ohle clearances. Edited May 31, 2016 by The Stationmaster Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCML100 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 New OHLE post have been put in on the freight line (soon to be terminating platform for cross rail trains) at west drayton also There is a new buffer stop at Paddington, platform 13. It is considerably further up the platform than the original one. I am assuming in preparation for the adjustment of platform 12 which will swallow up the current platform 13 for the new 10 car trains? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted May 31, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 31, 2016 (edited) That is down to possession planing and management Phil - simple as that and hardly a black art for experienced engineers and and people who know how to arrange work and worksites within a possession. And thats the point with HS2. If you are not working on a live railway then you have a far larger pool of people who can not only do the work - but also plan and run the actual construction, which in turn makes the project run more smoothly and overruns less likely. While, yes the GWML is fundamentally a poor planning issue on many levels - much of that is down to the the quantity of people who have the necessary skills having been significantly reduced since Privatisation and the seeming inability of the newbies to master the 'black art' as you put it. A project like HS2 where large chunks will have minimal involvement with an operational railway (and thus have far less need of 'operational railway possession planning' for example) can be far better organised because they have access to the far bigger pool of experienced people (i.e. who work in the construction industry more generally - not just railways). Edited May 31, 2016 by phil-b259 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Simon Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 (edited) New OHLE post have been put in on the freight line (soon to be terminating platform for cross rail trains) at west drayton also There is a new buffer stop at Paddington, platform 13. It is considerably further up the platform than the original one. I am assuming in preparation for the adjustment of platform 12 which will swallow up the current platform 13 for the new 10 car trains? Hi, I presume you're talking about the West Drayton Loop, the line that runs around the back of Platform 4, which will eventually become Platform 5? RE Paddington, yes the buffer stop is on a temporarily alignment while the platform works takes place. In fact I was discussing that very buffer stop with my manager about TPWS! Simon Edited May 31, 2016 by St. Simon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Is this the line which'll be used to terminate some Crossrail services at West Drayton? Photo taken 1/5/16. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Simon Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Is this the line which'll be used to terminate some Crossrail services at West Drayton? Photo taken 1/5/16. DSCN0055.JPG I believe so yes, that's the West Drayton Loop, the platform will be extended right upto where the orange piping is next to the Tamper. Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenrithBeacon Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 ... By contrast if a piling team on the GWML encounter a piling team ... Should there be an unscheduled meeting of piling teams? Can't help but feel that this phrase encapsulates all that is wrong with the GWML electrification! Regards 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Would be even more confusing if they were the Pilning piling teams... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted May 31, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 31, 2016 Should there be an unscheduled meeting of piling teams? Can't help but feel that this phrase encapsulates all that is wrong with the GWML electrification! Regards I was on nights - you will have to excuse the words not coming out as my brain intended. Of course what I meant to say is ."... if a piling team encounter a problem* then ..." * Which could in theory be a cock up with two teams sent to work at one location, but due to the more complex planning working on a live railway requires it is difficult to relocate the 'spare team' as opposed to if the same occurred on a construction site setup (like HS2) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovenor Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 By the way, what happened to this? http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/high-output-electrification-train-ready-to-roll.html I thought it was supposed to make it all very efficient! Regards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Simon Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 By the way, what happened to this? http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/high-output-electrification-train-ready-to-roll.html I thought it was supposed to make it all very efficient! Regards It's being used, and quite a bit I believe, although mostly at night Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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