Blackpool - Manchester Electrification

[Baz123]

As Wrinkley noted earlier today, very busy around Lostock this afternoon/evening.

 

[59CosG95]

Living roughly half way between Blackpool and Manchester in Chorley my observations so far are
1. My railcard has been pretty well useless given that buses substitute for trains from mid evening and the line closes at weekends and now for a couple of weeks. Getting back from places such as Edinburgh, York, Furness and the Lakes before buses take over makes the days out short.
2 It seems I will no longer be able to get direct trains to Buxton, Edinburgh, Windermere or Furness without changing and it a pain waiting on Preston station when there are no planned connections.
3 It seems I will only be able to get stopping trains to Manchester given that Scotland trains will go via Wigan and the Furness/Lake District will not stop here.
4 why on earth has it taken so long do get the job nearly done? Passengers are getting fed up with the constant disruptions.
Anyhow rant over and decision made not to renew my old folks railcard.

Re point 4: There have been a large number of reasons why the project has been constantly stopping, starting and stopping again.
These include

• difficult ground conditions (I know it's a fairly wishy-washy excuse, but a train collapsing into a sinkhole or an abandoned mine would be a far bigger PR disaster than making sure the railway is as safe as possible while electrifiying it)
• difficlt structures to electrify (Yarrow Viaduct, Chorley Tunnel, Farnworth Tunnel, the Bullfield Tunnels etc.)
• damaged on-track plant (one such vehicle "ran away" and derailed, setting the project back a number of months)
• changing contractors (Balfour Beatty lost the job after the OTP ran away, and got replaced by Carillion; Carillion then collapsed, and Amey is now finishing the job)
• and (perhaps most surprisingly) the Beast From The East; electrification isn't the safest job in the world when an Amber Alert for Snow & Ice is over the route!

Re point 1: when the project is complete, there won't be any more "bustitution" from the early evenings and during weekends.
Re point 3: while I'm not sure about the Windermere/Barrow-in-Furness trains, the TPE Manchester-Scotland trains will be very much running via Bolton again once the wires are up; the only reason they switched to Wigan a few years ago was to free up Class 185s for services that were previously operated by their Class 170/3s (which have since gone to Chiltern), and be able to use their Class 350s.

The project is finally bearing fruit; I wouldn't hold off renouncing your Senior Railcard just yet!

 

[Muenchener]

Living roughly half way between Blackpool and Manchester in Chorley my observations so far are
1. My railcard has been pretty well useless given that buses substitute for trains from mid evening and the line closes at weekends and now for a couple of weeks. Getting back from places such as Edinburgh, York, Furness and the Lakes before buses take over makes the days out short.
2 It seems I will no longer be able to get direct trains to Buxton, Edinburgh, Windermere or Furness without changing and it a pain waiting on Preston station when there are no planned connections.
3 It seems I will only be able to get stopping trains to Manchester given that Scotland trains will go via Wigan and the Furness/Lake District will not stop here.
4 why on earth has it taken so long do get the job nearly done? Passengers are getting fed up with the constant disruptions.
Anyhow rant over and decision made not to renew my old folks railcard.

Jeff in reply...
1.Yes away days need attention to timings. However; myself and a group of like minded used our railcards and had a day out last month to Wemyss Bay, via GLC, which included a ferry trip over to Bute and back in time for the last train to BSV.
2. Agree getting to the likes of Buxton is a pain. Arrvivals at Man Picc usually miss the Buxton connection by a couple of minutes or you only have 2 mins to Sprint accross the platforms. Not good for us senior types...
3. TPE's route to Scotland will be re-instated but may be May 19 before it happens.
4. Oh so many ask that question. I look forward to the publication of the lessons learnt document. Oh look there's another winged pig transitting passed the window...
5. Keep the faith with the rail card. You know it makes sense...

 

[LDECRexile]

I've added Baz123's latest shots to his flickr album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157697878194035

and to the Combined Volume here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157697878194035

The contrast between photos B122t and B118k is noticeable.

Thank you Baz.

 

[chorleyjeff]

Re point 4: There have been a large number of reasons why the project has been constantly stopping, starting and stopping again.
These include

• difficult ground conditions (I know it's a fairly wishy-washy excuse, but a train collapsing into a sinkhole or an abandoned mine would be a far bigger PR disaster than making sure the railway is as safe as possible while electrifiying it)
• difficlt structures to electrify (Yarrow Viaduct, Chorley Tunnel, Farnworth Tunnel, the Bullfield Tunnels etc.)
• damaged on-track plant (one such vehicle "ran away" and derailed, setting the project back a number of months)
• changing contractors (Balfour Beatty lost the job after the OTP ran away, and got replaced by Carillion; Carillion then collapsed, and Amey is now finishing the job)
• and (perhaps most surprisingly) the Beast From The East; electrification isn't the safest job in the world when an Amber Alert for Snow & Ice is over the route!

Re point 1: when the project is complete, there won't be any more "bustitution" from the early evenings and during weekends.
Re point 3: while I'm not sure about the Windermere/Barrow-in-Furness trains, the TPE Manchester-Scotland trains will be very much running via Bolton again once the wires are up; the only reason they switched to Wigan a few years ago was to free up Class 185s for services that were previously operated by their Class 170/3s (which have since gone to Chiltern), and be able to use their Class 350s.

The project is finally bearing fruit; I wouldn't hold off renouncing your Senior Railcard just yet!

Thanks for comments.
Factors such as ground conditions in mining areas should surely be known and difficult places to work should be known before hand. The change of contractor seems, to me, the only unforeseen problem.
My info. from these forums is that Man to Scotland goes via Wigan and the Lakes/Furness is through Bolton but do not stop in Chorley.
And the through train to Buxton was good for a days walking around that area but the long waits for connecting trains somewhere in Manchester or Cheshire will be a downer.
Looks like longer distance through trains are going back to as it was in BR days - except the Blackpool to Harwich once a day train.
As on off topic question. We're there good connections via B'burn to the S&C from Chorley ? Certainly there were good connections to Hellifield from Preston.

 

[CHAPS2034]

My info. from these forums is that Man to Scotland goes via Wigan and the Lakes/Furness is through Bolton but do not stop in Chorley.

Not the way I read it - Scotland via Bolton when wiring complete and timetable allows

And the through train to Buxton was good for a days walking around that area but the long waits for connecting trains somewhere in Manchester or Cheshire will be a downer.

There are now 2 trains per hour from Piccadilly to Buxton dep xx11 and xx47

CW

 

[PN27]

My info. from these forums is that Man to Scotland goes via Wigan and the Lakes/Furness is through Bolton but do not stop in Chorley.

Airport- Scotland will run via Bolton, however it won't stop at Chorley. I was disappointed to find this out, considering the fact that they used to stop there before they were diverted away. I also understand that most Furness and Windermere services will run via Wigan, but as the final timetable hasn't been published yet, I can't look it up.

And the through train to Buxton was good for a days walking around that area but the long waits for connecting trains somewhere in Manchester or Cheshire will be a downer.

Regular through trains to Buxton stopped years ago when the stopper was diverted to Victoria. As far as I know the only through trains to Buxton were in the pre-May 2018 timetable were a couple of services in the evening peak. There did used to be a regular through service as far as Hazel Grove though. As mentioned previously, the wait at Piccadillly is shortened by the fact that Buxton now has a half-hourly service.

As on off topic question. We're there good connections via B'burn to the S&C from Chorley ? Certainly there were good connections to Hellifield from Preston.

What time period are you asking about? There's a daily service from Blackpool to Carlisle via Blackburn on Sunday mornings, and a return in the evening (Dalesrail). There has been no regular service between Clitheroe and Hellifield for decades- I'm guessing it was withdrawn in the Beeching era, or thereabouts. The only way to get to Hellifield (without going via Leeds) is to go up to Lancaster and across via Wennington.

 

[td97]

Factors such as ground conditions in mining areas should surely be known and difficult places to work should be known before hand. The change of contractor seems, to me, the only unforeseen problem.

Absolutely not. Mine abondonment plans for known workings can be used, but other than literally doing a GI (ground investigation) every metre along the route (=expensive), it is impossible to know the exact ground conditions everywhere.
Unknown workings are exactly that - unknown, from times before records were compulsory and the industry was unregulated. A BGS memoir from Wigan (published 1938) states, IIRC, that people literally dug for coal in their gardens (and this practice became illegal). There's no way of knowing every mine working from periods such as these. The fact is that unknown mine workings are the single biggest geotechnical risk to any engineering project in areas previously affected by coal mining.

 

[59CosG95]

Project woes aside, here's the latest update to the GSoP.

GSoP Post 18.0
Manchester Victoria - Preston; State of Play, week beginning 3rd September 2018.
Bolton Blockade is complete.
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. Platforms 1 & 2 at Man Vic have now been bedanglied.

2. Deal Street Jct - Salford Central (East End); 0m 32ch to 0m 59ch
Fully masted. Limit of electrification is currently at 0m 46ch; SPS is up along the unwired stretch.

3. Salford Central; 0m 59ch
Fully masted, most SPS (Small Part Steelwork e.g. dangly bits) up. No wires. One mast still missing at western end.

4. Salford Central (West End) - Windsor Bridge South Jct; 0m 59ch to 1m 46ch
Two runs of Earth wire are up. Catenary & contact wires are now also up from west of Salford Central to Agecroft; details below.

5. Windsor Bridge South Jct - Windsor Bridge North Jct (inc. Salford Crescent); 1m 46ch to 1m 70ch
Windsor Bridge South Jct now wired (catenary/contact) from the Deal St direction on both the Up & Down Salford Lines; however, the Up Bolton line is fully wired through Salford Crescent, and terminated just north of Windsor Bridge North Jct. Earth wires (+ AT wires) are also in situ here.
All lines through Salford Crescent are wired with the exception of P1 (which is wireless).
Further wiring details:
Up Bolton is wired from Agecroft South Jn, to Windsor Bridge South Jn (via the avoiding line at Crescent), where the wires continue onto the Up Salford, ending just south of Salford Central.
Agecroft South Jct Crossover is now fully wired.
The same length is wired on the Down Salford/Down Bolton, through P2 (Down platform) at Crescent.
In addition, the crossover from the Down Bolton to the Up/Dn Bolton (Crescent P1) is wired, but only this section - the wires do not continue to meet the Up Bolton.
The crossover between the Up and Down Salford at Windsor Bridge South Jn is also wired.
No wires between Windsor Bridge South Jn and the existing limit of electrification at Ordsall Lane, no wires on Platform 1 and nothing on the overrun towards Atherton.

6. Windsor Bridge North Jct - Clifton (South End); 1m 70ch to 4m 57ch
Catenary & contact wires are up from west of Salford Central to Agecroft (Sth Jct, by the bin terminal) over both lines.
Between Frederick Rd & Broughton Rd (2m 26ch) bridges, the Up side earth wire extends south from Broughton Rd as far as the line is visible.
Between Broughton Rd Bridge & Cockrobin Bridge, the Up side earth wire is up (for about 4 masts northwards, thru Pendleton Old).
North of Cockrobin Bridge, an Earth wire and an AT wire have gone up on the Down (northbound) side.
Both lines are wired (C&C) between Agecroft North Jn and a point roughly level with the north end of HMP Forest Bank (aka Strangeways); C&C wires on the Down are now confirmed to start a few hundred yards south of Clifton.
At Park House Rd Bridge, the first earth wire is now up on the Up side.
Lot of masts with SPS up on the southern approach to Clifton.

7. Clifton Station; 4m 57ch
Fully masted. No wires. Drainage manhole modules awaiting installation; temporary covers are over their future homes.

8. Clifton (North End) - Farnworth (South End); 4m 57ch to 8m 31ch
Brackets are fitted to the underside of the M60 overbridge. Bridge MVE1 27B (immediately NW of this) is fully erected, but unopened, and work the walkway is not yet finished.
Earth wires now up between Clifton & Kearsley; the Down side is continuous but it is unknown if the Up side is identically so.
Both lines are fully wired from well south of Kearsley, through Kearsley Station and up to Farnworth Tunnel, however the Up Line wiring stops inside Farnworth Tunnel. The Down Line wiring continues to a few hundred yards north of Green Lane Bridge (1st bridge north of Moses Gate).
Earth wire certainly in through Farnworth tunnel too.

9. Farnworth Station; 8m 31ch
Fully masted. Earth wire now in on the Down side through the station.
The Down line is fully wired from well south of Kearsley, through Farnworth Tunnel to a few hundred yards north of Green Lane Bridge (1st bridge north of Moses Gate). The Up line is so far unwired.

10. Farnworth (North End) - Bolton (South End); 8m 31ch to 10m 50ch
The Down Bolton line is fully wired from Farnworth Station, through Moses Gate and terminating approx. a few hundred yards north of Green Lane Bridge (1st bridge north of Moses Gate). The Up line is so far unwired.
North of the Squeeze Belly Entry bridge, the earth wire resumes (on the Down side) from a portal boom, fitted with Tensorex drums.

SPS and Tensorex drums appearing on some masts/cantilevers around Burnden Jct (10m 09ch).
The Platform 5 Line is fully wired (C&C) from the points at Weston St to Orlando St Bridge.
The Platform 4 Line (Down Bolton) is now wired from Weston Street through P4 to the existing wired section at Lostock.
The Platform 3 line (Up Bolton) is wired through the station from Orlando St Bridge to Moor Lane Tunnel, Dean Clough, and thence to Lostock & the WCML.
All uprights appear to be up on both sides of Lever St footbridge; a multi-track portal is up immediately to the south of the bridge. To the north (on the east side), a TTC with reduced-height registration arms is up.
Stretching south from Bolton, long stretches of earth wire are now up. Another portal has been erected in 2 replacement bases. South of Lever Street footbridge, the Up Line now has ATF wires installed.

11. Bolton Station; 10m 50ch
All masts in the station area are now in place. Earth wires now in.
Platform 1: Bolts & brackets now drilled into the glazed brick retaining wall opposite the platform. Wiring team focused on P1 during 30/8.
Platform 2: Line is fully wired (C&C) from the points at Weston St to the SSA (Self-Supporting Anchor - aka "the wicketkeeper"). Insulators have yet to be installed on the wicketkeeper, and most fixings are still temporary. Buffers look finished.
Platform 3 (Up Bolton): Wired from Orlando St Bridge, through the station, and onwards to Lostock & the WCML. The majority of fixings used are permanent (some are still temporary).
Platform 4 (Down Bolton): Wired from Weston Street through P4 and onwards to Lostock & the WCML.
The bridge deck of Trinity St over P3/4 has now been stovepiped; an earth wire is now attached to some of the pipes.
Platforms 98% open to public; the 2% not open is a fenced-off section of canopy support to the right of signal "MP9239". Canopies look complete.

12. Bolton (North End) - Lostock (South End); 10m 50ch to 13m 52ch
Both the Up (P3) & Down (P4) Bolton Lines have been wired from Bolton station, past Lostock ATF Sectioning Station, over Lostock Jct and through Lostock Station to the existing wires at Golf Course Footbridge.
The run of masts between Newport St & the NW end of P5 now have their earth wire affixed.
Between the 2nd & 3rd bridges NW of Newport St (the unknown bridge & Dawes St), the mast in photo A732m has led a chequered life, being assembled, dismantled and then re-assembled!It has now been reinstated parallel to the two bridges it was installed between, and already bears the wires on the Down Bolton (temporary fixings, AFAIK).
Cable ducting troughs laid in the Down Side Cess between Bolton Station, past Newport Street, under Soho Street, Black Horse St & New St, and through Bullfield Tunnel.
The overrun along the line to Blackburn (as far as Bradshawgate Tunnel) looks nearly ready for SPS & wires.
Earth wire up on the Down side west of Moor St Tunnel.

Between Moor Lane & Lostock, Earth wires have already been strung.
Autotransformer wires now largely up between Moor Lane & Mayor St. Bridges, and between Lostock & Ladybridge (on both lines).
A UTX has been installed in the "vee" in Lostock Jct; this now takes the ATF wires for both routes at Lostock Jct.
Most (if not all) wires are now up over Lostock Jct itself.
All masts now up on the Wigan overlap; earth wires now up too, in varying lengths on both sides. C&C wires also going up on the overlap; albeit only on the Down line at present.

13. Lostock Station; 13m 52ch
Switchgear box delivered 6th April '18. Over the August Bank Holiday Weekend, the two Autotransformers (AT1 & AT2) were delivered.
Both Preston Lines wired through the station to connect with the existing wires north of "Golf Course" footbridge.
Platform extension/resurfacing work complete on the Down platform (fully) and the Up platform (NW of the station bridge); work on the Up platform still ongoing east of the bridge.
ATF wires for both the Preston & Wigan Lines are in through the UTXs around the station.

14. Lostock (North End) - Euxton Jct; 13m 52ch to 25m 31ch
Two more UTXs have been installed in the "vee" between the Preston & Wigan lines, to the north of Lostock station; one takes the ATF wires for the Wigan Line, the other does the same for the Preston Line.
Immediately north of Lostock, the closest TTCs to the platforms have now sprouted part of their switchgear kit.
All C&C wires up on both lines from south of Bolton, through Lostock, Horwich, Blackrod & Adlington, over Yarrow Viaduct, through Chorley Station, Chorley Tunnel, the Flying Arches & Buckshaw Parkway to the WCML.
Temp. fixings still evident at Buckshaw Pkwy & Adlington stns. AT & earth wires not always present, but the C&C appears continuous.
On Yarrow Viaduct, the northern portal has now been installed. The Down side Earth wire is also up, but the Down side AT wire is still absent. (It is assumed this is replicated on the Up side.)
AT wires still need installation/remedial work at Station Rd Bridge (Blackrod; B5238; 17m 9ch) At least one registration arm still needs final fixing there too.
At Railway Rd Bridge (Adlington; 19m 0148yds), AT wires (and some earth wires) still need to be installed.
Within Adlington Station, temporary fixings (i.e. pulleys) are still extant. Orangemen were digging ducting trenches for the Earthing bonds for the TTCs on the Up platform.
Orangemen at work on the footpath at the foot of the northern steps of Heath Charnock FB.
Through Chorley Station, all wires bar the AT wires are installed.
The Buckshaw Parkway crossover is also wired.
Within Buckshaw Pkwy, the registration arms on the footbridge are not yet in position.

Do let me know if I've missed anything!

 

[snowball]

3. Salford Central; 0m 59ch
Fully masted, most SPS (Small Part Steelwork e.g. dangly bits) up. No wires. One mast still missing at western end.

Is this believed to be the last missing mast on the project?

 

[59CosG95]

Is this believed to be the last missing mast on the project?

Supposedly! @LDECRexile hinted that it may be a red herring though; the work later this month to connect the Bolton-WCML wires to the Salford Crescent wires might see it get erected.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

It's 6 weeks since I last visited the line, and it's astonishing how much wiring progress there has been in that time.
We can now talk about missing wires rather than bases and masts.
The line now looks like an electrified-line-in-waiting rather than a 25-mile construction zone.
Wiring seems complete from Euxton to the tunnel just north of Bolton, and again from Agecroft to Salford Central (almost).
Some of it is on temporary slings from masts, and quite a lot of AT wire is missing.
There is incomplete wiring at:
- Salford Central, through the platforms to the tie in towards Deal St
- Salford Crescent, all 3 tracks have wires, but a second run is needed through the platform lines, out to the Atherton run off and towards Ordsall Lane
- about 50% still to do Agecroft-Moses Gate, This varies between the up and down lines. The up line is not wired between Moses Gate and the south end of Farnworth tunnel.
- Bolton station is mostly wired, except P5 and the Blackburn run off.
There are quite a few masts with incomplete electrical installations (earth or AT connections I presume).
But excellent progress at last.
A pity they cannot continue east of Victoria at the same rate, and finish TP wiring as well.

 

[LDECRexile]

I travelled by train from Southport to Manchester Victoria via Westhoughton, Bolton and the Salfords (and back) today.

After disappointing trips to the Salfords as recently as last Thursday I was nervous that nothing had been done south of Bolton. My fears were unfounded, specifically:

1. Contact and catenary wires (CC) over both tracks to the Wigan ends of the Wigan line overlap at Lostock.
2. CC over Platform 2, 3 & 4 lines at Bolton. (This is old news, but I confirm it from platform level.)
3. CC over Platform 5 line southwards from just south of Orlando Street bridge. (I fear this is old news, but I confirm it from carriage level.) Platforms 4 & 5 were both in use, with a train on both tracks at least once.
4. Unfamiliar infrastructure work in progress in the Squeeze Belly Entry/Balustraded bridge area which should explain the lack of CC over the Up (southbound) line thereabouts.
5. Continuous CC over the Up line from just south of Farnworth tunnel, through Kearsley, under the multiple National Grid oversails, under the M60 and ending just north of Clifton station.
6. CC over part of Platform 1 at Salford Crescent. (Very difficult to describe or for this layman to understand, but it's definite progress!)
7. Earth wire through Salford Central on the Victoria-bound (Up?) side.
8. The missing mast now in place off the Bolton end of the Bolton-bound platform at Salford Central. (I reckon its the very last one, does anyone disagree?
9. Evidence of preparation work for wiring in the Deal Street Junction/Ordsall Junction/Windsor Bridge South Junction area. (This coming weekend?)
10. Long stretch of CC over the northbound (Down) line from some distance north of Dixon Fold to just north of Clifton station.

My lingering question mark hangs over the 25kV trackside ducting, are we on track to do that in time?

Overall, it looks like the blockade was put to good use.

Photos later.

Yippee!

 

[LDECRexile]

PS: the bad news is that the smashing buffet at Bolton was closed, no notices hinted why.

 

[snowball]

78 wire runs out of 98 done according to this tweet.

https://twitter.com/TheGNRP/status/1036629989213523968

 

[DJH1971]

78 wire runs out of 98 done according to this tweet.

https://twitter.com/TheGNRP/status/1036629989213523968

More great news here!

 

[wrinkley]

I have just had a quick trip round the area, lots of orangemen at Lostock, the down line platform should get finished tonight, but the up line platform will be a push. The wiring gangs are still working on the fixings, but there were some missing registration arms and some with parts missing. The Wigan line is only wired on the down line.

The down line platform is finished but still about one third of the up line to do. Both tracks of the Wigan line are wired.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

PS: the bad news is that the smashing buffet at Bolton was closed, no notices hinted why.

phone the police !

 

[LDECRexile]

John Evans has kindly sent photos of wiring at Dixon Fold.

I've added them to his album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157651706566841

I've added them, together with the ones I took today, to the Combined Volume here:

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

Thank you John.

 

[snowball]

In the Salford Crescent pictures, is that a duct for an AT cable close to a duct for S&T cables?

I was wondering about electromagnetic interference.

 

[chorleyjeff]

Re point 4: There have been a large number of reasons why the project has been constantly stopping, starting and stopping again.
These include

• difficult ground conditions (I know it's a fairly wishy-washy excuse, but a train collapsing into a sinkhole or an abandoned mine would be a far bigger PR disaster than making sure the railway is as safe as possible while electrifiying it)
• difficlt structures to electrify (Yarrow Viaduct, Chorley Tunnel, Farnworth Tunnel, the Bullfield Tunnels etc.)
• damaged on-track plant (one such vehicle "ran away" and derailed, setting the project back a number of months)
• changing contractors (Balfour Beatty lost the job after the OTP ran away, and got replaced by Carillion; Carillion then collapsed, and Amey is now finishing the job)
• and (perhaps most surprisingly) the Beast From The East; electrification isn't the safest job in the world when an Amber Alert for Snow & Ice is over the route!

Re point 1: when the project is complete, there won't be any more "bustitution" from the early evenings and during weekends.
Re point 3: while I'm not sure about the Windermere/Barrow-in-Furness trains, the TPE Manchester-Scotland trains will be very much running via Bolton again once the wires are up; the only reason they switched to Wigan a few years ago was to free up Class 185s for services that were previously operated by their Class 170/3s (which have since gone to Chiltern), and be able to use their Class 350s.

The project is finally bearing fruit; I wouldn't hold off renouncing your Senior Railcard just yet!

Thanks for info. That is not the info. I have but I hope you are correct and they do stop here.
The railcard will not be renewed rather than renounced.

Not the way I read it - Scotland via Bolton when wiring complete and timetable allows



There are now 2 trains per hour from Piccadilly to Buxton dep xx11 and xx47

CW

I am behind the times. Last time I looked on Trainline there was twenty minute wait at Hazel Grove.
When evening trains are available I'll give Buxton a try

 

[chorleyjeff]

Airport- Scotland will run via Bolton, however it won't stop at Chorley. I was disappointed to find this out, considering the fact that they used to stop there before they were diverted away. I also understand that most Furness and Windermere services will run via Wigan, but as the final timetable hasn't been published yet, I can't look it up.



Regular through trains to Buxton stopped years ago when the stopper was diverted to Victoria. As far as I know the only through trains to Buxton were in the pre-May 2018 timetable were a couple of services in the evening peak. There did used to be a regular through service as far as Hazel Grove though. As mentioned previously, the wait at Piccadillly is shortened by the fact that Buxton now has a half-hourly service.



What time period are you asking about? There's a daily service from Blackpool to Carlisle via Blackburn on Sunday mornings, and a return in the evening (Dalesrail). There has been no regular service between Clitheroe and Hellifield for decades- I'm guessing it was withdrawn in the Beeching era, or thereabouts. The only way to get to Hellifield (without going via Leeds) is to go up to Lancaster and across via Wennington.

The through train I took to Buxton was am.
The question about via BLACKBURN ( can't prevent the Bburn capitals) to the S&C referred to the days when Chorley to BLACKBURN was open and passenger trains ran from Wigan to Blackburn via Chorley. In those days I easily got to Hellifield from Preston via Blackburn - and to
Skipton from time to time. It was the late 1950s long after the L&Y / Midland trains from Liverpool and Manchester to Scotland ran via Hellifield !
I was looking forward to a couple of trips up to Silverdale for photography returning after sunset anda pint but not much hope of that this Summer and Autumn. Same for Fylde Coast. I suppose I could hike to Euston Balshaw Lane but the walk back home would be a bind.
I'm glad I no longer work in Salford

 

[LDECRexile]

I'm not sure if this is old news, but if it is, better twice than nonce:

"Test dates are booked for the week commencing 8th October, with 10th October pencilled in for Pendolino testing. This is based on electrification being completed by the end of September."

Info received from a professional source, but not one I have cited for a long time.

 

[CAF397]

Well that’s interesting as I’m sure Virgin crews have struck Bolton off as a diversionary route!

 

[driver_m]

Well that’s interesting as I’m sure Virgin crews have struck Bolton off as a diversionary route!

They have, but it won't take long for the instructors to get competency back on it to go and test it. After that, the other links that sign Preston will refresh it.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

They have, but it won't take long for the instructors to get competency back on it to go and test it. After that, the other links that sign Preston will refresh it.

Presumably this is for NR's OHLE performance and interface testing rather than for VT service/ECS running.
There's still a great deal to do to get the line operational in 5 weeks time.

 

[The_Engineer]

Presumably this is for NR's OHLE performance and interface testing rather than for VT service/ECS running.
There's still a great deal to do to get the line operational in 5 weeks time.

Yes, it seems to be a repeat of Blackpool testing, where the test train ran first to survey the line and then one of the instrumented Pendolinos to measure and record OHL to pan interface.

 

[snowball]

If by any mischance any reader of this thread doesn't usually follow the Stalybridge thread, I've just posted this there:

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...e-electrification.148433/page-15#post-3625524

 

[driver9000]

Well that’s interesting as I’m sure Virgin crews have struck Bolton off as a diversionary route!

Seems odd not to use TPE who have electric units and crew who sign the route. Why specifically does it need to be a Virgin Pendolino?

 

[59CosG95]

Seems odd not to use TPE who have electric units and crew who sign the route. Why specifically does it need to be a Virgin Pendolino?

Highest power draw of all the units that are likely to be cleared for that route. IIRC, 2 Pendolini (11 cars each) tested the power draw of the Manc-Liverpool section by passing each other at a critical point.