Huddersfield and Marsden - Concrete platforms beside track

[ajdunlop]

There a couple of concrete rectangles that have been laid beside the track in at least two places along this line. One is just after the second tunnel out of Huddersfield west bound and is next to the west bound track. The other is between Marsden and the Standedge tunnel again next to the westbound line. Both of these are maybe 2.5m by 1.5m (I am terrible at estimating measurements) and on three sides (not the side next to the track) there are metal beams sticking up from the concrete as if they will have something attached at some point.
Anyone any idea what they are?

 

[syorksdeano]

At a guess I would say new signalling to be installed

Like I say only a guess

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Certainly it's a bit early to be starting the wiring works off!

 

[northwichcat]

Certainly it's a bit early to be starting the wiring works off!

The latest on that is:

East of Stalybridge, we are currently carrying out an assessment of the bridges and tunnels between Manchester, Leeds and Colton Junction on the east coast main line to understand which structures need to be modified for electrification. The outcome of this work will be discussed with local authorities and stakeholders over the coming months.

There are also plans for a platform 9 at Huddersfield and platform lengthening work at Slaithwaite and Marsden so there may need to be some signalling alterations ahead of that being done.

 

[edwin_m]

Foundations for GSM-R mast?

 

[ajdunlop]

There are also plans for a platform 9 at Huddersfield

Where is this platform going at what is it going to be used for?

 

[northwichcat]

Where is this platform going at what is it going to be used for?

Opposite platform 8. It'll be a through platform so will allow TPE services to use it.

 

[ajdunlop]

Is this to support more services. Surely the limitation on number of services is the double track with a mix of stoppers and regional services not the number of platforms.

 

[BantamMenace]

It will probably allow a stopper to occupy a through platform for an extended period of time whilst a TPe service stops at huddersfield and leaves before it, hence overtaking it.

 

[noddingdonkey]

There's very little spare capacity with platform 4, the bidrectional through platform, acting as two bays for most of the time, with trains that seem to have a fair amount of waiting time.

It's not that many years ago that Platform 4 was very rarely used, when the Wakefield and Man Vic stoppers were a single through service which used platform 1 and 8.

Having 4 available got them out of trouble on several occasions, such as when a 156 deputising for a Transpennine 158 failed at the end of p8. The next train came in behind it, presumably to attempt to rescue the failure, but after some delay detrained its passengers to do a non-signalled shunted into p4.

 

[Welshman]

As I presume the proposed platform 9 will be on the site of the old westbound non-platformed loop line, avoiding Huddersfield station, is it known whether this new platform will be bidirectional, or simply for eastbound traffic only?

Certainly only having one bidirectional platform at present[platform 4] is limiting, as the previous poster has stated, especially when 6-car TPE services are diverted via the Calder Valley but scheduled to call at Huddersfield, as platform 4 is the only one available for their use.

 

[34D]

Hmmm. If eastbound slow and fast trains are to overtake, I'd prefer island platforms 4 and 8 to be used to make it easier for passengers.

 

[noddingdonkey]

It's going where the sidings are beyond Platform 8. I suspect making the new platform bidirectional might be a stretch to do without creating conflicting movements, but it might be possible to make 8 bidirectional

 

[L+Y]

Quick query related to this line...

Most of the trackbed shows it was quadruple from Stalybridge most of the way to Leeds. So, my query is: what was the extent of the four-tracking, and when was it reduced to two?

1960s photos show four tracks, and 1980s ones show an apparently recently reduced formation, so I'm presuming early 70s...

 

[Ploughman]

The Dequadrification of that section was carried out late 70s early 80s.
All curves were eased by making use of the full width of the formation to gain a line speed increase.

Photo of relay site at Longwood 18th August 1983

 

[snowball]

From Stalybridge most of the way to Standedge there used to be two separate routes, typically a few hundred yards apart, with the river and canal and houses in between. When you say it was four tracks is that counting both routes?

 

[edwin_m]

The Micklehurst route, effectively the third and fourth tracks from Diggle to Stalybridge but routed down the other side of the valley, closed in 1966 apart from a short section at the Stalybridge end. I'm pretty sure the four tracks on the Huddersfield side had gone by the mid-70s too.

http://www.table38.steamrailways.com/rail/Micklehurst/micklehurst.htm

 

[Welshman]

In effect, there were 4 lines almost to Leeds, for East of Huddersfield there was the "Leeds New Line, avoiding Mirfield and Dewsbury, and converging at a flying junction just short of Farnley Junction.

 

[Crossover]

I think we have acquired something similar at Mirfield next to the signal off platform 1 - a concrete plinth at each side of the track but at track level. I assumed it was something SPT related...

I think I have a photo from my phone which I will try and upload later

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I think we have acquired something similar at Mirfield next to the signal off platform 1 - a concrete plinth at each side of the track but at track level. I assumed it was something SPT related...

I think I have a photo from my phone which I will try and upload later

Aye, I saw that last week. They've also put in a concrete 'pad' on the Eastbound (P1) line to allow road/rail vehicles to switch modes.

 

[jimm]

The Dequadrification of that section was carried out late 70s early 80s.
All curves were eased by making use of the full width of the formation to gain a line speed increase.

Photo of relay site at Longwood 18th August 1983

The quadruple track was gone between Heaton Lodge junction, Huddersfield (apart from the viaduct and station area) and Marsden by the early 1970s, which was done by simply lifting the pair of tracks on the southern side of the formation. When the remaining track was life-expired, the new tracks were laid using the full width of the formation where appropriate to ease the curves, which is what is going on in your picture from Longwood, with the old track on the right-hand edge of the formation about to be replaced by the new line in the centre.

 

[Crossover]

Aye, I saw that last week. They've also put in a concrete 'pad' on the Eastbound (P1) line to allow road/rail vehicles to switch modes.

Ah, that may be what I was seeing

Here it is