GCR Bridge Project

[Flying Phil]

Thanks Rob F ......You are quite correct, which will make it a harder lift? I thought it was similar to the bridge at Swithland that was repaired several years ago.

 

[Mogulb]

Rather large 1000t crane being assembled, for lifting in the bridge,adjacent to the north abutment. No Offical date for the actual date but it must be soonish!

 

[Cowley]

Wow that's some bit of kit! Exciting times, thanks for the updates everyone.

 

[Flying Phil]

Thanks Mogulb.
Well the crane is certainly BIG! It has a max lift load of 1250T. Given the cost of hiring, I think it must be in use very soon.

 

[Flying Phil]

Thanks Mogulb
Well the crane is certainly BIG! It has a max lift load of 1250T. Given the cost of hiring, I think it must be in use very soon.

There are four large wood bases on the ground, where the two steel cap structures will be placed prior to lifting to the top of the abutments...I would think? But when will they be delivered on site? The lift will need line possession overnight - could it be this holiday weekend?? (Sorry for double post but I cannot seem to delete one?....)
Looking more closely at Mogulb's picture the wooden pads were for the crane lorry being used to assemble the big crane, the GC website just says that the bridge deck will go in in September (- but the steel beam abutment caps need to go in before the deck.).
On checking the NR website for engineering work, the MML seems to have major work scheduled for the 16th both North and South of L'bro......

 

[Mogulb]

Main bridge bearer beams craned in early this morning.

 

[Flying Phil]

Well, inspired by Mogulb's early post I popped along to Loughborough for a couple of final pre-hol pics.

The steel bearing beams are indeed on top of the abutments

I don't know if the crane will stay until the bridge beams arrive, or, whether it will be stripped down, moved and then reappear later in Sept?

Whilst I was there a train of 4 preserved diesel locomotives made its way from the North, down the chord, onto the MML heading South.

 

[Mogulb]

Thanks Phil for the pictures. There is one on the unofficial site showing them being craned in,early this morning but I could not get it to upload here. It will be interesting to see if the crane is dismantled and returns later or stays! If it stays the Bridge arrival must be imminent. PS Have a good holiday and you might even return to a bridge.

 

[43096]

Whilst I was there a train of 4 preserved diesel locomotives made its way from the North, down the chord, onto the MML heading South.

It was three preserved locos (37003 going to Leicester Depot and 41001 and 47828 going to Old Oak Common open day), hauled by GWR's 57604 (fresh off repaint at Loram Derby).

 

[Mogulb]

Press release from GCR advises that the bridge deck will be crane in on the night of Sat 02 Sept and early Sun 03 Sept!

http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/news/

Great Central Railway ‘Bridging the Gap’
Bridge Installation
Saturday 2nd Sept 2017
Overnight – From 23.00 hrs – 07.00 hrs
Contact: Lili Tabiner 07939484516
Press Release
It will be a night to remember! The Great Central Railway’s long held ambition to reunite two halves of the line will take a huge step forward with the installation of a key bridge in Loughborough. On the night of Saturday 2nd September, in a moment rail enthusiasts have campaigned decades to see, a 1000 tonne crane will install the new steel bridge deck across two concrete abutments.
The new bridge will one day carry Great Central Railway heritage trains over the tracks of the Midland Main Line below. As one of the most ambitious civil engineering projects undertaken by a heritage railway, ‘Bridging the Gap’ will reinstate approximately 500 metres of missing embankment, track and bridges – all of which were removed after the Great Central Railway was closed as part of a major rationalisation of the railway network by the Government of the day.
When the whole project is complete it will create an eighteen mile heritage railway stretching across the East Midlands which will create jobs and drive regeneration through tourism.
GCR’s CEO, Richard Patching stated ‘This is an exciting night for the Great Central Railway. For over 40 years, our supporters and friends have dreamt of work starting on the reunification of the line. We hope to continue raising funds to complete the project and finally join the two railways. We would like to thank our many supporters who have enabled us to get to this stage’. Phil Stanway, Director of GCRN added’ As this first phase of the reunification project reaches an exciting climax, what was once deemed nothing more than a dream moves one step closer. The bridge installation is testimony to all who have contributed so far’.
The operation to lower the bridge deck into place will start as soon as possession of the Midland Main Line is granted by Network Rail at approximately 23.00 hrs and work will continue throughout the night to be completed by 07.00 hrs when the trains start operating again on the Midland Mainline.
The project is managed by FJD Construction on behalf of GCR and work has taken place in collaboration with Network Rail who have supported the project and monitored the work to ensure there is no disruption to the main line operation. Contractors MPB have been on site since February 2017 constructing the abutments and preparing the site for this historic event.
Meanwhile Moore Steel of Peterborough have manufactured the bridge deck and will deliver the sections to site shortly before the installation work starts.
The crane arrived on site on 24th August, transported in sections and assembled on site in preparation for the bridge installation.
Rob McIntosh Route Director of Network Rail said ‘We are delighted to be supporting GCR with this exciting and ambitious project which will provide a real boost to tourism for the region.”
At a cost of £2.5m, this element of the ‘Bridging the Gap’ project is the most complex and has taken a number of years to complete, with funding provided through a combination of donations from GCR and GCRN supporters, a £1m grant from the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership and £250,000 worth of shares purchased by Leicestershire County Council. Nick Pulley, Chair of the LLEP said, ‘The LLEP Growth Deal has been extremely successful for the Leicester and Leicestershire area and we are really excited by this unique project which supports the creation of an 18 mile mainline railway from Leicester to Ruddington (Nottingham South). The GCR project will open up significant commercial and tourism opportunities to increase visitors by 60,000 per year. In fact, this is the biggest investment in a heritage railway in the UK’.
Background: The Great Central Railway was opened in 1899, the last main line railway to be built in the UK. It represented the pinnacle of British railway engineering and the owner of the Company Edward Watkin had ambitions to tunnel under the English Channel to connect to France. The GCR linked Manchester and Sheffield to London terminating at its brand new Marylebone Station.
Note to Media Representatives: On the night of 2nd September, there will be limited access to view the bridge installation – the only viewing area will be the footpath on the A60 Nottingham Road and on the road bridge over the MML track. GCR representatives will be available for interview on Friday 1st and Monday 4th September by arrangement.

 

[fflint]

Great news Mogulb, will you be there to see it and upload the pics? A shame it's happening now as Phil is away, isn't he?

 

[Mogulb]

Unfortunately not,but I am sure I can borrow a photo or two to post on here!

 

[Mogulb]

The two main bridge beams will be delivered around lunchtime tomorrow ready for craning in early Sunday morning. The remainder of the bridge i.e. crossbeams, deck plates will then be installed over the coming weeks.

 

[Mogulb]

Lift is planned to start at 0030 Sunday morning according to GCR website!

 

[Cowley]

Lift is planned to start at 0030 Sunday morning according to GCR website!

It's amazing after so many years of hoping this would happen that in a couple of hours time they're going to start lifting it into place. Extraordinary.
Is there a tears of joy emoji available? Soppy I know, but this is a wonderful thing.

 

[Mogulb]

Both Bridge beams in place earlier this morning .

 

[jamescr]

http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/unify/ timeline with photos now published on their site

Also, some Twitter users who posted plenty of photos

https://twitter.com/GarethDennis
https://twitter.com/RAIL

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LF69xAJzWs
https://www.facebook.com/GcrNottingham/videos/10155020962708691/

I was also driving past the site yesterday on my way to the shops and the crane was definitely visible for a long way around, it's huge!

A congratulations needs to be given to GCR/GCRN but also a huge thank you for those providing coverage for those of us who were not there

 

[Mogulb]

View earlier this morning.( photo courtesy Ian Farnfield)

 

[fflint]

Thanks to all for the reports and pictures, well done for staying up beyond normal bedtime, I hope you've had a lay in this morning. Can I ask have they put in the stringers in between the two beams or will they be putting them in later?

 

[AndyW33]

The lift last night just put the two girders into position. Having looked at the site this morning, seems slightly odd to see them sitting there with nothing between them. They will be linked with deck plates during this week. Also to come shortly is cladding the abutments in blue brick to resemble the original ones.
Then the rest of the project has to proceed. The bridge is the iconic part, but the other work required is more expensive and more time consuming. As always with heritage railway projects, the faster the money comes in, the faster things will happen!

 

[jamescr]

Is there any parts that can be done by volunteer labour? I imagine not given that the entire project is likely to either need heavy machinery or a huge amount of insurance that wouldn't cover volunteer labour (until maybe track laying?)

 

[Cowley]

View earlier this morning.( photo courtesy Ian Farnfield)

I had to pinch myself that this wasn't an artists impression.

 

[martinr1]

A wonderful achievement. Many congratulations to all concerned with all the behind the scenes work that made this happen.

 

[mushroomchow]

Snuck up on me so fast I didn't get a chance to see it before the beams were in place! I did however see the crane during a ride on the GC this weekend - it was an absolute monolith visible for miles around! Plenty of local interest garnered from the event.

Very proud of everybody involved - a real milestone for the railway and a posthumous two fingers up to Beeching and Marples.

 

[duffield]

I had to pinch myself that this wasn't an artists impression.

It looks so odd with no central support that it looks like it's been photoshopped in!

 

[Cowley]

It looks so odd with no central support that it looks like it's been photoshopped in!

It's a long span isn't it. I'm sure it won't bend much with D123 parked in the middle though.

 

[furryfeet]

What is the length of the span in metres ?

Also what speeds and axleloads can the bridge take ?

 

[AndyPJG]

BBC News item, with a photo of the original bridge.

Mind the Gap: New bridge links two heritage rail lines
Parts of a railway bridge have been moved into place by a 1,000-tonne crane in a bid to re-connect a rail line in the East Midlands.
The bridge at Loughborough will allow the Great Central Railway to cross the Midland Mainline and link up with another heritage line from Ruddington.
The £2.5m project will see the reinstatement of 500m of missing embankment, track and bridge.
Two steel beams were put in place and the bridge decking will be added later.
The original bridge was removed in the early 1980s as part of cutbacks to the railway network.
When completed, the bridge will allow heritage rail lines on both sides to link up creating a new 18-mile (29km) route.
The Great Central Railway runs from Leicester to Loughborough while the Great Central Railway Nottingham runs from south Nottinghamshire to northwest Leicestershire.
Great Central Railway spokesman Richard Patching said: "For over 40 years, our supporters and friends have dreamt of work starting on the reunification of the line.
"We hope to continue raising funds to complete the project and finally join the two railways."
Phil Stanway, director of Great Central Railway Nottingham, said: "What was once deemed nothing more than a dream moves one step closer.
"The bridge installation is testimony to all who have contributed so far."

 

[mushroomchow]

What is the length of the span in metres ?

Also what speeds and axleloads can the bridge take ?

I believe the span is about 130 feet (40 metres). It's being built to full mainline specifications - no speed has been disclosed but given it's being constructed to a standard to allow future expansion of the GCR's mainline testing. My guess for a single track span would be somewhere in the region of 45mph, though of course service trains wouldn't hit those heights.

 

[fflint]

Thanks to all for the photos and sharing of knowledge