Scottish Electrification updates & discussion

[och aye]

Some very positive comments at a recent RIA meeting: https://twitter.com/Rail_Elec/status/1036959880781934592

'Scotland in CP6 will have a rolling, long term, work bank for electrification'

Lets hope so. There's no shortage of electrification work needing to be done on the network.

 

[route101]

I see in the local press that the Busby to East Kilbride Line is 150 years old this year. Electrification of the route would make a nice birthday present from the Scottish Government. Hopefully it will be part of the major infrastructure investment announced yesterday.

Suprised there has not been a charter or celebration on the EK line , there has been in the past . I do wonder if EK is next after Shotts ! Though not heard timescales etc , work to be done.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

I suspect that the existing footbridge over P6 and P9 at Stirling Station is going to be lifted out this weekend.

The road alongside the P10 side of the station has signs up saying it will be closed between Friday and Sunday, and when I passed tonight the existing bridge was fenced off with men in orange jackets looking like they were disconnecting it from the steps.

The steps up to the temporary bridge look pretty steep!

Temporary bridge: https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/65/176/ & https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/65/481/
Platform 6-9 footbridge gone: https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/65/462/ & https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/65/463/

 

[Mingulay]

A question if I may. The pylons and gantries at Stirling station are dark grey gunmetal. I assume painted. I assume tone visually less of an impact to the Station buildings. ? But they return to the unfinished metal out with the station.

The darker ones are less obvious. I wonder if there is a case for that as standard. I also assume cost will be higher. The silver metal finish is more intrusive. Certainly if you have a house facing one. I also assume there is some consultation but little negotiation regarding the positioning of pylons ?

Pros and cons tho. Quieter trains. Better air quality. So price worth paying if you live beside the line.

 

[RLBH]

So price worth paying if you live beside the line.

I live next to one of the Glasgow area electrified suburban lines; the occasional diesel-powered train over the line is considerably louder than the normal EMUs. Except for a light engine movement the other week, which was so quiet that if I hadn't looked for it I'd never have noticed. If there's ever a steam movement along the line I'll be fuming, as our car park is one of the few decent viewing locations.

 

[DuncanS]

The pylons actually on the station platforms at Stirling are black. For me they stand out a lot more than the grey ones and not in a nice way.

 

[edwin_m]

A question if I may. The pylons and gantries at Stirling station are dark grey gunmetal. I assume painted. I assume tone visually less of an impact to the Station buildings. ? But they return to the unfinished metal out with the station.

The darker ones are less obvious. I wonder if there is a case for that as standard. I also assume cost will be higher. The silver metal finish is more intrusive. Certainly if you have a house facing one. I also assume there is some consultation but little negotiation regarding the positioning of pylons ?

Pros and cons tho. Quieter trains. Better air quality. So price worth paying if you live beside the line.

The silvery ones weather down to a fairly unobtrusive flat grey over time.

 

[Mingulay]

The pylons actually on the station platforms at Stirling are black. For me they stand out a lot more than the grey ones and not in a nice way.

I guess you cant hide a pylon , but I think the darker tone softens it , which is presumably is why the darker colour is applied . Was this a planning requirement ?

 

[najaB]

I guess you cant hide a pylon , but I think the darker tone softens it , which is presumably is why the darker colour is applied .

If they could be guaranteed to stay that colour without rusting then white would actually be better at 'hiding' them from sight, imo.

 

[deltic08]

If they could be guaranteed to stay that colour without rusting then white would actually be better at 'hiding' them from sight, imo.

Surely olive green as the Marines use as camouflage. Cumberland and Westmoreland County Councils used to insist electricity pylons in the Lake District had to be painted green. They blended in better than the light grey.

 

[Highlandspring]

There is one OLE mast painted dark green on the Down side at Bishopbriggs station and it looks quite smart. They used to paint OLE structures dark grey (some of the stories I’ve heard about how they did it are a rather hair raising) but that went out of the window at privatisation* so now new stuff is galvanised, which does eventually weather down to a matt grey.


*BR used supplement the usual overhead linemen squads by employing students over the summer to help with the painting. All access was from ladders and frequently took place while diesel trains continued to run underneath with the ladders removed .

 

[najaB]

Surely olive green as the Marines use as camouflage. Cumberland and Westmoreland County Councils used to insist electricity pylons in the Lake District had to be painted green.

In an unbuilt environment, definitely yes. But Stirling station is quite light coloured so a light colour would be a closer match to the buildings than a dark one.

 

[Southsider]

There is one OLE mast painted dark green on the Down side at Bishopbriggs station and it looks quite smart. They used to paint OLE structures dark grey (some of the stories I’ve heard about how they did it are a rather hair raising) but that went out of the window at privatisation* so now new stuff is galvanised, which does eventually weather down to a matt grey.


*BR used supplement the usual overhead linemen squads by employing students over the summer to help with the painting. All access was from ladders and frequently took place while diesel trains continued to run underneath with the ladders removed .

Back in the 1970s I was one of those students! I remember some hair raising experiences while working on the north Clyde lines in the east end of Glasgow. One in particular when we were between Alexandra Parade and Barnhill on the Springburn branch which was closed to electric traffic for some reason meaning we could work day shift. Someone made the assumption that meant no trains but halfheartedly posted a lookout nonetheless. Quite a shock when a freight train came through on the old Switchback line with the lookout waving and blowing his whistle. Those of us up ladders had to jump onto what was available, including the contact wire and gripping the catenary, while the ground crew pulled the ladders away - the train didn’t stop! Fortunately health and safety are at the top of the agenda now and the working practices from back then would not be tolerated. If I recall correctly the masts had been galvanised at manufacture but this had broken down over the years and recoating was required - a three stage process of green followed by yellow followed by silver and a coat of bitumen at the base.

 

[route101]

A

Back in the 1970s I was one of those students! I remember some hair raising experiences while working on the north Clyde lines in the east end of Glasgow. One in particular when we were between Alexandra Parade and Barnhill on the Springburn branch which was closed to electric traffic for some reason meaning we could work day shift. Someone made the assumption that meant no trains but halfhearted posted a lookout nonetheless. Quite a shock when a freight train came through on the old Switchback line with the lookout waving and blowing his whistle. Those of us up ladders had to jump onto what was available, including the contact wire and gripping the catenary, while the ground crew pulled the ladders away - the train didn’t stop! Fortunately health and safety are at the top of the agenda now and the working practices from back then would not be tolerated. If I recall correctly the masts had been galvanised at manufacture but this had broken down over the years and recoating was required - a three stage process of green followed by yellow followed by silver and a coat of bitumen at the base.

Do you know why there is a band of bitumen at the bottom?

 

[Southsider]

A


Do you know why there is a band of bitumen at the bottom?

Better water proofing and chipping resistance perhaps.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

——so now new stuff is galvanised, which does eventually weather down to a matt grey.

OLE masts have always been galvanized

 

[matchmaker]

Black versus grey masts hardly seems a problem when you have the hideous white footbridge to contend with!

 

[edwin_m]

I've seen mustard-coloured paint on 60s-vintage WCML structures, must have been back in the 80s or 90s, probably because being a sacrificial protection the galvanising eventually breaks down as mentioned. I guess it's some kind of undercoat because they end up silver-grey again, but I don't know if the eventual finish is new galvanising or just some kind of paint that keeps the metal dry.

 

[och aye]

Livingston South is planned to be reopened on Sep 17th according to this update from NR:

https://twitter.com/shottslineelec/status/1039175301996130305

 

[Altnabreac]

Livingston South is planned to be reopened on Sep 17th according to this update from NR:

https://twitter.com/shottslineelec/status/1039175301996130305

To be accurate Livingston South re-opened on Monday April 9th. That update is about the station stairs re-opening (currently access is only via a ramp on each side).

 

[Southsider]

I've seen mustard-coloured paint on 60s-vintage WCML structures, must have been back in the 80s or 90s, probably because being a sacrificial protection the galvanising eventually breaks down as mentioned. I guess it's some kind of undercoat because they end up silver-grey again, but I don't know if the eventual finish is new galvanising or just some kind of paint that keeps the metal dry.

Just paint in the past. May be something more sophisticated now.

 

[InOban]

Doesn't galvanising work best if exposed to the elements?

 

[edwin_m]

I wonder if the special oil rig paint used on the Forth Bridge would fit the bill.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Just paint in the past. May be something more sophisticated now.

I wonder if the special oil rig paint used on the Forth Bridge would fit the bill.

Doesn't galvanising work best if exposed to the elements?

Galvanizing works by sacrificial protection. If it gets scratched the corrosion products fill the scratch and acts as a protectant. Most cars these days are hot dipped galvanized then electrocoated and then further coated so you can have both. You can prolong the life of OHLE stanchions and steelwork by putting a heavier coating of zinc on the steel in the first place but this of course does increase the initial CAPEX/Cost. In the case of the early 1960s WCML, some structures were rusting badly as the galv had worn away. In this case you MUST first use an etch primer. This is usually has phosphoric acid in and also solvents to degrease the surface. Then a further primer followed by undercoat and top coat can be added as required. Colour can be what you want within reason. Long story short, coating/painting can be used as well as galv.

On a North Sea Oil Rig that is a HUGELY expensive asset as is the Forth Bridge so yes it would work but could the cost be justified for an OHLE stanchion? I doubt it.

 

[route101]

Better water proofing and chipping resistance perhaps.

OK , i was thinking of lamposts that have black band at bottome but thats for ground level

 

[edwin_m]

OK , i was thinking of lamposts that have black band at bottome but thats for ground level

Maybe not quite so many dogs around the bottoms of OLE supports?

 

[route101]

Maybe not quite so many dogs around the bottoms of OLE supports?

Ha , is that what they are for on lamposts? If they get painted thens it pointless

 

[Chris125]

Seems the Grangemouth branch has progressed, there are wires at Fouldubs! Credit to John Webb for the photo.


FOULDUBS JUNCTION 66080 by JOHN WEBB, on Flickr

 

[kilonewton]

I guess you cant hide a pylon , but I think the darker tone softens it , which is presumably is why the darker colour is applied . Was this a planning requirement ?

Short answer, yes. Although the anti climb stuff and the smaller steel components are galvanised as per usual, so it looks quite silly in my opinion.

 

[Fougasse]

Shotts update.

All catenary and contact wires are now installed on the up line between Holytown Junction and Mid-Calder, with the exception of Carfin cutting.