GSoP Post 17.0 - Blockade Special
Manchester Victoria - Preston; State of Play, week beginning 27th August 2018.
Less than 5 masts still missing.
Bolton Blockade is underway - route closed for 9 days from 25th August to 2nd September.
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. Platforms 1 & 2 at Man Vic have now been bedanglied.
2. Deal Street Jct - Salford Central (East End); 0m 32ch to 0m 59ch
Fully masted. Limit of electrification is currently at 0m 46ch; SPS is up along the unwired stretch.
3. Salford Central; 0m 59ch
Fully masted, most SPS (Small Part Steelwork e.g. dangly bits) up. No wires. One mast still missing at western end.
4. Salford Central (West End) - Windsor Bridge South Jct; 0m 59ch to 1m 46ch
Two runs of Earth wire are up. Catenary & contact wires are now also up from west of Salford Central to Agecroft; details below.
5. Windsor Bridge South Jct - Windsor Bridge North Jct (inc. Salford Crescent); 1m 46ch to 1m 70ch
Windsor Bridge South Jct now wired (catenary/contact) from the Deal St direction on both the Up & Down Salford Lines; however, the Up Bolton line is fully wired through Salford Crescent, and terminated just north of Windsor Bridge North Jct. Earth wires (+ AT wires) are also in situ here.
All lines through Salford Crescent are wired with the exception of P1 (which is wireless).
Further wiring details:
Up Bolton is wired from Agecroft South Jn, to Windsor Bridge South Jn (via the avoiding line at Crescent), where the wires continue onto the Up Salford, ending just south of Salford Central.
Agecroft South Jct Crossover is now fully wired.
The same length is wired on the Down Salford/Down Bolton, through P2 (Down platform) at Crescent.
In addition, the crossover from the Down Bolton to the Up/Dn Bolton (Crescent P1) is wired, but only this section - the wires do not continue to meet the Up Bolton.
The crossover between the Up and Down Salford at Windsor Bridge South Jn is also wired.
No wires between Windsor Bridge South Jn and the existing limit of electrification at Ordsall Lane, no wires on Platform 1 and nothing on the overrun towards Atherton.
6. Windsor Bridge North Jct - Clifton (South End); 1m 70ch to 4m 57ch
Catenary & contact wires are up from west of Salford Central to Agecroft (Sth Jct, by the bin terminal) over both lines.
Between Frederick Rd & Broughton Rd (2m 26ch) bridges, the Up side earth wire extends south from Broughton Rd as far as the line is visible.
Between Broughton Rd Bridge & Cockrobin Bridge, the Up side earth wire is up (for about 4 masts northwards, thru Pendleton Old).
North of Cockrobin Bridge, an Earth wire and an AT wire have gone up on the Down (northbound) side.
Both lines are wired (C&C) between Agecroft North Jn and a point roughly level with the north end of HMP Forest Bank (aka Strangeways); C&C wires on the Down are now confirmed to start a few hundred yards south of Clifton.
At Park House Rd Bridge, the first earth wire is now up on the Up side.
Lot of masts with SPS up on the southern approach to Clifton.
7. Clifton Station; 4m 57ch
Fully masted. No wires. Drainage manhole modules awaiting installation; temporary covers are over their future homes.
8. Clifton (North End) - Farnworth (South End); 4m 57ch to 8m 31ch
Brackets are fitted to the underside of the M60 overbridge. Bridge MVE1 27B (immediately NW of this) is fully erected, but unopened, and work the walkway is not yet finished.
Earth wires now up between Clifton & Kearsley; the Down side is continuous but it is unknown if the Up side is identically so.
BOTH lines are fully wired from well south of Kearsley, through Kearsley Station and up to Farnworth Tunnel, however it is unknown if the Up Line wiring continues through Farnworth Tunnel to a few hundred yards north of Green Lane Bridge (1st bridge north of Moses Gate).
Earth wire certainly in through Farnworth tunnel too.
9. Farnworth Station; 8m 31ch
Fully masted. Earth wire now in on the Down side through the station.
The Down line is fully wired from well south of Kearsley, through Farnworth Tunnel to a few hundred yards north of Green Lane Bridge (1st bridge north of Moses Gate). The Up line is so far unwired.
10. Farnworth (North End) - Bolton (South End); 8m 31ch to 10m 50ch
The Down Bolton line is fully wired from Farnworth Station, through Moses Gate and terminating approx. a few hundred yards north of Green Lane Bridge (1st bridge north of Moses Gate). The Up line is so far unwired.
North of the Squeeze Belly Entry bridge, the earth wire resumes (on the Down side) from a portal boom, fitted with Tensorex drums.
SPS and Tensorex drums appearing on some masts/cantilevers around Burnden Jct (10m 09ch).
The Platform 5 Line is fully wired (C&C) from the points at Weston St to Orlando St Bridge.
The Platform 4 Line (Down Bolton) is now wired from Weston Street through P4 to the Dean Clough area.
All uprights appear to be up on both sides of Lever St footbridge; a multi-track portal is up immediately to the south of the bridge. To the north (on the east side), a TTC with reduced-height registration arms is up.
Stretching south from Bolton, long stretches of earth wire are now up. Another portal has been erected in 2 replacement bases. South of Lever Street footbridge, the Up Line now has ATF wires installed.
Orlando St Bridge appears to be fully "stovepiped".
11. Bolton Station; 10m 50ch
All masts in the station area are now in place. Earth wires now in.
The Platform 2 Line is fully wired (C&C) from the points at Weston St to the SSA (Self-Supporting Anchor - aka "the wicketkeeper"). Insulators have yet to be installed on the wicketkeeper, and most fixings are still temporary.
The Platform 4 Line (Down Bolton) is now wired from Weston Street through P4 to the Dean Clough area.
The bridge deck of Trinity St over P3/4 has now been stovepiped; an earth wire is now attached to some of the pipes. Additionally, bolts & brackets are now drilled into the glazed brick retaining wall opposite P1.
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.
12. Bolton (North End) - Lostock (South End); 10m 50ch to 13m 52ch
The Platform 4 Line (Down Bolton) is now wired from Weston Street through P4 to the Dean Clough area.
Newport St bridge has now had studs/brackets of some kind drilled in. The run of masts between Newport St & the NW end of P5 now have their earth wire affixed. Just east of Newport St Bridge, a TTC (unbedanglied) has now gone up on the southbound side.
Both of the wall-bracketed portals have now been erected, and both have now gained their dangly bits.
Between the 2nd & 3rd bridges NW of Newport St (the unknown bridge & Dawes St), the mast in photo A732m has led a chequered life, being assembled, dismantled and then re-assembled!
Immediately NW of Dawes St (3rd bridge west of Newport St), a bracketed mast has gone up, with a registration arm attached (see photo A852m).
Between Newport Street Bridge & Moor Lane (the Bullfield Tunnels area), the tunnels are bedanglied throughout, with Aerial Earth Wire (AEW) brackets up over both tracks' respective tunnels/bridges.
Gt. Moor St. bridge now has a stovepipe in on the Down side. The most recently cured base has had a mast & two dangly assemblies put up (see pic. A300k; between Great Moor St. & Dawes St. bridges).
Of the "3 amigos" (the three closest masts to Great Moor St. Bridge on the East side), 2 now have Tensorex Drums fitted and the other has its dangly bits cabled-tied down(see pic. A320k).
Cable ducting troughs laid in the Down Side Cess between Bolton Station, past Newport Street, under Soho Street, Black Horse St & New St, and through Bullfield Tunnel.
The overrun along the line to Blackburn (as far as Bradshawgate Tunnel) looks nearly ready for SPS & wires.
Earth wire up on the Down side west of Moor St Tunnel.
Between Moor Lane & Lostock, Earth wires have already been strung.
Autotransformer wires now largely up between Moor Lane & Mayor St. Bridges, and between Lostock & Ladybridge (on both lines), but registration arms are still largely folded out of place.
Between Beaumont Rd Bridge & Ladybridge, the catenary wires for a neutral section have been installed.
South of Lostock, what was once a pair of portal uprights awaiting a boom has now been replaced by a pair of TTCs.
More masts around the switchgear box are sprouting dangly bits, switchgear kit etc.
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?
All masts now up on the Wigan overlap.
13. Lostock Station; 13m 52ch
Switchgear box delivered 6th April '18. Over the August Bank Holiday Weekend, the two Autotransformers (AT1 & AT2) were delivered.
All TTCs now in behind the Down platform; one of them is not like the others (additional bracing member).
Platform extension/resurfacing work still underway.
14. Lostock (North End) - Euxton Jct; 13m 52ch to 25m 31ch
Two more UTXs have been installed in the "vee" between the Preston & Wigan lines, to the north of Lostock station.
Immediately north of Lostock, the closest TTCs to the platforms have now sprouted part of their switchgear kit.
All C&C wires up on both lines from the "Golf Course" Footbridge (approx. 14m 04ch), over Yarrow Viaduct, through Chorley Station, Chorley Tunnel, the Flying Arches & Buckshaw Parkway to the WCML. Temp. fixings still evident at Buckshaw Pkwy & Adlington stns. AT & earth wires not always present, but the C&C appears continuous.
On Yarrow Viaduct, the northern portal has now been installed. The Down side Earth wire is also up, but the Down side AT wire is still absent. (It is assumed this is replicated on the Up side.)
Orangemen at work in droves on the Up (S-bound) platform at Blackrod.
Orangemen at work on the footpath at the foot of the northern steps of Heath Charnock FB.
Through Chorley Station, all wires bar the AT wires are installed.
The Buckshaw Parkway crossover is also wired.
Within Buckshaw Pkwy, the registration arms on the footbridge are not yet in position.
Do let me know if I've missed anything!