Any comparison should of course ignore any purely age-related issues and concentrate purely on those to do with (lack of) robustness etc.
That was/is copper-cadmium alloy - I am almost certain.
40 years goes by and the problem still hasn't been solved
Despite my misgivings about electrification on pricing grounds, the aesthetics are something which I don't have even the slightest objection to. As far as I'm concerned, they're no more "disruptive" than seeing a 400kV pylon, and unlike certain NIMBYs in my old neck of the woods, I can fully appreciate that seeing pylons and wires is part of the price for the convenience of the magic that is electricity.
Thus creating an increasing problem as the decades go by. At first it's just leaf fall in the autumn accompanied by branches scraping rail traffic each spring. That's happening a lot in my part of the country in 2026. Then as trees get too big to be supported by their roots and old branches die back and snap off, they fall anywhere nearby, including across railway lines and OLE.
I suspect Oak has to be left for an approximate human lifetime before it's worth any serious money for lumber.
www.constructionnews.co.uk
Thats going to need a long closure to undertake not really practical to do it in sectionsContractor sought for £64m Transpennine rail tunnels upgrade
Network Rail has launched a £64m tender for a tunnel and slab track package on the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) between Stalybridge and Huddersfield.
The link says the "specialist" part (presumably the slab track) is in Stalybridge and Scout tunnels, which are much shorter than Standedge but (according to previous discussion here) also have much tighter clearances.
Off topic but I've often thought Monkey Puzzles would be ideal trees to plant next to a railway. They grow fairly slowly, don't drop any leaves/needles and they're so spiky they'd stop trespassers too.
Yes it was
There’s a suggestion in one of the videos that they did have a proposal early on to reduce to 2 tracks, but it was decided not to proceed. Perhaps they preferred to retain the overtaking possibilities.
Unlike at Diggle, where the loop is set to be ripped up.
Up to 195m, according to earlier discussions about TPE new stock. Platforms seem to be 200m.
138-150m local stopping services (6x23-25m carriages)
Interesting pictures thanks. There looks to be lots to do before the blockade ends.
Sarah Bell's latest video;
