Glasgow Queen Street refurbishment and remodelling

[PaxVobiscum]

It's the anchor point for the catenary - two crossmembers, lower for contact wire, upper for catenary wire. There's another on platform 4/5 behind the PIS display.

I know, but will it need anchored at that point when the platforms are extended? I don't believe I've seen OHLE that stops so far in front of where the buffers will eventually be, that's why I'm hoping it's a temporary arrangement.

Would a single H beam for each track beyond the buffers, on a alignment central to each four foot not be rather less of an eyesore?

 

[Philip Phlopp]

I know, but will it need anchored at that point when the platforms are extended? I don't believe I've seen OHLE that stops so far in front of where the buffers will eventually be, that's why I'm hoping it's a temporary arrangement.

Would a single H beam for each track beyond the buffers, on a alignment central to each four foot not be rather less of an eyesore?

The anchors will need moved for the platform extensions - my guess is they'll be reused elsewhere afterwards.

There's a number of existing anchors (the Motorail bay at Edinburgh being one such example) where the live catenary stops too far from the buffer stops and it's possible to damage the pantograph on the contact wire terminating insulator (as has indeed happened at Waverley). These ones are in a convenient position and will ensure the rolling stock to be used can't run off the end of the OLE in the station.

I'd suggest the permanent approach will be consistent with the works currently being performed on 6&7 which don't feature such a frame.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Thanks, that's what I was hoping. The platform 6 & 7 anchors look like this (excuse the crop from a reject photo):

 

[Railsigns]

Would a single H beam for each track beyond the buffers, on a alignment central to each four foot not be rather less of an eyesore?

I don't think that's permitted because the consequences of a buffer stop overrun would be much worse.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Big question now is will we see a timely reopening or will this be a further Scottish Railways PR disaster to add to the strikes?

Also is it now clear what if any shops and facilities will be available at opening time?

 

[Carntyne]

Big question now is will we see a timely reopening or will this be a further Scottish Railways PR disaster to add to the strikes?

Also is it now clear what if any shops and facilities will be available at opening time?

It's on time. Not much available as the station redevelopment kicks off pretty soon after.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

I don't think that's permitted because the consequences of a buffer stop overrun would be much worse.

Because of the H beam? As you can see from the photo in post #303, tubular masts seem to be OK in that location. Here's another view of the platform 7 anchor from the RailScot website - still a problem in an overrun, but perhaps they fold more easily than an H beam would bend.

 

[najaB]

...but perhaps they fold more easily than an H beam would bend.

Pretty sure they would - tubular steel isn't that strong once you start bending it.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Pretty sure they would - tubular steel isn't that strong once you start bending it.

My guess is that the engineers running the project don't want an OLE mast foundation in the middle of what will become the new four foot when the platform extensions are complete, nothing more complicated than that and certainly not an issue of crashing into things (though Railsigns is quite correct in saying OLE mast positioning does need to take into account positioning for buffer stop over-runs).

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Installing Electrification Conductor Bar in Glasgow Queen Street Tunnel uploaded by Network Rail Scotland today. Don't get too excited -it's only 16 seconds long and it takes longer than that to read the title and the description.

This is work to install the electrification conductor bar system through Glasgow Queen Street tunnel as part of the wider EGIP electrification. Work was delivered during Network Rail's 20 week blockade to renew the tunnel slab

 

[QueensCurve]

Good to see the wiring going in and signalling too. Not long to go now.

Out of date by now it would seem, but this picture from 9/7/16 shows the masts for the headspan wires and completion of the track/platforms.

Notably similar masts are being installed under the roof. Could the headspans not have been fixed to the roof structure?

 

[route:oxford]

Notably similar masts are being installed under the roof. Could the headspans not have been fixed to the roof structure.

The Queen Street roof is a single span and is fairly lightweight looking structure. I'd doubt if it had the integral strength to support the knitting.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

The Queen Street roof is a single span and is fairly lightweight looking structure. I'd doubt if it had the integral strength to support the knitting.

You would need a single headspan to cover the entire station, which gets to be very complicated with a whole host of safety issues concerning dewirements, live parts hitting platforms and working at height to effect a repair. The dewirement at St Pancras focused a few minds on that score - all these RAIB reports feed back into project design.

You would also open up the entire station being closed in the event of a serious dewirement, the current system will close just two platforms. I don't know if the actual headspans are identical in terms of dimensions, but they're very easy to repair if damaged/dewired.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Could the headspans not have been fixed to the roof structure?

Yes, but it would be an awful idea. This is the best way to do it.

 

[gsnedders]

I presume you also get into the difficulties of the train shed being a listed building, if you were to attach them to it directly?

 

[PaxVobiscum]

A picture from a couple of days ago - there are several of the headspans fitted inside the trainshed now though the wires are hard to see (as intended):

 

[najaB]

I presume you also get into the difficulties of the train shed being a listed building, if you were to attach them to it directly?

Not particularly for the attachment itself, but probably for the reinforcement that would be required (due to the relatively light-weight construction noted above).

 

[Clansman]

A collection of pictures from the refurbishment posted by @NetworkRailGQS Twitter:

 

[PaxVobiscum]

The polystyrene blocks photo (14th July) used as filler for the excavated platform extensions is interesting, as are the tunnel pics.

 

[fgwrich]

The polystyrene blocks photo (14th July) used as filler for the excavated platform extensions is interesting, as are the tunnel pics.

Seems to be a common thing now - and a clever one at that. There's some stored around the back of Basingstoke station which get used every now and again, not least with the recent lift works here.

I hope that black stuff covering the platform is a temporary cover though, I quite like those stone slabs on the platforms here. Nice set of photos though, great to see work progressing rather well!

 

[Philip Phlopp]

I hope that black stuff covering the platform is a temporary cover though!

It's sticky back plastic.

 

[och aye]

More photos from inside the tunnel:

 

[Philip Phlopp]

From Furrer+Frey

 

[Domh245]

That looks sturdy! I wonder why they need 3 rails per track there?

 

[Philip Phlopp]

That looks sturdy! I wonder why they need 3 rails per track there?

It's just to make the transition from contact wire to ROC as smooth as possible as the normal contact wire stops before the regular ROC starts. It's much the same idea as neutral sections.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I see they did not clean the roof from "soot" like they have in the Severn Tunnel.

 

[nlogax]

Really good to see the proliferation of F&F kit up and down the network. That stuff looks it won't be falling apart any time soon!

 

[PHILIPE]

Pictures and discussion are already being shown here:-

www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=114661

 

[QueensCurve]

I presume you also get into the difficulties of the train shed being a listed building, if you were to attach them to it directly?

It was done at St Pancras in the original "BedPan" wiring. I don't know if this was perpetuated in the refurbished station.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

It was done at St Pancras in the original "BedPan" wiring. I don't know if this was perpetuated in the refurbished station.

It was.

 

[QueensCurve]

It was.

One thing that did change was that the horizontal headspan over the concourse that tensioned the wires was replaced by a solid structure at the end of each platform.