Blackpool - Manchester Electrification

[reg]

Bolton station-platforms 1,3,4 have acquired new masts, looks almost complete.Platform 5 still has just the one.Pictures later.

 

[The_Engineer]

The pertinent bit from the Bolton News is this:

The letter, seen by The Bolton News, from Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s route managing director, says: “Together with our colleagues at Northern, we will set customer expectation far more carefully. Our aim is to complete the infrastructure upgrade, so that full services can run from 10 December.”

I highlight the carefully chosen "can", used rather than "will". I am sure Network Rail can deliver a completed railway to allow this to happen. However, given Northern Rail's recent performances, I still remain to be convinced that 10th December will see FULL SERVICES, and not some reduced service either in frequency or short-forming........

 

[ianhr]

The pertinent bit from the Bolton News is this:

The letter, seen by The Bolton News, from Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s route managing director, says: “Together with our colleagues at Northern, we will set customer expectation far more carefully. Our aim is to complete the infrastructure upgrade, so that full services can run from 10 December.”

I highlight the carefully chosen "can", used rather than "will". I am sure Network Rail can deliver a completed railway to allow this to happen. However, given Northern Rail's recent performances, I still remain to be convinced that 10th December will see FULL SERVICES, and not some reduced service either in frequency or short-forming........

Yes, why were so many EMU diagrams worked by Pacers, 156s etc yesterday, 12th May, when Allerton depot was full of idle 319s?

 

[Elecman]

Test Train, Monday night: I have been updated by a railwayperson that "there are no plans to slow at Kirkham or Poulton, the train will be passing through close to line speed."

That’s risky. As there are 2 complete runs planned. I would expect the first one will be slow through all the stations to check clearances then the second run at timetabled speed. There are no prizes for scraping /damaging a Pendo.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

That’s risky. As there are 2 complete runs planned. I would expect the first one will be slow through all the stations to check clearances then the second run at timetabled speed. There are no prizes for scraping /damaging a Pendo.

Given the accuracy to which such things are measured, designed, installed, tested and then argued about, and that the worst offenders are typically 15x (which have been running awhile) and a Pendolino is narrower at platform level, I'd say you can do any speed you wanted

 

[The_Engineer]

Given the accuracy to which such things are measured, designed, installed, tested and then argued about, and that the worst offenders are typically 15x (which have been running awhile) and a Pendolino is narrower at platform level, I'd say you can do any speed you wanted

Plus, the Network Rail test train ran a couple of weeks ago, which includes the blue lazer loading gauge measurement equipment. They will know what can (and can't) run the line by now.........

 

[B&I]

Yes, why were so many EMU diagrams worked by Pacers, 156s etc yesterday, 12th May, when Allerton depot was full of idle 319s?

Because Northern Rail is run by ignoramuses ?

 

[furnessvale]

Because Northern Rail is run by ignoramuses ?

Surely the same people on the ground are running the trains as ran them under the old owners?

Has the new top level management changed things so quickly as to cause this chaos?

 

[Geeves]

Because Northern Rail is run by ignoramuses ?

I believe there were works on the depot power supply this weekend but thanks for your useful input.

 

[LDECRexile]

Bolton station-platforms 1,3,4 have acquired new masts, looks almost complete.Platform 5 still has just the one.Pictures later.

...and here they are, firstly in Reg's album, here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157671732263863

and also in the Combined Volume here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157661069863633

Thank you Reg.

 

[Bertie the bus]

The pertinent bit from the Bolton News is this:

The letter, seen by The Bolton News, from Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s route managing director, says: “Together with our colleagues at Northern, we will set customer expectation far more carefully. Our aim is to complete the infrastructure upgrade, so that full services can run from 10 December.”

I highlight the carefully chosen "can", used rather than "will". I am sure Network Rail can deliver a completed railway to allow this to happen. However, given Northern Rail's recent performances, I still remain to be convinced that 10th December will see FULL SERVICES, and not some reduced service either in frequency or short-forming........

If Arriva Rail North manage expectations as well as they manage the franchise Bolton passengers will be expecting the Royal Train for their morning commute.

It's all a bit shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Northern have already promised 331s on Manchester - Blackpool services from December, and if their waiting until 3 days before the Blackpool line reopened before telling passengers services would only be reintroduced gradually is anything to go by I don't hold out much hope.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

It's all a bit shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Northern have already promised 331s on Manchester - Blackpool services from December, and if their waiting until 3 days before the Blackpool line reopened before telling passengers services would only be reintroduced gradually is anything to go by I don't hold out much hope.

I doubt 331s will be in passenger service by December.
It's possible 195s will be, but as a new EMU type 331s have to go through exhaustive electrical interference tests before approval.
That's before Northern starts its training programme for them.

 

[Elecman]

It's all a bit shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Northern have already promised 331s on Manchester - Blackpool services from December, and if their waiting until 3 days before the Blackpool line reopened before telling passengers services would only be reintroduced gradually is anything to go by I don't hold out much hope.

Did the quote which year?

 

[LOL The Irony]

Did the quote which year?

I'm taking a stab at 2047.

 

[AM9]

I'd grab the 319s whilst they are still going spare.

 

[B&I]

I believe there were works on the depot power supply this weekend but thanks for your useful input.

When Northern start not cancelling every second train I try to get on, I will revise my opinion of them upwards. Or are there issues with the depot power supply every day ?

 

[59CosG95]

Time for another GSoP update! Again, not much has changed, with the exception of the route through Bolton.

GSoP Post 6.0
Manchester Victoria - Preston; State of Play, week beginning 14th May 2018.

All mileages from Manchester Victoria. Bridge mileages are approximated where noted.

1. Man Vic Station (West End) - Man Vic West Jct - Deal Street Jct; 0m 0ch to 0m 32ch
Fully wired 2013-15.

2. Deal Street Jct - Salford Central (East End); 0m 32ch to 0m 59ch
Fully masted, wired half way as overlap.

3. Salford Central; 0m 59ch
Fully masted, most SPS (Small Part Steelwork e.g. dangly bits) up. No wires.

4. Salford Central (West End) - Windsor Bridge South Jct; 0m 59ch to 1m 46ch
All bases in place, mostly with masts, no wires.

5. Windsor Bridge South Jct - Windsor Bridge North Jct (inc. Salford Crescent); 1m 46ch to 1m 70ch
No wires. No bases in Salford Crescent P2, though Orangemen were out & about spraying fresh paint on the small retaining wall on April 23rd; these may be potential positions for new masts, huzzah!
Both tracks to the east of Salford Crescent (the Up & Down Bolton thru P1, and the Up Bolton immediately to the east of that) are completely bedanglied through the station.
S Jct looks ready for wiring, but mast gaps still present at N Jct. Lots of SPS up immediately north of Salford Cres.; all stalactites up beneath the bridge at the south end on all lines.

6. Windsor Bridge North Jct - Clifton (South End); 1m 70ch to 4m 57ch
Many bases in place, some with masts, no wires.
At Pendleton (the Old Station site), just north of Broughton Rd Bridge (2m 26ch), the Pendleton retaining wall has been cut back in several places to make room for bases (which are all now in).
Between Frederick Rd & Broughton Rd (2m 26ch) bridges, most masts are up, except on the "problem bases" around Broughton Rd. The 3 bases, between Broughton Rd Bridge & Cockrobin Bridge (approx. 2m 51ch) have all now been driven home.
The "problem base" north of Cockrobin Bridge may be a TTC (Twin Track Cantilever) on the s'bound side (see photo A020m).
Dangly bits up near Agecroft, but no work on missing bases in the walled stretch north of Agecroft Rd.
Structure going up between Agecroft Rd bridge and Clifton, nr Lumns Lane.
Lot of masts with SPS up on the southern approach to Clifton.

7. Clifton Station; 4m 57ch
All bases in place, 1 boomed TTC, no wires. SPS up on the TTC.

8. Clifton (North End) - Kearsley (South End); 4m 57ch to 7m 57ch
Most/all bases in place, large no. of masts, no wires.
Concrete slab base curing north of the former Dixon Fold station site (around the new footbridge, approx. 6m 00ch); most/all masts up there, with lots of stovepipes up.

9. Kearsley Station; 7m 57ch
All bases in place, no masts, no wires.

10. Kearsley (North End) - Farnworth (South End); 7m 57ch to 8m 31ch
All masts (almost all with booms), no wires. Dangly bits starting to appear at the Kearsley end. Farnworth tunnel (8m 25ch) has all its registration arms in place.

11. Farnworth Station; 8m 31ch
All bases in place, 1 or 2 masts, no wires.

12. Farnworth (North End) - Moses Gate (South End); 8m 31ch to 9m 06ch
A pair of bases & squat masts are up between Farnworth Station footbridge and Rawson St Bridge (approx. 8m 44ch).
Fully boomed and partially bedanglied TTCs up between Rawson St & the Balustraded Bridge (approx. 8m 56ch).
The Gravity "Base of the century" just south of the Squeeze Belly Entry footbridge (approx. 8m 67ch) is now curing away nicely, with shuttering removed.

13. Moses Gate Station; 9m 06ch
Fully masted, no wires

14. Moses Gate (North End) - Bolton (South End); 9m 06ch to 10m 50ch
Many bases, many masts, no wires. SPS and Tensorex drums appearing on some masts/cantilevers around Burnden Jct (10m 09ch). Weston St to Moses Gate looks almost ready for wiring.

15. Bolton Station; 10m 50ch
Within the station, all platforms (except P5) appear to be fully masted. New bases have gone in off the NW end of P3. The TTC up over P1/2 has now been bedanglied. Platforms 98% open to public; the 2% not open is a fenced-off section of canopy support to the right of signal "MP9239". P2 buffers look finished. Canopies look complete.

16. Bolton (North End) - Lostock (South End); 10m 50ch to 13m 52ch
More masts (approx. 11, with 2 more awaiting installation) up between Bolton Stn and Newport St bridge; Newport St bridge has now had studs/brackets of some kind drilled in.
Between Newport Street Bridge & Moor Lane (the Bullfield Tunnels area), Reg estimates that 11 foundations (approx.) are now in position. The tunnels are bedanglied throughout. Aerial Earth Wire (AEW) brackets up in both tunnels. Cable ducting troughs laid between New St & Black Horse St on the Down side, in the cess.

Also, masts (including 2 TTCs) and bases in place on the line to Blackburn as far as Bradshawgate Tunnel.

Most masts up around Dean Clough Bridge (12m 26ch), with cantilever assembles affixed (and folded out of place). 2 "failed" driven pile bases on the southbound side now have formwork for concrete gravity pad replacements in position, awaiting the concrete pour.

Just south of Lostock, outstanding short, fat bases are being driven, augered out, rebarred and then concreted; this process is also being used on the overrun for the Wigan lines, via Lostock Jct (13m 39ch). Masts are starting to appear immediately south of Lostock; at the extreme southern end of the station, a twin track portal with SPS has been erected. 3 "failed" protruding, uncapped pile bases are on the Wigan Line; one assumes that gravity pad replacements will eventually be in the offing.
A UTX has been installed in the "vee" in Lostock Jct, for buried service access.
Work currently going on with stacks of cable ducting on the Wigan Line - possibly from the substation?

17. Lostock Station; 13m 52ch
Some bases in place, no masts, no wires. Switchgear box delivered 6th April '18.

18. Lostock (North End) - Horwich Pkwy (South End); 13m 52ch to 15m 50ch
Two more UTXs have been installed in the "vee" between the two lines, to the north of the station.
For a mile between the stations, all wires up from the "Golf Course" Footbridge (approx. 14m 04ch) to half a mile south of Horwich Pkwy. All masts appear to be in place with SPS for the remaining sections between the two, including the A6027/De Havilland Way overbridge, which now has dangly bits mounted on the walls.

19. Horwich Parkway Station; 15m 50ch
Some bases in place, no masts, no wires.

20. Horwich Pkwy (North End) - Blackrod (South End); 15m 50ch to 17m 14ch
All bases in place, mostly with masts. Earth/AT wires linking 9 masts together between the 2 stations, heading north (on the Up side) from immediately north of the M61 bridge (approx. 16m 29ch). 5 short lengths of earth & AT wiring (3 on the Up, 2 on the Down; none linking more than 10 masts) between Horwich and Buckshaw. SPS appearing on portals near Blackrod, and SPS assemblies have been folded out of the way on the station's southern approach. Work has stopped on the footbridge that will replace Red Moss foot crossing.

21. Blackrod Station; 17m 14ch
Some more bases in place, no masts, no wires. Empty mast base at the southern end (not the northern end, as was writ in error).

22. Blackrod (North End) - Adlington (South End); 17m 14ch to 19m 15ch
Lots of masts up just north of Blackrod, with SPS all fitted. Some base replacement work occurred over 17th/18th Feb to replace failed bases. Successful bases have masts up with SPS on.

23. Adlington Station; 19m 15ch
Some bases in place, 1 mast up (Down side), no wires.

24. Adlington (North End) - Chorley (South End); 19m 15ch to 22m 20ch
2 short stretches of wire on the s'bound track.
Bespoke mast fixings going up on Yarrow Viaduct (21m 26ch at the southern end); 3 of the 4 are in place. The southern pair are now in; work on the northern pair has stopped after the alleged discovery of large void within the structure.

25. Chorley Station; 22m 20ch
Some bases in place, no masts, no wires.

26. Chorley (North End) - Buckshaw Pkwy (South End); 22m 20ch to 24m 39ch
Many bases, some masts, 1 or 2 wires. Roof brackets affixed in Chorley Tunnel (23m 20ch to 23m 25ch), and at least 6 dangly bits/SPS are up in the Flying Arches cutting. All bases on top of the retaining wall at the northern are mastless.

27. Buckshaw Parkway Station; 24m 39ch
Some bases in place, 2 masts up (both on Down side), no wires.

28. Buckshaw Pkwy (North End) - Euxton Jct; 24m 39ch to 25m 31ch
Almost fully masted; about half the wires up until halfway to Euxton, then fully wired the rest of the way.

Do let me know if I've missed anything!

 

[route101]

When will electric services start to Blackpool?

 

[59CosG95]

When will electric services start to Blackpool?

*Hopefully* the May timetable change next week. As posted further upthread, an 11-car Class 390 is undertaking clearance & power draw tests late tonight between Preston & Blackpool North.

 

[route101]

*Hopefully* the May timetable change next week. As posted further upthread, an 11-car Class 390 is undertaking clearance & power draw tests late tonight between Preston & Blackpool North.

I see , bit confused with this . I was looking at the new VT timetable and there was a few new Blackpool Services .

 

[59CosG95]

I see , bit confused with this . I was looking at the new VT timetable and there was a few new Blackpool Services .

There are indeed a few more of them; several VT diagrams which would normally have a Pendolino sitting idle in Wembley IC Depot for most of the day have been redrawn to serve Blackpool. VT have named 390013 "Blackpool Belle" about a week prematurely - it'll be a bit foolish for the services to be delayed if the power supply can't take a 390!

That said, the power draw tests should hopefully expose any flaws with the system and allow them to get fixed prontissimo; I suspect the ORR sign-off for passenger service shouldn't be too far off after the tests.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Just a few additions:

Time for another GSoP update! Again, not much has changed, with the exception of the route through Bolton.

GSoP Post 6.0
Manchester Victoria - Preston; State of Play, week beginning 14th May 2018.

4. Salford Central (West End) - Windsor Bridge South Jct; 0m 59ch to 1m 46ch
All bases in place, mostly with masts, no wires. Two runs of earth wire up

5. Windsor Bridge South Jct - Windsor Bridge North Jct (inc. Salford Crescent); 1m 46ch to 1m 70ch
No wires. No bases in Salford Crescent P2, though Orangemen were out & about spraying fresh paint on the small retaining wall on April 23rd; these may be potential positions for new masts, huzzah! At least one base in adjacent to P2 (behind fence)
Both tracks to the east of Salford Crescent (the Up & Down Bolton thru P1, and the Up Bolton immediately to the east of that) are completely bedanglied through the station.
S Jct looks ready for wiring, but mast gaps still present at N Jct. Lots of SPS up immediately north of Salford Cres.; all stalactites up beneath the bridge at the south end on all lines. Some of the stovepipes have registration arms on now


19. Horwich Parkway Station; 15m 50ch
Some bases in place, no masts, no wires.
Two new TTCs up on the south end of the platforms; one portal and one TTC to go up and then its completely be-masted from Lostock neutral section to at least the M61 bridge

 

[geoffk]

That said, the power draw tests should hopefully expose any flaws with the system and allow them to get fixed prontissimo; I suspect the ORR sign-off for passenger service shouldn't be too far off after the tests.

I would hope not as electric services are due to start in less than a week!

 

[59CosG95]

Just a few additions:

Thanks very much @Joseph_Locke, I'll add that in for next week's GSoP.

I would hope not as electric services are due to start in less than a week!

Likewise! If being a member for nearly 5 years on here has taught me anything, it's that you need to approach any electrification project with a pessimism acquired over many months of disappointment.

 

[The_Engineer]

According to the GNRP Twitter feed:

"New overhead equipment on the Blackpool North route has been successfully switched on & tested in readiness for the 20 May timetable"

So did they run a test train LAST night?? I thought it was tonight....... Premature Tweet??

 

[GRALISTAIR]

According to the GNRP Twitter feed:

"New overhead equipment on the Blackpool North route has been successfully switched on & tested in readiness for the 20 May timetable"

So did they run a test train LAST night?? I thought it was tonight....... Premature Tweet??

I just saw that myself and was about to post the same thing. I think they mean switched on and tested but they have not yet run the pendos which is indeed tonight.

 

[59CosG95]

Done a bit of plugging around with RTT to find the diagram that will segue into the BPN test runs for tonight; I've enquired on the TOPS request thread to ID the 390 on the 1420 from Euston to Piccadilly (which ends up at Preston later this evening). That 390 will, if all goes to plan, be the first Pendo to run to Blackpool.

 

[SansHache]

Assuming no disruption during the day it should be 390152 as this train is fitted with the latest generation pantograph CCTV cameras. This will operate service 1P07 (20:30 London Euston - Preston) before forming the test train.

 

[geoffk]

1Q01 2328 Preston to Blackpool North is shown as class 390 on RTT tonight.

 

[The_Engineer]

1Q01 2328 Preston to Blackpool North is shown as class 390 on RTT tonight.

Yes, this is the test train we have been talking about down-thread.....