Recent content by Dave_Cardboard

On the Colne Valley Viaduct (Hillingdon) they were transported using road vehicles (albeit specialist large/heavy/abnormal load vehicles) over internal haul roads. (In this video, it's along the trace of the railway itself.) I imagine, for PR reasons if nothing else, they would want to avoid...

Could there be a few issues getting the required rolling stock to any such isolated branch lines....? Both for initial delivery and/or maintenance and servicing. Unless they are going to go by road!

The Acts of Parliament confer on the Govt. the power to do a thing (e.g. build a railway,) they do not compel the Govt to actually do it. So no "extra" legislation or votes are required to simply not exercise such powers once they have them. IIRC the HS2 Acts have sunset clauses in them so if...

Well, I guess the Northolt Tunnels TBM's will be, once the north bound ones set out from Old Oak Common! :D

Phase 2B Bill Petition hearings has been under way for a while. Generally they hear petitions on Mondays and Tuesdays when Parliament is sitting. Access to previous sessions and things like evidence, transcripts, schedules and so on can be found via the Committee's dedicated web page...

As at June 2023, Google Earth's (Windows desktop version) imagery has updated to May/June 2023 for most of the area between Handsacre and Burton Green - though it just missed the HS2/WCML junction end of the Handsacre spur. One can see plenty of works happening such as that already mentioned by...

I happen to keep a list of tunnelling start/end predictions which I update from time to time as I happen across things in the public domain. At time of writing, the "scores on the doors" in my little list are: Long Itchington is complete - 2022-07-22 Down Bore 2023-03-30 Up Bore, cross...

Not in any substantial way - the "principle" of the Bill is established on passing the 2nd Reading vote in the Commons, which in the case of HS2 Phase2B includes things like the line of route, number and location of stations, depots, etc. Any variance outside the "limits of deviation" as defined...

Interesting to note (at time of writing) some people and parish councils are calling for the line of route for Phase2B to be changed "because reasons" (salt mines seems to be one of their favourites) despite the fact that the Committee has no power to order such a change. When The Mayor of...

An Act of Parliament confers powers on the Govt to be able to do something, but just because the Act confers such powers, it does not compel the Govt. to use them (unless the Act is so drafted.) They can just sit on it, refuse to fund it or cancel the project at any time. Politically...

I was musing that the story would be more credible if some actual examples had been cited. One can understand why a whistle-blower may not care to be named (and we've certainly been here before with disgruntled former employees who decided to turn whistle blower coincidently after they'd been...

I have been musing about that - IIRC the "Euston Approaches" and "Euston Station" are separate contracts, so would/could the approaches work continue (notwithstanding speculation about when the bored tunnels from OOC will be built..?) As best I can tell the "approaches" lot is up to and...

IIRC that same talk (and it's accompanying slides) also showed the sequencing of the works. Basically, they build out the new section of bridge/tunnel at the northern end, the slue the GWML relief tracks onto it, followed by some more slues of the Mains, knock down and rebuild the southern end...

Occasionally I've mused on whether it was anything to do with "up" to town, "down" to the country ("town" in this instance of course being London back in the day.) Similar language is also used in higher education in the UK; traditionally one went "up" to university and got sent "down" if one...

The "Crichel Down Rules" prevent the later from happening. Euston will be a railway station or it will be sold back to it's original owners (unless they don't want it.) It is to prevent government land grabs (however they might be disguised) that Crichel Down Rules exist.