GWML Electification

[PenrithBeacon]

I spent an hour or so 'observation ' at Iver on Wednesday and was surprised to find that the up goods relief line is being electrified.

 

Regards

[The Stationmaster]

For Birmingham to Reading probably not: existing service is 1hr 36min and will probably reduce a bit with electrification.  HS2 will be about 45min to Old Oak so after allowing for connection time the Reading journey time won't be much less, and probably not worth the hassle of a change en route. 

 

For Nottingham to Reading certainly, assuming the passenger has access to Toton - it is less than 50min from there to Old Oak and the classic journey is a shade under 3hr via either London or Birmingham. 

 

Manchester to Reading very likely: just over 1hr to Old Oak on HS2, 3hr 15min for whole journey on existing route again similar for via London or via Birmingham.

 

I could go on, but I think this demonstrates that there is quite a large swathe of the country where changing at Old Oak will be the quickest route for Thames Valley destinations, more so east of Reading where the time via Old Oak will be less and that via Reading will be more. 

 

But don't forget there are other factors at play too and it isn't just about journey time (although that presses the button for many people).  while the Cross Country trains are not the most commodious in the country they do offer the advantage of a direct journey without a change of trains for many people or a relatively simple change and price will also play a part.  what will actually develop as travel patterns and how they do or don't change depends on many factors.  Also from what has been seen so far, and although they will serve LHR, the Crossrail trains don't seem to be very suitable for passengers with luggage, especially large items of luggage and it will be interesting to see what impact that has.

 

Now back to electrification and I noticed at Pangbourne yesterday that the full suite of earth and return cabling between masts east of the station is now in place.  Progress at Tilehurst/Tilehurst East Jcn appears to have not advanced very much, if at all from last week. 

[The Stationmaster]

I spent an hour or so 'observation ' at Iver on Wednesday and was surprised to find that the up goods relief line is being electrified.

 

Regards

It is going to be upgraded to full passenger running line status and I think the Up Relief between Iver and West Drayton is to be made reversible.

[PenrithBeacon]

It is going to be upgraded to full passenger running line status and I think the Up Relief between Iver and West Drayton is to be made reversible.

I think it will require rather more than a simple upgrade! The relief line through Iver has flatbottom rail with pandrol clips and wooden sleepers merging into bullhead rail with Great Western pattern concrete sleepers and two hole chairs. But I get your drift.

 

There is no sign of any signalling having been done to support two way running yet, perhaps I missed it.

 

Regards

[The Stationmaster]

I think it will require rather more than a simple upgrade! The relief line through Iver has flatbottom rail with pandrol clips and wooden sleepers merging into bullhead rail with Great Western pattern concrete sleepers and two hole chairs. But I get your drift.

 

There is no sign of any signalling having been done to support two way running yet, perhaps I missed it.

 

Regards

 

Agree re the signalling for reversible although it has been altered on the loop towards West Drayton - I think some of the track has been relayed further east as well.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

 

I think it will require rather more than a simple upgrade! The relief line through Iver has flatbottom rail with pandrol clips and wooden sleepers merging into bullhead rail with Great Western pattern concrete sleepers and two hole chairs.

 

 

 

I think you mean the up goods loop, as the reliefs are heavy-duty flatbottom on concrete sleepers.

Edited June 18, 2016 by Peter Kazmierczak

[PenrithBeacon]

 

Up and Down Fast, Up and Down Slow, Up Goods Relief or Loop if you prefer.

[The Stationmaster]

Up and Down Fast, Up and Down Slow, Up Goods Relief or Loop if you prefer.

 

No - reading from the southern boundary towards the northern one on the original situation -

 

Down Main

Up Main

Down Relief

Up Relief

Up Goods

 

Things to note being that the Western has Main and Relief Lines, not Fast or Slow ( a decision made in the late 19th century to distinguish itself from L&NWR nomenclature practice).  Technically the Up Goods is a 'Line' and not a 'Loop' because it has more than one signal section although of course nowadays it really functions as a loop rather than the way it used to function handling freight trains terminating at West Drayton or working there as well as providing an overtaking facility.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

As Penrith Beacon mentions, the Up Goods is currently a mixture of flatbottom

 

 

and bullhead track.

 

 

Would thought it might've been more prudent to relay the track first, before installing the OHLE though.

[PenrithBeacon]

No - reading from the southern boundary towards the northern one on the original situation -

 

Down Main

Up Main

Down Relief

Up Relief

Up Goods

 

Things to note being that the Western has Main and Relief Lines, not Fast or Slow ( a decision made in the late 19th century to distinguish itself from L&NWR nomenclature practice). Technically the Up Goods is a 'Line' and not a 'Loop' because it has more than one signal section although of course nowadays it really functions as a loop rather than the way it used to function handling freight trains terminating at West Drayton or working there as well as providing an overtaking facility.

Thanks

[RJS1977]

Latest update from Cholsey - up and down mains and up relief now fully wired, down relief has the 'top' wire but not the contact wire.

 

(I wasn't on duty at Cholsey today - but will be tomorrow - quick plug for our Father's day special - fathers half price if accompanied by a child, coinciding nicely with the model railway exhibition at Wallingford School. Hopefully I will also have a small layout in Cholsey booking office).

[The Stationmaster]

Latest update from Cholsey - up and down mains and up relief now fully wired, down relief has the 'top' wire but not the contact wire.

 

(I wasn't on duty at Cholsey today - but will be tomorrow - quick plug for our Father's day special - fathers half price if accompanied by a child, coinciding nicely with the model railway exhibition at Wallingford School. Hopefully I will also have a small layout in Cholsey booking office).

 

Does my 28 year old son count as a child?  - thought not!  Hope you have a  successful day, we'll be heading for the model railway show.

[St. Simon]

No - reading from the southern boundary towards the northern one on the original situation -

 

Down Main

Up Main

Down Relief

Up Relief

Up Goods

 

Things to note being that the Western has Main and Relief Lines, not Fast or Slow ( a decision made in the late 19th century to distinguish itself from L&NWR nomenclature practice).  Technically the Up Goods is a 'Line' and not a 'Loop' because it has more than one signal section although of course nowadays it really functions as a loop rather than the way it used to function handling freight trains terminating at West Drayton or working there as well as providing an overtaking facility.

 

It is going to be upgraded to full passenger running line status and I think the Up Relief between Iver and West Drayton is to be made reversible.

 

Hi,

 

Its currently called the Up Iver Goods Loop, but it won't be upgraded to passenger use as part of Crossrail, it will be used as a turnback for trains terminating at West Drayton, but the track condition over the River Colne (apologies if the spelling is wrong, I can never which way it is spelt!) Bridge means a permanent speed restriction of 15mph, (the signalling is fit for 40mph), which kind of mitigates its use as a passenger line! Also, from what I remember of the plans, the Up Relief will remain uni-directional between Iver and West Drayton, although the Up Relief Platform 4 at West Drayton is Bi-Directional to gain access to the Up Iver Goods Loop (to allow you to run round trains)

 

However, another project will come along and upgrade it for passenger use, which includes bi-directionally signalling it as well as renewing the track to remove the 15mph PSR. Plus the line between Iver and Langley will be changed dramatically in a few years...

 

Simon

Edited June 19, 2016 by St. Simon

[lmsforever]

 Who ever was responsible for ordering the new catenary for the GWR  deserves to be sacked as having seen it today at Didcot I totally agree with the comments on here it looks awful over bearing and did it need to be designed like this.Why does it have to have the heavy girders spanning the track the ones that stick out into space look as though they are unfinished and extremely poorly finished.Also I noted that the wires looked thicker than before is this intentional? Has the dead hand of the EU appeared in this design because if they have we have been landed with a much more expensive bit of kit than we need.Overall the first impression was of disbelief and then horror at this so called bit of progress.

[The Stationmaster]

 Who ever was responsible for ordering the new catenary for the GWR  deserves to be sacked as having seen it today at Didcot I totally agree with the comments on here it looks awful over bearing and did it need to be designed like this.Why does it have to have the heavy girders spanning the track the ones that stick out into space look as though they are unfinished and extremely poorly finished.Also I noted that the wires looked thicker than before is this intentional? Has the dead hand of the EU appeared in this design because if they have we have been landed with a much more expensive bit of kit than we need.Overall the first impression was of disbelief and then horror at this so called bit of progress.

 

The catenary was designed in Switzerland - hence the resemblance of some of it to SBB structures.  The whole point of the design, apart from the much greater simplicity of the catenary attachment to structures, is to make it more robust during strong winds with trains running at high speed.

[96701]

 Who ever was responsible for ordering the new catenary for the GWR  deserves to be sacked as having seen it today at Didcot I totally agree with the comments on here it looks awful over bearing and did it need to be designed like this.Why does it have to have the heavy girders spanning the track the ones that stick out into space look as though they are unfinished and extremely poorly finished.Also I noted that the wires looked thicker than before is this intentional? Has the dead hand of the EU appeared in this design because if they have we have been landed with a much more expensive bit of kit than we need.Overall the first impression was of disbelief and then horror at this so called bit of progress.

I'm glad that you know everything there is to be known about OLE design, and can confirm that Network Rail have got it all wrong.

[caradoc]

Staying up and doing its job in all conditions is a rather more important feature of OLE than looking pretty (if indeed OLE can ever look pretty).

[Zomboid]

The GW OLE is (I believe) designed to allow multiple pantograph trains to run at 140mph. That, combined with modern wind loading requirements, means that it has to be at higher tension than most other UK OLE, which in turn needs heavier structures.

Larger cross section wires gives greater current carrying capacity, and contributes to the mechanical requirements.

None of which has anything to do with any political body.

[Fat Controller]

The GW OLE is (I believe) designed to allow multiple pantograph trains to run at 140mph. That, combined with modern wind loading requirements, means that it has to be at higher tension than most other UK OLE, which in turn needs heavier structures.

Larger cross section wires gives greater current carrying capacity, and contributes to the mechanical requirements.

None of which has anything to do with any political body.

IIRC, the design is Swiss.

[Zomboid]

The supplier and (to an extent) designer is Swiss. The specification is from the British railway industry.

[DavidB]

I'm glad that you know everything there is to be known about OLE design, and can confirm that Network Rail have got it all wrong.

That's a little harsh - the OLE at Didcot is indeed overbearing and ugly. As a daily user of the station, I'll be delighted if it means that the wires stay up when the electrics start running, but it is a very unattractive bit of industrial design. I'm not someone who usually agrees with the NIMBYs of Goring, but I'm in full agreement with them about this.

 

David

[Geoff Endacott]

Has the dead hand of the EU appeared in this design...

 

The design is Swiss and Switzerland isn't a member of the EU.

 

Geoff Endacott

[The Stationmaster]

That's a little harsh - the OLE at Didcot is indeed overbearing and ugly. As a daily user of the station, I'll be delighted if it means that the wires stay up when the electrics start running, but it is a very unattractive bit of industrial design. I'm not someone who usually agrees with the NIMBYs of Goring, but I'm in full agreement with them about this.

 

David

 

However the odd thing is that there are none of the gantry booms of the type at Didcot station anywhere near Goring (other than the type which carries the tensioning kit).  The really deep heavy section girder booms at Didcot can only be found elsewhere, on the GWML, at the east end of the route but particularly east of Ladbroke Grove.

 

the Goring lot might be turning their ire back towards the railway as the Tesco mini-store has been granted Planning Permission

[david.hill64]

The design is Swiss and Switzerland isn't a member of the EU.

 

Geoff Endacott

True, but the design will have to comply with the EU-imposed TSIs.

[PenrithBeacon]

The catenary was designed in Switzerland - hence the resemblance of some of it to SBB structures. The whole point of the design, apart from the much greater simplicity of the catenary attachment to structures, is to make it more robust during strong winds with trains running at high speed.

I haven't ever been to Switzerland, an omission that will probably never be rectified, but I think it ought to be said that photos of Swiss railways show that the Swiss implementation of this design is an awful lot neater than the NR one.

 

Heath Robinson is alive and well at NR!

 

Regards