I've just got back from a car and foot trip to Kearsley and sites south. I took longer walks than usual and had the pleasure of good long talks to Orangemen.
In general the news is good, specifically:
1. Agecroft area is increasingly dangloid.
2. Work has started on a project to lay a concrete, stepped access path to the track from the unnamed lane which leads to Bridge MVE1/16 off Lumbs Lane. This may be the building work an Orangeman told me about a while ago.
3. Work has definitely started on a footbridge and paths to replace the footbridges either side of the M60 bridge (please see below).
4. Work has definitely started on a footbridge to replace Red Moss foot crossing between Horwich and the M61
5. Some booms fitted between Kearsley and Farnworth tunnel
6. De-veging continues apace
7. All work teams which were disrupted by Carillion's collapse appear to be protected and are gearing back up. A few sub-contractors secured other work when the balloon went up, so they will need to be replaced.
8. Some teams were unaffected, some were only directed indirectly, eg if plant was defensively removed from site. Buckingham, for example, are full steam ahead on the footbridges.
I was told of one of the problems which fall under the general heading of "difficult ground conditions." A cylindrical base pile was being driven in south of Lever Street, Bolton when suddenly it went from needing to be whacked in to going down by itself. In short it had entered a substantial undocumented Victorian drain. The site has been stabilised, but turning it from a remedial exercise to a safe and sound mast base will involve significant engineering input. This has been put out to tender.
I visited Cock Robin Bridge to try to get eyes on what is being done on the southbound side where there is a gap which I estimate to be three masts long. (I've put poor quality photos from trains in the Combined Volume a few times.) There appears to be two bases to be installed south of the bridge and one immediately to the north. The two to the south are even less visible than from trains, but the bridge affords a grandstand view of the one to the north, where I couldn't make out any base having been installed.
I walked the canal towpath from Park House Bridge Road (53.505051, -2.294063) to Bridge MVE1/16 at (53.518108, -2.308504) and back. This follows the railway for most of the way. My initial aim was to see if I could see any evidence of base work in the blank spot immediately north of Agecroft Road bridge. I could see what looked like excavated sand at one point, but little else, the towpath is on the opposite side of the canal from the railway and the railway climbs whilst the canal is level. The walk paid dividends when I got to Bridge 16 when I talked with my first affable and knowledgable Orangemen of the day. The walk is interesting and to be commended in its own right.
I then went to Dixon Fold bridge (53.530922, -2.341093) and walked the public footpath on the eastern side of the tracks (wellies are a MUST) to 53.528103, -2.330836, immediately north of the M60 bridge, where I met my next affable and informative Orangeman who was one of the Buckingham team setting up a workbase for a footbridge to serve both paths from the A666. Apparently Anderton Hall Lane footbridge is complete, but it awaits NR sign-off. I will post a diagram in the Combined Volume showing what is being built. The Red Moss worksite is on the western side of the tracks, which was why I missed it from the train on my northbound only trip on Friday.
Finally I visited Kearsley station, where new booms are evident, but the best bit was seeing white High Peak hills far beyond the tracks to the south. I fear my camera wasn't up to capturing them.
Photos later.
, I’m on late shifts shortly so will keep an eye out from Blackrod towards Preston, I know they have been installing the raised concrete bases in the cutting At Chorley just before the tunnel nightly recently, I’ve also noticed they have attatched the final arched shaped arms for the actual conductor wires to the booms just near Chorley Road bridge at Adlington then towards Blackrod 
