More landslip problems - Unstone between Sheffield and Chesterfield

[eastwestdivide]

Line to be closed between Sheffield and Chesterfield until April.

According to East Midlands Trains:

http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/information/media/Disruption-Information/Emergency-Engineering-Works-between-Chesterfield-and-Sheffield/

(including a picture)

 

Emergency engineering works are being carried out between Chesterfield and Sheffield from Tuesday 18 February because of a landslip. Network Rail has informed us that it will take six weeks to complete the repairs. 

 

And from Northern at http://www.northernrail.org/news/7410 with more pictures

 

A landslip at Unstone Colliery near Dronfield is affecting our services between Sheffield and Nottingham. One of the two tracks through Unstone needs to close for repair as the hillside above the railway became unstable in the recent extremely wet weather

 

I read on another forum that they've been monitoring it for weeks, and temporary speed restrictions have already been applied. 

 

From what I can see of EMT and Northern's timetables, the regular timetable will be one St Pancras/Sheffield per hour and the Norwich/Liverpool will go via Barrow Hill, the other St Pancras/Sheffield will be cancelled between Derby and Sheffield, and Northern's Leeds-Nottingham will not run south of Sheffield, with a bus serving Dronfield. 

 

Edit: as far as I can tell, here on google maps

[jamie92208]

My brother rang me this morning about something unrelated and during the conversation told me that he know the NR geologist that has been monitoring the site.  Apparently the TSR was down to 5mph and then she gave them 24hs to close the line.  He was interested as we used to live at Whittington Moor not far from Unstone.  I'm heading down that way on  Cross Country service on Wednesday and will be interested what our route from Donny to Chesterfield will be.  I would dearly love to travel the old road in full from Rotherham to Tapton.

 

Jamie

[eastwestdivide]

Oddly, realtimetrains is showing the EM diversions via Barrow Hill, but still showing Cross Country going via the normal route. I think only one line is completely closed, as the Northern temporary timetable shows three northbound services via the normal route, all in the morning peak, with the corresponding southbound diverted via the old road. Could it be single-line working for XC? Or just the system not yet updated? There's nothing on XC's website or on National Rail about any changes to XC services in the area.

If I get time today, I might be able to go down to Rotherham Masborough and see what's going where.

[jamie92208]

I'll be interested to see what happens with Cross Country.  There was a good item of BBC Look North this morning with some aerial views.  It looks as if it's a colliery tip that's slipping onto the railway with lots of work already ongoing to stabilise it.

 

Jamie

[Ron Ron Ron]

NR photo....

 

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/assets/0/72/4294967297/2147483713/30064774313/c176c03e-cde9-4409-a575-b49223c75c69.gif

 

 

 

 

.

[eastwestdivide]

A little more info and more pics at Network Rail: http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/Hillside-slip-to-disrupt-trains-near-Chesterfield-1fee.aspx
where it says 

- CrossCountry services will divert via Beighton with extended journey times.
- Freight traffic carrying cement aggregates and limestone from the peak district to the midlands, Anglia and the south west is also being diverted.

And looking at actual times so far today on realtimetrains, XC are running normally northbound, but going into Sheffield and reversing via Darnall and Barrow Hill southbound, losing 10+ minutes en route

[Talltim]

It's not a colliery tip, it's the spoil from opening out Broomhouse Tunnel

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broomhouse_Tunnel

[skipepsi]

Has it been the rain that made it slide or was the waste tipped before the lessons of Aberfan?

[Fat Controller]

Has it been the rain that made it slide or was the waste tipped before the lessons of Aberfan?

It was opened out in 1969, apparently, so post-Aberfan (1966).

[Mallard60022]

There was a X Country HST south on the ECML at 36E this morning about 11.20. Coincidence?

P

[scorpion]

Grand  Central had an XC power car last week, maybe a full set now?

[Clive Mortimore]

It was opened out in 1969, apparently, so post-Aberfan (1966).

Hi Brian

 

I think it still comes under the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1969/10/contents/enacted

 

 

If it the spoil tip from when the tunnel was opened out, I am no expert but I would have thought it was bedded down by now. From the photos there is not much vegetation on the top which suggests it has been added to since 1969. It seems to have taken a long time to slide.

[jamie92208]

Today we went south on an XC HST that was routed via Beighton and Barrow Hill.  Despite things that were said on the Dawlish thread about the time taken to reverse HST's we were off within five minutes of stopping in Sheffield.  Anyway coming back north we went past the slip site at full line speed.  It looks as if remedial works have been ongoing for some time.

 

Jamie

[eastwestdivide]

Thought I read somewhere (can't find it now) that the tunnel was opened out because the original spoil tip was pushing it out of line. So the current slip may be six of one and half a dozen of the other.

[jamie92208]

For those who can get it the BBC Look North in Leeds this evening at 6.30pm are going to have an extened item about this incident.  It was trailed this morning and again at lunchtime.

 

Jamie

[pete_mcfarlane]

I caught the EMT service from Nottingham to Manchester the other day. Despite being retimed and starting earlier because of the diversion, it took exactly an hour to get to Sheffield as usual. Plus it entered Sheffield from the North and so didn't have to change ends (which begs the question of why they can't do this all of the time).

 

They also seem to be splitting the Norwich - Liverpool service in to a Norwich-Nottingham and Nottingham-Liverpool, with only a few through workings. Judging by the temporary timetable I saw not all of the portions connect with each other, so passengers from Norwich/Peterborough/Grantham heading North will have to wait for nearly an hour at Nottingham. I guess that EMT still haven't completely exorcised the old Central Trains attitude towards customer service.............

[Edwin_m]

The Liverpool train is xx47 from Nottingham and generally xx41 from Sheffield in the normal timetable, so it gets to Sheffield and changes ends in 56min with the Langley Mill stop and the diversion probably adding another 10min or so.  Having said that, they are scheduled to wait quite a while in Nottingham and could perhaps leave earlier and arrive later - however this period also inludes splitting/joining the units which are nearly all 2-car east of Nottingham and 4-car to the north/west. 

[eastwestdivide]

For those who can get it the BBC Look North in Leeds this evening at 6.30pm are going to have an extened item about this incident.  It was trailed this morning and again at lunchtime.

 

Jamie

Brief piece with some on-site footage, and interviews with mostly not-particularly-disgruntled passengers. Said it would be 4-6 weeks to reopen, and made it clear that it was only the southbound line that was closed.

I'm going to try and have a nosey round there tomorrow. If all else fails, I'll wait for a suitable northbound train and try some shots through the window. Watch this space.

[eastwestdivide]

Right then, a nice walk in the country on a Saturday afternoon. Train from Sheffield via Darnall and Woodhouse to Chesterfield, then out along the canal, up through Whittington, and across some very wet and muddy fields for a view of Chesterfield, crooked spire prominent on the skyline. It was evident that northbound trains were still using the normal route:

 

Following the footpath, I found myself on a footbridge to the S of the landslip, itself to the S of Unstone village. On the right can be seen the STOP board at the S end of the landslip site. (Later edit: from various maps, this footbridge and footpath appears to be exactly on the site of Broomhouse Tunnel, opened out in 1969 - map for example at http://www.ponies.me.uk/maps/osmap.html?z=14&x=-1.4388&y=53.2748  or http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html?txtXCoord=437585&txtYCoord=375629 ). 

EM Nottingham-Liverpool service passing. They've cut the Liverpool-Norwich service in half at Nottingham for the duration, presumably to prevent delays on one half knocking on to the other. An announcement on the southbound one that I caught to Chesterfield said that passengers heading for E Anglia would have an hour's delay on their journey.

 

Then back up the side of the muddy hill to find the footpath that I'd missed before, to find a geotechnical company on site with some specialist kit:

 

...and some views down the bank. A few workers on site on a Saturday afternoon, probably glad the weather was nice and mild:

 

Then bus back to Chesterfield for some shots from the train window heading north:

 

So not all that much to see, but it looks like there's piles of fresh rock waiting to be positioned, and some excavation has already taken place.

 

Perhaps more interesting was the procession of trains passing through Woodbourn Junction and Darnall/Woodhouse, where Sheffield can supply trains faster than the mechanical signalling can take them. Photos in a later post, I think.

[eastwestdivide]

So, at the moment, there are two XC, one EM to London and one EM to Nottingham being diverted southbound from Sheffield by going north to Nunnery Main Line Junction, east past Woodbourn Jn, and south past Barrow Hill. The remaining EM to London is cut back to Derby-London (with announcements at Sheffield telling people to catch the xx23 southbound XC and change at Derby), and the Northern Leeds-Nottingham is cut back to Leeds-Sheffield.

A walk out of Sheffield to Woodbourn Jn led me past an "interesting" view of Nunnery Main Line Jn, tricky to photograph in bright conditions. Obligatory abandoned pushchair on the further buttress arch, and the tip of a traffic cone visible on the nearer one. Northern Lincoln train I think:

 

while at Woodbourn, there was a procession of trains heading east in order to go south. Sheffield can send them faster than they can get through the mechanically-signalled sections to Woodhouse Jn, so many got held at reds.

EM Liverpool-Nottingham:

 

XC Voyager held at a red between Woodbourn and Darnall:

 

EM to London, with a lucky tram passing over the top:

 

XC HST passing the tram depot (nearly missed it):

 

 

And then onwards to Chesterfield Tapton Jn footbridge, with another XC Voyager crossing from the Barrow Hill lines to reach the platforms:

 

and an EM to London wiggling through the same junctions (XC coming north at speed in the distance):

[jamie92208]

Thanks for the pictures.  I spent the first 5 years of my life at Whittington Moor and our old house would be in the first picture you posted. 

Jamie

[37079]

The EMT timetable with services diverted via Barrow Hill and Woodburn in both directions was put in place based on the best information coming from Network Rail at time that they couldn't guarantee either line would remain open. The position seems to have stabilised since this time last week, and it seems likely that the down will remain open for the duration, so EMT are looking at putting the down services back via Dore (some of them have been running this way anyway) but it will take a bit of time to do so.

 

With the impact on the Liverpool - Norwich services, there was a straight choice between 3 options:

- not run at all between Chesterfield and Sheffield (as during the Bradway tunnel blockade).

- run through services but with reduced capacity (most trains would be 2-cars west of Nottingham).

- split all services at Nottingham and maintain normal capacity in the main.

 

We couldn't resource the Sheffield - Liverpool portions of the first option since we ceased trading crews with LM so this was quickly ruled out, but full timetables for the later 2 options were worked up and we thought long and hard about which was the right one to put in. The reason they can't run as through services and maintain capacity north of Nottingham is because with the extra journey time there is insufficient time to split and join at Nottingham. We looked at loading and journey data and concluded that the least worst of the options for the majority was to split, even though it would mean significant disruption to passengers travelling through Nottingham, given that the Nottingham to Leeds service would not be running south of Sheffield, and most services would be severely overcrowded as 2-cars. Not saying this was the right decision and everyone's entitled to their opinion, but it certainly wasn't done lightly without trying to account for the impact on passengers. When we go back to running down trains via Dore in the plan, we should be able to reinstate them as through services in this direction only.

 

Mike

[eastwestdivide]

..., so EMT are looking at putting the down services back via Dore (some of them have been running this way anyway) but it will take a bit of time to do so.

 

 

To add to the above, in fact I didn't see a single northbound passenger train use the Barrow Hill route Saturday, during about an hour-plus at Woodbourn, while changing trains at Sheffield (two periods of half an hour), during my southbound journey via Barrow Hill, and half an hour or more at Tapton Junction/Chesterfield station, so I suspect everything northbound is going via Dronfield and Dore. No reason not to now.

Looking at Realtime Trains for today, at Dronfield for northbound services, they all had actual times there as far as I could see, and the only N/R (no report) were on southbound services which were (of course) running via Barrow Hill.

[Mallard60022]

Great first shot mate (crooked spire and all),,,,,great info too. Lovely day for a hike by the looks of it.

P

[eastwestdivide]

One more piece to the puzzle: according to realtimetrains, the Tinsley-Bardon Hill aggregates empties, which normally run south from Tinsley through Sheffield station and Dronfield, are currently going north out of Tinsley via Rotherham Central to Thrybergh to run round, then back south via the Old Road (Rotherham Masbrough and Barrow Hill).

I might get a photo if I ever get unchained from my desk to take it!