Manchester - Liverpool Electrification

[DJH1971]

Upon walking the dog this afternoon, I noticed a number of masts now up to both the west and east of St Helens Junction, and also saw a number of masts now in place stretching towards Collins Green.

I can safely say that these must have been placed yesterday (Sunday) as I didn't see these when I travelling into Liverpool on Saturday.

Here are some pics:

For more pics see http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=97812

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Upon walking the dog this afternoon, I noticed a number of masts now up to b oth the west and east of St Helens Junction, and also saw a number of masts now in place stretching towards Collins Green.
I can safely say that these must have been placed yesterday (Sunday) as I didn't see these when I travelling into Liverpool on Saturday.
Here are some pics:

Nice pics.
It's amazing how fast things can happen.
They haven't finished the Wigan line yet, however!

 

[LDECRexile]

Rolling stock in the North of England is to be debated at Westminster tomorrow morning, Weds 12th March 2014 from 09:30 to 11:00.

The debate can be accessed via:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/

 

[Bald Rick]

Upon walking the dog this afternoon, I noticed a number of masts now up to both the west and east of St Helens Junction, and also saw a number of masts now in place stretching towards Collins Green.

I can safely say that these must have been placed yesterday (Sunday) as I didn't see these when I travelling into Liverpool on Saturday.

Good pics. Unusual design and colour of registration arm in the 2nd pic?

 

[DJH1971]

Good pics. Unusual design and colour of registration arm in the 2nd pic?

All the more exciting is that the top four and bottom two pictures are only 2-3 minutes walk from my home!

 

[Holly]

All the more exciting is that the top four and bottom two pictures are only 2-3 minutes walk from my home!

It's amazing really isn't it.

Electrification of that stretch of track is roughly 52 years later than it was "firmly" planned to happen.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I counted 31 masts altogether around St Helens Junction today, more on the south side than the north.
Mast bases are pretty much complete from Sankey Viaduct to where the Wigan line runs in near Huyton.
Still nothing at Earlestown, although the new track panels which have been stacked on the disused platform for months have now been moved alongside the track to the west.
There are signs of bases for the new signalling associated with the Huyton 4-tracking, and a lot of trackside work was in progress.

On the Wigan line, bases are now in round the final curve from Ince Moss Jn to Springs Branch.
Still no sign of how they intend to wire the deep rock cutting at Thatto Heath.

Huyton-Roby continues to look a mess.
A new pedestrian route has been built to reach P2 at Huyton, but it is built on the formation of the new track through P3!
All the old platforms look to be being replaced with new higher ones, and at the moment there are some weird combinations of levels in the old and new sections.
Not the place you want to trip in the dark.

Masts now extend west of Wavertree to reach the old wiring.

 

[DJH1971]

Confirmed. They are still insisting on sandwiching freight between them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjtmdUFbSjI

And I've just had wind that 350410 is due in the UK this weekend.

 

[8A Rail]

Much to my surprise, there are no holes, let alone any bases on Rainhill Station (definitely between station building and east footbridge) although bases are in place around the old signal box area. Strange indeed.

 

[DJH1971]

Much to my surprise, there are no holes, let alone any bases on Rainhill Station (definitely between station building and east footbridge) although bases are in place around the old signal box area. Strange indeed.

Same with between Huyton to Roby. No doubt they will be appearing shortly, especially with the recent spate of masts up now west and east of St Helens Junction that were definitely not in place last Saturday when I went into Liverpool.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Much to my surprise, there are no holes, let alone any bases on Rainhill Station (definitely between station building and east footbridge) although bases are in place around the old signal box area. Strange indeed.

Nothing yet either at Earlestown, or over the Sankey Viaduct, or in Thatto Heath Cutting.
Still a few mysteries to unravel...
Some very big metal piles seem to be going in in various places such as steep embankments (and on some platforms including St Helens Jn).
Maybe they will have an "architectural" solution at Rainhill as it's the best-preserved station on the line, with significant heritage interest.

 

[DJH1971]

Well, looks like 350410 came into the UK earlier today!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Well, looks like 350410 came into the UK earlier today!

Great news

 

[deltic08]

Great news

Bad news. At least two more units are needed to free up 185s for the loss of 170s.

Why not allocate 3x350/3 units to Liverpool-Manchester/Wigan, as an interim measure crewed by TPEx until enough 319s are available?

 

[anthony263]

Goes to show the DFT should have listened at the time and ordered an additional few class 350's for TPE/LM wouldnt be in this position there and perhaps Manchester - Scotland TPE services could go over to 100% electric traction rather than one or two diagrams being worked by class 185's

 

[Class377/5]

Bad news. At least two more units are needed to free up 185s for the loss of 170s.

Why not allocate 3x350/3 units to Liverpool-Manchester/Wigan, as an interim measure crewed by TPEx until enough 319s are available?

Because they aren't TPEs to use as LM already have a deal agreed.

 

[evergreenadam]

Because they aren't TPEs to use as LM already have a deal agreed.

What would the arrival of 3 x 350s release at LM? Or are they to increase the size of the fleet at LM?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

What would the arrival of 3 x 350s release at LM? Or are they to increase the size of the fleet at LM?

Nominally to cater for Cross-City extensions (higher frequency to Redditch, and Bromsgrove electrification).
They will be used on other services and allow more 323s to be cascaded to Cross-City.

 

[swt_passenger]

Nominally to cater for Cross-City extensions (higher frequency to Redditch, and Bromsgrove electrification).

As you say above, a minority 3 out of the 10 are for the Birmingham area changes. In case anyone has ideas about borrowing any of the other 7, they are for strengthening southern WCML services, and to allow the 110 mph services via Weedon to run in the peaks as well as off-peak.

Through the Department for Transport's HLOS funding, seven of the new trains are earmarked for London commuter services providing 4,474 extra seats each weekday. There will be an extra 3 services arriving in London during the morning peak and an extra 5 departing from London in the evening peak.

...The remaining three new trains will be used to provide extra capacity on the Cross-City line in Birmingham. They will be used to increase the weekday frequency of peak and off-peak services between Birmingham and Redditch from 2 to 3 trains per hour from December 2014. Network Rail has a plan to extend the electrification of the CrossCity line from Barnt Green to a relocated and improved Bromsgrove station which will enable an extended service to commence from late spring 2015.

http://www.londonmidland.com/about-...ins-bring-extra-capacity-and-faster-journeys/

 

[Manchester77]

In reality will all 10 350/3s work WCML services with 3 350/2s being cascaded to birmingham services or will 3 /3s actually work Birmingham trains?

 

[deltic08]

Nominally to cater for Cross-City extensions (higher frequency to Redditch, and Bromsgrove electrification).
They will be used on other services and allow more 323s to be cascaded to Cross-City.

Why should only the North suffer shortages? Increased services to Redditch ( only one an hour extended from Longbridge) from December 2014 can be covered with existing LM 323s. Electrification to Bromsgrove won't be energised until May 2016 and Rugeley December 2017. Surely three LM 100mph 350s could be subleased to Northern and crewed by TPEx for use until the end of the current Northern/TPEx franchises in 2016
OR
as I mentioned earlier until Manchester-Preston is energised in 2016 releasing Pacer/150/156 diesel units to cover for loss of 170s in the North from May 2015-2016
OR
until enough 319s are delivered.

 

[The Planner]

Redditch needs an extra diagram apparently.

 

[DJH1971]

Further to pics of mast nearly a week ago, I saw more more work in progress to the ther west of St Helens Junction this afternoon, with more masts in place along with arms too:

More photos available: please see http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1739994&postcount=2

 

[Ploughman]

Did somebody put the new fence too close?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Did somebody put the new fence too close?

No that's the long boundary fence for the former Bold Colliery site.
To drill the mast foundations (mostly just outside the boundary) they had to remove fence panels every so often.
The temporary fence panels are still there and the old ones will have to be restored when it's all finished.
Ironically, all that's on the other side of the fence is abandoned and overgrown sidings.
All part of the complications of electrifying the oldest main line railway.

 

[LDECRexile]

I made my March tour Lime St-Wigan NW-Roby-Earlestown-Lime St today and found the following.

Structures visible from trains on stated date
Mast= upright steelwork. An arch counts as two
Base= concrete ground structure on which a mast will be placed
Scrape= preliminary groundwork where a base will be built
mbs= collective term for masts, bases and scrapes

Edge Hill to Huyton 08/01/14 29/01/14 24/02/14 17/03/14
Edge Hill to Wavertree Tech Park
Masts 0 0 0 3
Bases 2 5 7 5
Scrapes 3 2 1 0
Wavertree Tech Park to Broad Green
Masts 0 0 32 34
Bases 21 29 3 6
Scrapes 0 0 0 0
Broad Green to Roby
Masts 0 0 15 20
Bases 17 21 5 7
Scrapes 1 3 4 9
Roby to Huyton
Masts 0 0 0 0
Bases 0 0 0 11
Scrapes 0 0 0 0
Edge Hill to Huyton Total Masts 0 0 47 57
Edge Hill to Huyton Total Bases 40 55 15 29
Edge Hill to Huyton Total Scrapes 4 5 5 9

Huyton to Earlestown 29/01/14 24/02/14 17/02/14
Huyton to Whiston
Masts 0 0 0
Bases 6 45 50
Scrape 21 15 10
Whiston to Rainhill
Masts 0 0 0
Bases 51 63 63
Scrapes 6 2 2
Rainhill to Lea Green
Masts 0 0 11
Bases 78 95 85
Scrapes 18 3 2
Lea Green to St Helens Junction
Masts 0 0 29
Bases 53 62 34
Scrapes 8 1 0
St Helens Junction to Earlestown
Masts 0 0 20
Bases 80 100 93
Scrapes 22 3 2
Huyton to Earlestown Total Masts 0 0 60
Huyton to Earlestown Total Bases 268 365 325
Huyton to Earlestown Total Scrapes 75 24 16

Huyton to Wigan NW 08/01/14 29/01/14 24/02/14 17/03/14
Huyton to Prescot
Masts 58 58 60 61
Bases 2 3 3 19
Scrapes 2 1 0 0
Prescot to Eccleston Park
Masts 40 44 46 46
Bases 3 3 2 2
Scrapes 1 0 0 0
Eccleston Park to Thatto Heath
Masts 19 19 21 26
Bases 4 5 3 4
Scrapes 2 1 2 1
Thatto Heath to St Helens Central
Masts 51 71 75 75
Bases 21 7 6 6
Scrapes 0 1 1 1
St Helens Central to Garswood
Masts 116 127 137 151
Bases 50 42 50 52
Scrapes 15 16 10 4
Garswood to Bryn
Masts 37 46 52 52
Bases 10 7 2 2
Scrapes 6 8 10 10
Bryn to Wigan North Western
Masts 32 32 39 54
Bases 7 51 56 56
Scrapes 45 10 17 3
Huyton to Wigan NW Total Masts 353 397 430 465
Huyton to Wigan NW Total Bases 97 118 122 141
Huyton to Wigan NW Total Scrapes 71 37 40 19

Overall Total Masts 397 477 582
Overall Total Bases 441 502 495
Overall Total Scrapes 117 69 44

Notes
Edge Hill to Wavertree only new mbs shown, older masts also exist
Bryn to Wigan NW only new mbs shown, older masts also exist
Ince Moss branch bases visible
mbs in stations not shown, eg Prescot has two large "arch" masts
The rock 'canyon' N of Eccleston Pk will have side fixings, not mbs
Nothing on or east of Sankey viaduct.

Roby-Huyton requadrupling and station work moving forward, notably:

More ballast in readiness for third track, some is levelled.
More sleepers laid awaiting track, others stockpiled in readiness.
cwr in the eastbound 4' awaiting laying.
There appears to be ballast or hardcore building up the piled embankment between Roby Junction-to-be and Roby Station.
Foundations are being laid for a structure immediately west of the bridge at Roby, between tracks 2 and 3.
Roby lift shafts coming on apace, shuttering and steelwork awaiting concrete.
Roby platform edges and extensions to new height and distance from track plainly visible.

Huyton third and fourth platform edges well advanced.
Huyton platform 1 raised and realigned along its full length.
Work in progress on liftshafts.

Preparatory work for third track visible east of Huyton Station.

Points which were laid on the long-disused S to W platform at Earlestown have disappeared, but not been laid west of the station. Have they been used at Earlestown South junction? This is not visible from public areas at Earlestown.
Track panels, sleepers, ballast and points laid to south of tracks between Earlestown station and Five Arches Viaduct, awaiting laying.

Lots of movement, the most visually striking being the masts in the Bold Colliery area with photos kindly published elsewhere on this thread.

 

[The Planner]

Those points should be going in at Earlestown West as that is where all the renewal and rationalisation is happening.

 

[DJH1971]

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1740176#post1740176

Here's a few pics I took this afternoon facing west from St Helens Junction station.

 

[YorkshireBear]

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1740176#post1740176

Here's a few pics I took this afternoon facing west from St Helens Junction station.

Thanks for photo updates. Can't wait till some electrification happens near me so i can go out and do the same! I will be awaiting the TPE electrification.

 

[LDECRexile]

What I believe to be a flange-greaser has been installed at the south end of platform 3 at Earlestown. This is not specifically related to electrification, but is part of the improvements at Earlestown.