ECML Grantham Sunday 7 Nov

[nlt]

Points failure at Grantham northbound (allegedlly). 1D16 seems to be stuck in the station at 1517 with other northbound trains queuing up behind.

 

[LowLevel]

1D16 is booked via platform 4 as a "rusty rail move" and unfortunately when it attempted to rejoin the mainline the points at Nottingham Branch Junction failed with no normal or reverse position blocking the line, hence everything is stuck with no route forward.

 

[TheBigD]

1D16 using platform 4 at Grantham also allows the 1348 Kings Cross - Sunderlamd to pass. It also gets looped at Reford for the 1400 Kings Cross - Aberdeen.

1D16 being one of the extra few Sunday trains that were introduced by East Coast/Virgin East Coast a few years after the Eureka timetable was introduced. Hence it's slow path, taking 2hr44m for the London to Leeds trip compared to the more normal journey time of around 2hr15m.

 

[nlt]

1D16 is booked via platform 4 as a "rusty rail move" and unfortunately when it attempted to rejoin the mainline the points at Nottingham Branch Junction failed with no normal or reverse position blocking the line, hence everything is stuck with no route forward.

Thanks for the intell. LNER say MOM on site, presumably with some WD40 and a spanner! Do they only use this point once a week? Seems as though it should be tested more often.

 

[TheBigD]

The route north out of platform 4 towards Newark doesn't see a great deal of use now that most freight goes via Lincoln instead of the ECML. Pretty much all traffic being that routed towards Allington Junction.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Nov 2021 ==

Services now running again on the main line through platform 2, but 1D16 still stuck in platform 4.

 

[High Dyke]

Points failure at Grantham northbound (allegedlly). 1D16 seems to be stuck in the station at 1517 with other northbound trains queuing up behind.

It was just kicking off as I signed off duty. 1D16 was already stood on the Up / Down Slow waiting the path at Grantham North. The knock-on being that the 15:08 Sheffield was then trapped in P3. Eventually 1D16 returned to the 'Western' platform to allow EMR services to run.

 

[nlt]

1D17 now on the move 81 mins late

 

[Stathern Jc]

Probably a naive thought (late on Sunday and after a Sundowner), and if it was possible no doubt it would have been done.
Was it not possible for a "reversal" out of Platform 4 onto the Down Main, and then proceed through Platform 2 and continue North?
Are Southbound movements from Platform 4 only able to access the Up lines with no provision for "shunt" movements to the Down line in "exceptional circumstances"?
Did this not come up at all earlier this year in the weekends when services terminated at Grantham during the work at Werrington?

 

[norbitonflyer]

Probably a naive thought (late on Sunday and after a Sundowner), and if it was possible no doubt it would have been done.
Was it not possible for a "reversal" out of Platform 4 onto the Down Main, and then proceed through Platform 2 and continue North?
Are Southbound movements from Platform 4 only able to access the Up lines with no provision for "shunt" movements to the Down line in "exceptional circumstances"?
Did this not come up at all earlier this year in the weekends when services terminated at Grantham during the work at Werrington?

Post ~2 said the points were unable to be set in either normal or reverse position, which is why nothing could passthrough the station using either platform.

 

[TheBigD]

Probably a naive thought (late on Sunday and after a Sundowner), and if it was possible no doubt it would have been done.
Was it not possible for a "reversal" out of Platform 4 onto the Down Main, and then proceed through Platform 2 and continue North?
Are Southbound movements from Platform 4 only able to access the Up lines with no provision for "shunt" movements to the Down line in "exceptional circumstances"?
Did this not come up at all earlier this year in the weekends when services terminated at Grantham during the work at Werrington?

As stated above the route through 2 wasn't available.

Many years ago I was on a Skegness train that arrived in 4, then shunted (with the passengers onboard) from 4 to the up slow, then routed back through 2 and towards Barkston Junction. Don't know whether that's still allowed or not.

Similarly, I've arrived in platform 1 at Grantham from Skegness and then shunted to the up slow before crossing back over to Platform 4.

 

[LowLevel]

As stated above the route through 2 wasn't available.

Many years ago I was on a Skegness train that arrived in 4, then shunted (with the passengers onboard) from 4 to the up slow, then routed back through 2 and towards Barkston Junction. Don't know whether that's still allowed or not.

Similarly, I've arrived in platform 1 at Grantham from Skegness and then shunted to the up slow before crossing back over to Platform 4.

You can shunt via the up slow and I believe that was the plan before the problem was resolved, allowing the train to depart in the normal fashion. Presumably special permission is required to carry passengers for the shunt via D1283 dolly on the up slow in the down direction but that's not insurmountable as a contingency. The problem of course as you say was that there was no normal or reverse and the Aberdeen train was occupying the platform.

I think the plan was to clip the points normal, get rid of the Aberdeen and send the Leeds that way round before matters overtook things.

 

[Stathern Jc]

Post ~2 said the points were unable to be set in either normal or reverse position, which is why nothing could passthrough the station using either platform.

I'd misinterpreted this as the set of points off the Nottingham Branch rather than those onto the mainline. But the penny should have dropped after High Dyke's post that 1D16 had returned to Platform 4 allowing EMR services to run.
Thanks to Low Level for the helpful insight as to possible manouvres at the South end of the station.
(Long time since I've been to Grantham but try to keep up with the football results, seems a slow start this season).

 

[High Dyke]

I'd misinterpreted this as the set of points off the Nottingham Branch rather than those onto the mainline. But the penny should have dropped after High Dyke's post that 1D16 had returned to Platform 4 allowing EMR services to run.
Thanks to Low Level for the helpful insight as to possible manouvres at the South end of the station.
(Long time since I've been to Grantham but try to keep up with the football results, seems a slow start this season).

I'm not aware of any restrictions on movements at Grantham South utilising a shunt to the Up Slow behind the position light. I'll have to recheck the SBSI's. Arguably there's no issues. For a period the first train to London used to start from P2 in the Up direction via GPL signal.

As for the football, things aren't going well...to say the least!

 

[flypie]

As a slight aside. Is there anywhere with track lay out diagrams from the lines/track layout from
Grantham to Peterbough?

 

[High Dyke]

As a slight aside. Is there anywhere with track lay out diagrams from the lines/track layout from
Grantham to Peterbough?

It depends how much detail you want. The most accessible option is Opentrain times maps (links below).

Hitchin to Stoke Tunnel

Stoke Tunnel to Retford

 

[flypie]

It depends how much detail you want. The most accessible option id Opentrain times maps (links below).

Hitchin to Stoke Tunnel

Stoke Tunnel to Retford

Ta.