Linda.smith
Member
- Joined
- 6 Nov 2018
- Messages
- 23
please see the two photos posted from yesteday afternoonWalking over Newport Bridge yesterday evening to the Man City game I looked over at the rail bridge and saw the brackets that had been installed on the outside of the bridge and wondered when they would getting masts! Glad to see some decent progress at last.
please see the two photos posted from yesteday afternoon
Photographs from this morning. In the photograph of the Usk Bridge, the portal didn't appear to be at right angles to the track. The masts attached to the central section are not exactly opposite each other.An excellent and informative pair of photos, Linda! Newport's looking more "Swiss" already with those portals. Wonder what the next Welsh blockade will produce?
when the universally acknowledged truth was that the DafT were doing it purely as a cost-cutting exercise.
The only reasons that the portals can apear to be at right angles to the track, is depenent on the ange from which the picture is taken. Which cn be decieving i9 must admit. Though i am suprised that they only lifted one boom over the duration of the blockade thoughPhotographs from this morning. In the photograph of the Usk Bridge, the portal didn't appear to be at right angles to the track. The masts attached to the central section are not exactly opposite each other.
The view from Mill Street shows some of the ongoing work required to build foundations for the masts on the north side of the formation eastwards from Newport station towards the bridge. The wall has been breached in several places and rebuilding the stone wall has been achieved by creating protruding walls in several places.
All beginning to look very different!
Yeah, those should be the traction changeover signs. There’ll also be a few more for each line: if I recall there’s an advance warning board, a start of changeover and a limit of changeover board, for the entire process.There are 2 large signs on both up and down lines just west of Chippenham road bridge near kellaways. They are currently covered but I'm assuming they are pan up / down signs as it's about a mile to the end of the wires. Anyone able to confirm if this is what they are?
Sometime ago I read that the installation of the ETCS on the lines between Paddington and Reading was on hold because it could not be done at the same time as the electrification. Does anyone know if it has started again or been put on hold? I'm looking for information but can't see much that can be relied upon.
Installation of ETCS throughout from Paddington to Didcot and Bristol Parkway should have been largely completed by now but appears to have been suspended or cancelled. There is no information that I can find in the public doamain about what is happening. I suspect that interference between ETCS and GWR-APT may be the show stopper ? Can anyone cast further light on this ?
Disruption between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington expected until 16:00
Incident created
03/03/2019 12:22
Last updated
03/03/2019 15:10
TOC(s) affected
Great Western Railway;TfL Rail;
Description
Failure of the electricity supply earlier today near Hayes & Harlington is causing disruption to trains between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington. Trains may be delayed by up to 30 minutes or cancelled until approximately 16:00.
I assume this is regarding trains bound for Bristol Temple Meads? If so, @ArchieWoodbine may well have the answer.I have noticed this week that some Bristol-bound trains are now departing Swindon in electric mode with pan up. Previously all trains carrying out the power change did so while stationary in Swindon station. Does this indicate any change in the limits of in-service catenary, or are some drivers simply dropping the pan 'on the fly' approaching Wootton Bassett Jcn?
It's not 100% my area, but I'm not aware of any change in the operating instructions for trains going down to Chippenham. Last I checked, there were still signs at the country-end of Swindon telling drivers bound for Chippenham to pan-down.I assume this is regarding trains bound for Bristol Temple Meads? If so, @ArchieWoodbine may well have the answer.
It's not 100% my area, but I'm not aware of any change in the operating instructions for trains going down to Chippenham. Last I checked, there were still signs at the country-end of Swindon telling drivers bound for Chippenham to pan-down.
An explanation could be that the trains are going to Bristol via the SWB/Parkway, aren't there a few more of these services in the timetable since Christmas?
There’s nothing significant about ETCS in the GW route business plan for CP6. Apart from anything Crossrail related I’d agree it’s well into the long grass.
ETCS will definitely be fitted on the Heathrow branch, therefore also to the new Heathrow Express trains, which explains the first item.An update on the ETCS situation. As swt_passenger said:
In his article on the Crossrail delay in London Reconnections on 7 Jan 2019, Pedantic of Purley wrote: "To aggravate the problem transitioning westbound at Westbourne Park, the signalling system being transitioned to is TPWS+."
There are however some recent news items that imply that ETCS will be installed between Paddington and Airport Junction.
5 Mar 2019 - I see that Heathrow Express Trains will be fitted with ETCS by the end of this year. http://www.railtechnologymagazine.c...s-digital-takeoff-with-heathrow-express-fleet
28 Feb 2019 - The National Audit Office report on Crossrail (https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/A-memorandum-on-the-Crossrail-programme.pdf) has confirmation that the the plan is to have ETCS operating between Paddington and Heathrow.
Of course these things could already be out of date.
ETCS will definitely be fitted on the Heathrow branch, therefore also to the new Heathrow Express trains, which explains the first item.
There will be a need to transition to and from TPWS at the eastern end of Crossrail, so I would have though making the same transition in the west makes things easier rather than more difficult (the only transitions needed are ATO-TPWS and TPWS-ETCS - introducing ETCS out from Paddington would create the need for ATO-ETCS as well).
It's not 100% my area, but I'm not aware of any change in the operating instructions for trains going down to Chippenham. Last I checked, there were still signs at the country-end of Swindon telling drivers bound for Chippenham to pan-down.
An explanation could be that the trains are going to Bristol via the SWB/Parkway, aren't there a few more of these services in the timetable since Christmas?