Blackpool - Manchester Electrification

[GRALISTAIR]

Well just done a run Fylde Junction to Kirkham. There maybe photos later as I am sending to Dave who may or may not publish. Here is my verbal summary.
Not as much VISIBLE progress as I had expected since my report at the end of February.
Some new bases at Fylde Jct to the hole in the wall. Virtually zero new bases but still not complete Hole in wall to Darkinson Lane. Very little progress from Darkinson to Salwick but still many bases. Signaling work in evidence Salwick- Carr Lane- Kirkham. Huge visible track etc work at Kirkham and 2 huge piles of piles at Salwick
I am home first week in July when I am hoping to see masts.

 

[QueensCurve]

Just been informed that the work to remove the crossings and whistle boards at Anderton Hall, Bradshaw Fields and Heath Charnock will not take place this week. Unsure of the reason.

Ongoing closure of Manchester Victoria?

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Ongoing closure of Manchester Victoria?

Hard to see that link: more likely (just extrapolating from other projects, you understand) that the paperwork for the temporary closure order is in place or the contractor isn't ready to start construction. The actual works on site to close the crossing are four signs, two bits of Heras fencing and (for completeness) a skip to put the old crossing panels in.

 

[42626]

Added a few photos at Anderton Hall/Lane Crossing and Ridgway Bridge including the new two aspect signals:

IMG_7508 by Ian Fitter, on Flickr

 

[CAF397]

Well just done a run Fylde Junction to Kirkham. There maybe photos later as I am sending to Dave who may or may not publish. Here is my verbal summary.
Not as much VISIBLE progress as I had expected.
Some new bases at Fylde Jct to the hole in the wall. Virtually zero Hole in wall to Darkinson Lane. Very little progress from Darkinson to Salwick. Signaling work in evidence Salwick- Carr Lane- Kirkham. Huge visible track etc work at Kirkham and 2 huge piles of piles at Salwick
I am home first week in July when I am hoping to see masts.

I can assure you there are plenty of mast bases (not continuous) between Hole in the Wall and Darkinson Lane. In fact, from the end of Tom Benson Way to Darkinson Lane is almost complete for masts. So too from Darkinson Lane to Salwick. Very little from Salwick to Kirkham in terms of bases.

 

[Foggycorner]

Added a few photos at Anderton Hall/Lane Crossing and Ridgway Bridge including the new two aspect signals:

IMG_7508 by Ian Fitter, on Flickr

Those are LED signals able to show 4 aspects, Red,yellow and Green in the lower position with a Yellow upper position for a double Yellow aspect

 

[42626]

Those are LED signals able to show 4 aspects, Red,yellow and Green in the lower position with a Yellow upper position for a double Yellow aspect

Oh that's good. I thought I'd read earlier on here that some signals were being changed to two aspect, so from the physical appearance took that to mean these were. It did seem odd with the line speed increasing.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I can assure you there are plenty of mast bases (not continuous) between Hole in the Wall and Darkinson Lane. In fact, from the end of Tom Benson Way to Darkinson Lane is almost complete for masts. So too from Darkinson Lane to Salwick. Very little from Salwick to Kirkham in terms of bases.

Yes I worded very badly and I will edit. I meant very few new bases since my trip end of February and zero PROGRESS. I could see no masts only bases Darkinson Lane to Salwick

 

[LDECRexile]

Yes I worded very badly and I will edit. I meant very few new bases since my trip end of February and zero PROGRESS. I could see no masts only bases Darkinson Lane to Salwick

...and here are Graham's photos, firstly, in his album:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157651259517065

and secondly in the Combined Volume:

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

Thank you Graham, very much looking forward to spending 5th July touring the area with you once more.

 

[LDECRexile]

Added a few photos at Anderton Hall/Lane Crossing and Ridgway Bridge including the new two aspect signals:

IMG_7508 by Ian Fitter, on Flickr

Newcomers please note, 42626 has kindly made these these two fine and growing photosets available via this forum as well as directly via flickr. You can access them by going into the Combined Volume here:

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

then click on the very first image

look down the list of Comments which appear to the left of the screen. At present there are almost a dozen links, 42426's are shown as numbers 02 and 04. Just click on your blue link of choice and Robert should be your parent's sibling.

I reckon it's great how so many people have chipped in in so many constructive ways.

 

[LDECRexile]

ALX400, Reg and Wrinkley have kindly sent Bolton area photos they took today.

I've added ALX's to his album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157651121057352

Reg's to his album here:

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

Wrinkley's to his album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157654034635234

and all of them to the Combined Volume here:

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

Thank you ALX, Reg and Wrinkley.

 

[LDECRexile]

I see that 141Trackworker is adding photos to his album thick and fast. They give special value because most are taken on site where us amateurs can't go.

You can access them by going into the Combined Volume here:

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

then clicking on the very first image

then going down the list of links to the lower left of screen to the very bottom link, headed 141Trackworker.

Fab stuff

 

[Jamesrob637]

I see that 141Trackworker is adding photos to his album thick and fast. They give special value because most are taken on site where us amateurs can't go.

You can access them by going into the Combined Volume here:

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

then clicking on the very first image

then going down the list of links to the lower left of screen to the very bottom link, headed 141Trackworker.

Fab stuff

I hope they've got a bit of Meghan Trainor on the radio as they work cause it really is all about that base about that base (no masts) at the moment! Are they still on to electrify the thing by Xmas? I'm guessing trains need to go on proving runs a couple of months/few weeks before Dec 11 2017 so really all major engineering works should be complete by autumn?

 

[Geeves]

Oh that's good. I thought I'd read earlier on here that some signals were being changed to two aspect, so from the physical appearance took that to mean these were. It did seem odd with the line speed increasing.

I think those signals installed are actually only 3 aspect. The top Lens is missing. I guess the design allows another aspect LED lens to be installed at a later date. I believe Bolton all the way up to the WCML is all three aspect and will remain so with signals being changed on a like for like basis. Happy to be corrected though!

 

[Joseph_Locke]

I think those signals installed are actually only 3 aspect. The top Lens is missing. I guess the design allows another aspect LED lens to be installed at a later date. I believe Bolton all the way up to the WCML is all three aspect and will remain so with signals being changed on a like for like basis. Happy to be corrected though!

Correct - four aspect would only be required if the speed was pushed well over 100mph (or someone wanted a lot more capacity for trains).

 

[Senex]

Correct - four aspect would only be required if the speed was pushed well over 100mph (or someone wanted a lot more capacity for trains).

What is the spacing of the three-aspect signals on that line? Thinking back a good few years to when I used to use the MML regularly, the three-aspect section there has signals generally between 1½ and 1¾ miles apart. Running under greens is obviously fine, but sighting a yellow always seemed to involve hard braking down to 30 to 40 mph immediately on sighting and then running at that speed for the 1¼ to 1½ it might take to seeing the next signal, often on green. The hit to the point-to-point timing was quite considerable. The four-aspect areas never seemed to involve such long spells of very slow running.

 

[CAF397]

Yes I worded very badly and I will edit. I meant very few new bases since my trip end of February and zero PROGRESS. I could see no masts only bases Darkinson Lane to Salwick

My turn to apologise. I omitted the word bases! Should've said mast bases.

 

[edwin_m]

What is the spacing of the three-aspect signals on that line? Thinking back a good few years to when I used to use the MML regularly, the three-aspect section there has signals generally between 1½ and 1¾ miles apart. Running under greens is obviously fine, but sighting a yellow always seemed to involve hard braking down to 30 to 40 mph immediately on sighting and then running at that speed for the 1¼ to 1½ it might take to seeing the next signal, often on green. The hit to the point-to-point timing was quite considerable. The four-aspect areas never seemed to involve such long spells of very slow running.

Absolute minimum spacing for three-aspect signals is normally defined by the braking distance in the composite table in GK/RT0075. This quotes 2041m for 100mph level track, but in practice the average would be longer because there are some places it's not sensible to put a signal. So 1½ to 1¾ miles is not far off the minimum practicable for three-aspect signals at 100mph. Which is interesting because I thought the shoestring approach to re-signalling the MML in the 1980s including pushing the spacings out as far as they could get away with (maximum under today's rules is generally minimum plus 50%).

With four-aspect signals the spacing is halved, so in theory extra ones could be added midway between the existing if it was desired to increase capacity without increasing speed. As you say this also has the benefit that the driver can stop braking much sooner if the signal they were braking for has cleared in the meantime.

 

[Senex]

Absolute minimum spacing for three-aspect signals is normally defined by the braking distance in the composite table in GK/RT0075. This quotes 2041m for 100mph level track, but in practice the average would be longer because there are some places it's not sensible to put a signal. So 1½ to 1¾ miles is not far off the minimum practicable for three-aspect signals at 100mph. Which is interesting because I thought the shoestring approach to re-signalling the MML in the 1980s including pushing the spacings out as far as they could get away with (maximum under today's rules is generally minimum plus 50%).

With four-aspect signals the spacing is halved, so in theory extra ones could be added midway between the existing if it was desired to increase capacity without increasing speed. As you say this also has the benefit that the driver can stop braking much sooner if the signal they were braking for has cleared in the meantime.

Thanks for that. Again from memory, the spacing in the four-aspect section (the West Hampstead PSB scheme) is indeed about three quarters of a mile.

 

[LDECRexile]

Reg has kindly sent two shots of trackbed work underway south of Bolton station.

I've added them to his album here:

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

and to the Combined Volume here:

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

Thank you Reg

 

[ALX400]

Masts and arms have reached Blackrod Station from Horwich Parkway they are also creeping along the line from Adlington towards Blackrod so nightly progress is coming along , cant spot any station platform work for masts as yet though

 

[driver9000]

Masts and arms have reached Blackrod Station from Horwich Parkway they are also creeping along the line from Adlington towards Blackrod so nightly progress is coming along , cant spot any station platform work for masts as yet though

There is also a handful of masts on the Chorley side of Adlington.

 

[Buck Shaw]

Masts and arms have reached Blackrod Station from Horwich Parkway they are also creeping along the line from Adlington towards Blackrod so nightly progress is coming along , cant spot any station platform work for masts as yet though

Is there any reason the stations are being left til later on this?

Also Lancashire Evening Post and BBC Radio Lancashire making a big fuss about folks in Preston being kept awake by the piling. NR haven't been very proactive in their PR about the works again, just for a change.

 

[Trackman]

Steel pile left on the line at Kirkham
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dangerous-occurrence-near-kirkham

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Is there any reason the stations are being left til later on this?

Also Lancashire Evening Post and BBC Radio Lancashire making a big fuss about folks in Preston being kept awake by the piling. NR haven't been very proactive in their PR about the works again, just for a change.

The bases for these will be bespoke rather than standard, so more design time and more elaborate temporary works.

As to the second paragraph, there is an ongoing electrification project. It's been going a few months and isn't due to finish until early next year and all that is freely available information. The disturbed residents will probably also be kept awake by parties, music concerts, barbecues and police raids but strangely there will be no complaints about them ...

I am firmly in the "if you don't want to be kept awake by railway work avoid living near or working for the railway" camp.

 

[42626]

I am firmly in the "if you don't want to be kept awake by railway work avoid living near or working for the railway" camp.

Reminds me of this:

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Reminds me of this:

My personal favourite one was a person who bought a field next to the railway, without planning consent in place for anything. They then battled the council for a few years to get consent for a house on the site.

This done, they had the house designed and built. The kitchen door of this house was 1.2m from the railway boundary fence. Of the West Coast Main Line.

A very short time after they moved in I happened to be on the footplate of an RM74 ballast cleaner (ear protection with 25m, shakes the earth) one moonlit Sunday night, on the line adjacent to the house ... The letters began with angry (we couldn't warn him, as he wasn't there) and ended up threatening personal violence. We had BTP out with the follow-up tamper!

 

[swt_passenger]

Is there any reason the stations are being left til later on this?

That's also been the case on the vast majority of the GW project, and has been discussed a few times in that thread over the last couple of years.

Often, they can prepare foundations and install stuff on platforms without track closures, so during planned track possessions they do as much as they can in areas where the best and sometimes only decent access is along the rails...

 

[spongsdad]

The bases for these will be bespoke rather than standard, so more design time and more elaborate temporary works.

As to the second paragraph, there is an ongoing electrification project. It's been going a few months and isn't due to finish until early next year and all that is freely available information. The disturbed residents will probably also be kept awake by parties, music concerts, barbecues and police raids but strangely there will be no complaints about them ...

I am firmly in the "if you don't want to be kept awake by railway work avoid living near or working for the railway" camp.

It always occurs to me that people who object to noise associated with improvement works must be luddites of some sort, unwilling to put up with any inconvenience for the sake of progress. More irritating still are those who would buy property near or next to country churches and then complain that the chiming of the clock keeps them awake at night or that the ringing of church bells disturbs their Sunday lie-in.

 

[Buck Shaw]

That's also been the case on the vast majority of the GW project, and has been discussed a few times in that thread over the last couple of years.

Often, they can prepare foundations and install stuff on platforms without track closures, so during planned track possessions they do as much as they can in areas where the best and sometimes only decent access is along the rails...

Ok thanks. I haven't read that thread as I only really bother with threads about the area I live/travel in.

As Chorley's platforms have been rebuilt within the last year, I was surprised they never did all the work then and added masts as part of that work.

The usual lack of joined up thinking?