Line Blocked Trowbridge to Westbury 15/11

[PHILIPE]

The line between Trowbridge and Westbury has been closed since approx 0330 this morning until afternoon today due to a collapsed axle on a wagon on a freight train and which resulted in track damage and broken rails. The train was 6A35 2144 (14th) Moreton-on-Lugg to Hayes. The train was eventually moved to stand on the curve between Hawkeridge Jn and Westbury East Jn. A long time was taken to detach the wagon and shunt into the now former Westbury Cement Sidings. Bustitution in place. Repairs necessary to track including broken rail replacement.
The Berks and Hants route was blocked as a result not allowing trains to access from Westbury. London HSTs ran over the open rail (wrong direction towards Westbury) and diverted via Melksham. Later after B&H accessible trains were running (reversible working) over the Bristol bound track.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Fair play to GWR here. They ended up getting the London to Bristol HST's to stop at Keynsham and Oldfield Park to provide a fairly decide service to those stations as the normal stopping trains were cancelled (due to them coming from the Trowbidge / Westbury direction). Nice to see someone decided to use common sense, although I do feel sorry for the TM's who would have had to run down the length of the trains at those stations to close doors (I closed a couple where I could to help, wish other people would do the same tbh!).

 

[father_jack]

The line between Trowbridge and Westbury has been closed since approx 0330 this morning until afternoon today due to a collapsed axle on a wagon on a freight train and which resulted in track damage and broken rails. The train was 6A35 2144 (14th) Moreton-on-Lugg to Hayes. The train was eventually moved to stand on the curve between Hawkeridge Jn and Westbury East Jn. A long time was taken to detach the wagon and shunt into the now former Westbury Cement Sidings. Bustitution in place. Repairs necessary to track including broken rail replacement.
The Berks and Hants route was blocked as a result not allowing trains to access from Westbury. London HSTs ran over the open rail (wrong direction towards Westbury) and diverted via Melksham. Later after B&H accessible trains were running (reversible working) over the Bristol bound track.

PHILIPE please do not reproduce what I put on WNXX today and also change things to make them wrong so it seems like it's your own garbled account 12 hours later. Someone else from over on that channel has said that to you before !!!!

 

[HowardGWR]

PHILIPE please do not reproduce what I put on WNXX today and also change things to make them wrong so it seems like it's your own garbled account 12 hours later. Someone else from over on that channel has said that to you before !!!!

I don't normally read WNXX. What I don't understand is which stretch was damaged. The train from Waterloo to Bristol, already late, however, got through the problem, wherever it was and whatever it was. The trains from north to the Salisbury direction and reverse, were all cancelled (source RTT). RTT gave reasons as 'something wrong with the train', IIRC.

Anybody can summarise please, why were the GW trains cancelled and not the SWT one? (or must I go to WNXX?)

 

[J-2739]

What's WNXX? Another forum?

 

[HowardGWR]

What's WNXX? Another forum?

Yep.

http://www.wnxxforum.co.uk/index.php

 

[J-2739]

Thanks!

 

[father_jack]

Thanks!

To confuse things (if the OP can't make things any more confusing !) the up road towards Bristol leaving Westbury becomes the down after the station so the "up" road leaving Trowbridge goes south until Westbury when it becomes the down again !!!! So the "up" Trowbridge (southbound) was the line that had the 2 cracked rails. The down was sporadically open. Also no wagon was taken off at the cement factory (his imagination), the track wouldn't layout have allowed for it unless a crane that can lift 80 tonnes plus was magically arranged in half an hour...............

 

[Johncleesefan]

From what I'm aware it was the up Trowbridge line in need of urgent repair after the passage of a freight last night. Most gwr services around Westbury were cancelled today and I believe the line is now reopen.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

To confuse things (if the OP can't make things any more confusing !) the up road towards Bristol leaving Westbury becomes the down after the station so the "up" road leaving Trowbridge goes south until Westbury when it becomes the down again !!!! So the "up" Trowbridge (southbound) was the line that had the 2 cracked rails. The down was sporadically open. Also no wagon was taken off at the cement factory (his imagination), the track wouldn't layout have allowed for it unless a crane that can lift 80 tonnes plus was magically arranged in half an hour...............

Correct. Leaving Westbury station your on the up trow and whn you pass hawkeridge junc it becomes the down and vice versa

 

[Kite159]

I wondered why the local radio station was mentioning several issues with GWR services tonight

 

[JN114]

GWR services were terminated at Westbury and Bristol as it is much easier to manage crews and units there. While the Bristol-bound line was open and available, you would rapidly end up with all your resources North of the block with no route to return back south. Single Line Working was implement (after the morning peak), although SLW over such a long section took nearly an hour, so was only done with a select few services.

I'm not sure where RTT is getting the SWT unit running through from. All the "proper" SWT services started and terminated at Westbury, working stoppers to Salisbury and back to clear the platforms at Westbury. The only SWT unit to get through was the hire-in, lashed on to 2D03 as far as Bristol whence it spent the day traipsing up and down between Caerdydd and Taunton.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Correct. Leaving Westbury station your on the up trow and whn you pass hawkeridge junc it becomes the down and vice versa

So close...

The direction change is actually at Bradford Jn - it's a hangover from when the London - Weymouth main line was Chippenham - Melksham - Westbury.

 

[Johncleesefan]

GWR services were terminated at Westbury and Bristol as it is much easier to manage crews and units there. While the Bristol-bound line was open and available, you would rapidly end up with all your resources North of the block with no route to return back south. Single Line Working was implement (after the morning peak), although SLW over such a long section took nearly an hour, so was only done with a select few services.

I'm not sure where RTT is getting the SWT unit running through from. All the "proper" SWT services started and terminated at Westbury, working stoppers to Salisbury and back to clear the platforms at Westbury. The only SWT unit to get through was the hire-in, lashed on to 2D03 as far as Bristol whence it spent the day traipsing up and down between Caerdydd and Taunton.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


So close...

The direction change is actually at Bradford Jn - it's a hangover from when the London - Weymouth main line was Chippenham - Melksham - Westbury.

Someone needs to tell my route maps then as I got hawkeridge ??????

 

[Parallel]

I was caught in this today. I boarded the 05:33 ex Weymouth at Trowbridge and it was formed of a 1501xx and the SWT hire-in 158890 and it waited on the platform for a good 40 minutes. It was absolutely stuffed as this was only the second train of the day northwards towards Bristol that ran. It left Bradford On Avon 57 down and didn't call at Avoncliff or Freshford (or Oldfield Park or Keynsham after Bath). Disruption lasted all day, and there were still substantial delays and some cancellations (displaced crew etc) when I finished work around 6pm. Also, the announcements at Bath were broken with them saying things like "18:07 GWR service to calling at and where the train divides. Please travel in the rear coaches for the train for only..." Raised a few eyebrows.

Where was single line working operated? Do you mean some trains took the via. Melksham route, or was some kind of token system used with trains running on the other line through Trowbridge towards Westbury? One of the above seems to have happened with this service: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C42173/2016/11/15 and I'm not familiar with the points at Bradford Junction. Is it possible to get to the down platform (platform 1) at Trowbridge only from Melksham, and not from Bradford?

EDIT: This one looks like it did stop at Bradford:http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C42011/2016/11/15

 

[father_jack]

Someone needs to tell my route maps then as I got hawkeridge ��

With credit to Mr Quail.....

 

[PHILIPE]

PHILIPE please do not reproduce what I put on WNXX today and also change things to make them wrong so it seems like it's your own garbled account 12 hours later. Someone else from over on that channel has said that to you before !!!!

Apologies. Just thought with best intentions to have the news posted on this Forum for interest.

 

[JN114]

Someone needs to tell my route maps then as I got hawkeridge ��

Sincere apologies - while the mileage does follow the course I gave, the direction meet is at Hawkeridge Jn. The platform starting signal towards Westbury being UT106R should really have been a cue...

I'll go back to the Thames Valley where I belong

 

[Johncleesefan]

Ha no worries,don't test me about thames Valley as I would surely fail

 

[HowardGWR]

I am not sure I still understand the ins and outs of this. One thing seems reasonably certain. It was a major failure for the pax on this route. I am not sure that delay payments would succeed in dealing with the enormous disruption. Having written that, I didn't see any 'waah, waah' tweets when I looked up the GWR websites. Perhaps folk had gone past caring.

 

[father_jack]

I am not sure I still understand the ins and outs of this. One thing seems reasonably certain. It was a major failure for the pax on this route. I am not sure that delay payments would succeed in dealing with the enormous disruption. Having written that, I didn't see any 'waah, waah' tweets when I looked up the GWR websites. Perhaps folk had gone past caring.

Demographic down Trowbridge/Westbury way would be more likely to write to the local newspaper than use ****ter.

 

[cossie4i]

Also no wagon was taken off at the cement factory (his imagination), the track wouldn't layout have allowed for it unless a crane that can lift 80 tonnes plus was magically arranged in half an hour...............

7 wagons left in the cement works. The train had 21 wagons. The last 14 was taken back to Westbury.
The 7th wagon was the one that failed.

 

[father_jack]

7 wagons left in the cement works. The train had 21 wagons. The last 14 was taken back to Westbury.
The 7th wagon was the one that failed.

Yes indeed, I read that afterwards but certainly not the fallacy that went.....................

A long time was taken to detach the wagon and shunt into the now former Westbury Cement Sidings.

 

[Right Away]

A couple of paths have appeared for this evening, presumably to collect the errant wagon and its friends.

0Z69 22:20 Westbury Down T.C. to Westbury Cement Works.

8Z69 23:00 Westbury Cement Works to Westbury Down T.C.

There is a wagon repair depot in Westbury down yard.