GSoP Post 4.0
Manchester Victoria - Preston; State of Play, week beginning 30th April 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
Many bases, some masts; P1 & P5 among them. New bases have gone in at 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.
Bullfield Tunnels bedanglied throughout, with 2 concrete gravity pad foundations at the southern end (one of which is masted) Just north of those, a 3rd base is currently curing. 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. 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. 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!
