Blackpool - Manchester Electrification

[iandavid59]

How good is the source of this rumor?

Rail Replacement new diagrams showing from today up until 23rd December for coaches between Man Vic and Bolton and Man Vic to Preston.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Rail Replacement new diagrams showing from today up until 23rd December for coaches between Man Vic and Bolton and Man Vic to Preston.

Oh dear oh dear - not good. Christmas shopping time too. The TOCs will not be happy at all

 

[chorleyjeff]

Rail Replacement new diagrams showing from today up until 23rd December for coaches between Man Vic and Bolton and Man Vic to Preston.

Oh no.
I live half way between Blackpool and Manchester.
Absolutely sick of how this job drags on and on.
Had to give up leisure rail travel this summer and now winter. Railcard a wast of time.
Ah well more plodding along the M61, M6 and M55.

 

[DJH1971]

Oh dear oh dear - not good. Christmas shopping time too. The TOCs will not be happy at all

Neither will the police as they fear this could see a rise in drink-driving.

 

[wrinkley]

Just to add to the misery, little or no visible progress around Lostock since last week, one more autotensioner now permanently connected, one small coil of wire taken down from the OHLE. All other temporary connections still in place and the 25kV cables still lying in the vee at the junction, nothing worth photographing.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Oh no.
I live half way between Blackpool and Manchester.
Absolutely sick of how this job drags on and on.
Had to give up leisure rail travel this summer and now winter. Railcard a wast of time.
Ah well more plodding along the M61, M6 and M55.

No trains on Saturdays anyway, with the brothers out over ... well nothing really.

 

[PDG1949]

Not quite on topic, but it appears Platform 1 at Lime Street is now back in use

https://www.railforums.co.uk/attachments/img_20181014_092253207-jpg.53708/

 

[Jamesrob637]

Rail Replacement new diagrams showing from today up until 23rd December for coaches between Man Vic and Bolton and Man Vic to Preston.

But trains to and from Manchester Piccadilly/Ox Road/Airport

 

[142Pilot]

But trains to and from Manchester Piccadilly/Ox Road/Airport

Golborne junction.

 

[thealexweb]

Golborne junction.

Seriously? Network Rail is still going to be blocking Salford Crescent stopping Walkden services. Concentrate all resources on the Manchester end and get Salford moving.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Seriously? Network Rail is still going to be blocking Salford Crescent stopping Walkden services.

That is just crazy if true.

Concentrate all resources on the Manchester end and get Salford moving.

EXACTLY- But I assumed that was happening already - in fact I thought it was energized to Salford Crescent.

 

[PR1Berske]

There's opportunity I think of creating a thread based on recent posts here in addition to the on-going Arriva DOO thread. Impact on travel in the north, particularly leisure travel, across 2018, a year which has seen either massive disruption over strikes or massive disruption over engineering works. Commuter traffic might be able to soak up the disruption. Leisure travel? Less resilient.

 

[Geeves]

Just my 2p's worth but I seem to remember buses being in the timetable simply as a precautionary measure on other works in case of over runs? Could this potentially be the case?

 

[LDECRexile]

I thought it was energized to Salford Crescent.

Energised nearly to Windsor Bridge South Junction, but please remember last Monday's photos of temp fixings at Salford Crescent itself.

I intend to go to the Salfords and Bolton tomorrow for a shufty, fingers crossed Paul will come, too.

 

[yorksrob]

Seriously? Network Rail is still going to be blocking Salford Crescent stopping Walkden services. Concentrate all resources on the Manchester end and get Salford moving.

At the end of thise process, I hope there is some careful consideration given to how the closure of the Atherton line for such long periods could have been avoided. It seems to me that almost any temporary resignalling , installation of crossovers to permit single line working etc, regardless of cost, would have been preferable to having both the Bolton and Walkden lines closed for almost every weekend over more than a year.

 

[chrissawer]

please remember last Monday's photos of temp fixings at Salford Crescent itself.

This morning it looked like the temporary pulley fixings at Salford Crescent have gone, but only to be replaced by what looked like copper wire wrapped round the pair of wires on platform 1. Definitely not finished yet.

 

[superkev]

From an earlier post aren't some parts supposed to be energised by now. Is anything actually switched on.
K

 

[scrapy]

At the end of thise process, I hope there is some careful consideration given to how the closure of the Atherton line for such long periods could have been avoided. It seems to me that almost any temporary resignalling , installation of crossovers to permit single line working etc, regardless of cost, would have been preferable to having both the Bolton and Walkden lines closed for almost every weekend over more than a year.

If Salford Crescent is out of action can't Northern work back towards Southport/Kirkby from Walkden crossover anyhow?

 

[yorksrob]

If Salford Crescent is out of action can't Northern work back towards Southport/Kirkby from Walkden crossover anyhow?

One would have hoped they might at least run part of the line where possible.

 

[LDECRexile]

I visited Salford Crescent and Bolton today.

Appreciable wiring progress at both, but neither is complete.

I've added photos to the Combined Volume here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157661069863633

 

[59CosG95]

GSoP Post 24.0
Manchester Victoria - Preston; State of Play, week beginning 15th October 2018.
All wire runs up! LIVE (from Euxton Jct to Buckshaw Parkway; and from Windsor Bridge South Jct to Ordsall Lane Jct/Deal St Jct) as of 1st October.
As wiring is not completed between Windsor Bridge South Jct & Buckshaw Parkway, testing has been postponed.
All mileages from Manchester Victoria. Bridge mileages are approximated where noted.

1. Man Vic Station (Platforms 3-6) - Man Vic West Jct - Deal Street Jct; 0m 0ch to 0m 32ch
Fully wired and energised 2013-15.
(N.B. Platforms 1 & 2 at Man Vic have now been bedanglied; more masts may still need to be installed at the east side of Man Vic before wires can go up over all lines; however this is not considered as part of this programme.

2. Deal Street Jct - Windsor Bridge South Jct; 0m 32ch to 1m 46ch
Fully wired and LIVE as of 1/10/18. Wires overlap into the CEMEX sidings (Hope Street). At Salford Central, the westbound (Down) platform has had RSC ducting installed at shin height.
Protruding roof beams were also cut back to facilitate the addition of wires. With Salford Central now wired, all wires are up from Manchester Victoria & Manchester Piccadilly to Euxton Jct.

3. Windsor Bridge South Jct - Windsor Bridge North Jct (inc. Salford Crescent); 1m 46ch to 1m 70ch
All lines through Salford Crescent are wired; all wires east and south of Windsor Bridge South Jct are LIVE (as of 1/10/18). P1 (and the avoider) now have Section Insulators.
Repairs to the wooden fence on the eastern side have/are taken/taking place.
The crossovers at Agecroft South Jct, and Windsor Bridge North Jct are also fully wired. Wires are also up on the overruns along the Atherton Line.

4. Windsor Bridge North Jct - Bolton (South End); 1m 70ch to 10m 50ch
Both lines are FULLY wired from Windsor Bridge North Jct to Lever St Jct; wires continue through Bolton P3 & P4 towards Lostock & the WCML at Euxton Jct.
At Clifton, Drainage manhole modules are awaiting installation; temporary covers are over their future homes. Temporary fixings are still evident at Clifton.
Bridge MVE1 27B (immediately NW of the M60 overbridge) is fully erected, but unopened, and work on the walkway is not yet finished.
The Platform 5 Line is fully wired (C&C) from the points at Weston St to Orlando St Bridge; C&C wires have now gone up through P5, under Newport St bridge to a Tensorex drum nr Morrisons.
South of Lever Street footbridge, the Up Line now has ATF wires installed.

5. Bolton Station; 10m 50ch
All masts in the station area are now in place. Earth wires now in. Canopies look complete, and platforms now fully open. The number of temporary fixings on the OLE has also reduced.
Platform 1: Wires now up through the platform. It is assumed they continue onto the Blackburn overrun, parallel to their comrades on P3.
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. Buffers look finished.
Platform 3 (Up Bolton): Wired from Orlando St Bridge, through the station, and onwards to Lostock & the WCML. The majority of fixings used are permanent (some are still temporary). Blackburn Line overrun now installed.
Platform 4 (Down Bolton): Wired from Weston Street through P4 and onwards to Lostock & the WCML.
Platform 5: UTXs wait to be installed in the works compund west of the track. Bar one fixing, C&C wires through P5 now look fully complete. Shin-high ducting now has cables installed.

6. Bolton (North End) - Lostock (South End); 10m 50ch to 13m 52ch
All lines heading north out of Bolton are now wired: P1 & P3 to the end of the Blackburn overrun, and P3-5 towards the Bullfield Tunnels and thence to Lostock & the WCML.
The crossover NW of Newport Street has not been wired yet.
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) has now been wired from P3; they have yet to reach there from P1.
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); they have now gone under Dean Clough Bridge & the Ladybridge on both sides.
A UTX has been installed in the "vee" in Lostock Jct; this now takes the ATF wires for both routes at Lostock Jct.
Most (if not all) wires are now up over Lostock Jct itself.
All masts now up on the Wigan overlap; earth wires now up too, in varying lengths on both sides. C&C wires also up on the overlap on both lines until the Limit of Wiring. Some dangly arms and all the termination insulators have not yet been installed.

7. Lostock Station; 13m 52ch
Switchgear box delivered 6th April '18. Over the August Bank Holiday Weekend, the two Autotransformers (AT1 & AT2) were delivered.
Both Preston Lines wired through the station to connect with the existing wires north of "Golf Course" footbridge. One wire run through the station still has temporary fixings.
Platform extension/resurfacing work complete on the Down platform (fully) and the Up platform (NW of the station bridge); work on the Up platform still ongoing.
ATF wires are in through the UTXs around the station; none are yet connected.
The arrangements at Lostock were designed to support the electrification to Wigan, so the UTX should be sized to take four feeder cables to the proposed neutral section located towards Westhoughton. Two feeders for each track, one each side of the NS. Wigan-Lostock has no AF, classic boosterless only.

8. 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; one takes the ATF wires for the Wigan Line, the other does the same for the Preston Line.
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 south of Bolton, through Lostock, Horwich, Blackrod & Adlington, 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 is 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.)
AT wires still need installation/remedial work at Station Rd Bridge (Blackrod; B5238; 17m 9ch). These now appear to have gone up, and stretch northwards from Blackrod towards Adlington.
At Railway Rd Bridge (Adlington; 19m 0148yds), AT wires (and some earth wires) still need to be installed.
Within Adlington Station, orangemen were digging ducting trenches for the Earthing bonds for the TTCs on the Up platform.
Orangemen at work on the footpath at the foot of the northern steps of Heath Charnock FB.
Through Chorley Station, all wires (including ATF wires) are installed.
The Buckshaw Parkway crossover is also wired.
Within Buckshaw Pkwy, the registration arms on the footbridge are now in position.

Do let me know if I've missed anything!

 

[Joseph_Locke]

B434r - one of the many TSC* installations that are yet to go in.

Track sectioning cabin, aka few small grey cabinets to control the motorised section switches / fixed earthing devices (FEDs).

 

[LDECRexile]

B434r - one of the many TSC* installations that are yet to go in.

Track sectioning cabin, aka few small grey cabinets to control the motorised section switches / fixed earthing devices (FEDs).

Thank you, I've updated the caption accordingly.

 

[Ploughman]

Went through Salford Crescent again today.
Noticed the Mast id plates.
Am I right in assuming that MG implies Manchester - Glasgow? Or is it another G location? Golbourne?
This is also noticeable East of Victoria where I spotted VL on the plates possibly implying Victoria - Leeds?

Am I right in my assumption?

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Went through Salford Crescent again today.
Noticed the Mast id plates.
Am I right in assuming that MG implies Manchester - Glasgow? Or is it another G location? Golbourne?
This is also noticeable East of Victoria where I spotted VL on the plates possibly implying Victoria - Leeds?

Am I right in my assumption?

G is the West Coast Main line and M is (very sort of) Manchester, so MG.

VL is Victoria to Leeds, but http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/electrification/mast_prefix1.shtm also lists LH as the rather unlikely "Liverpool Edge Hill-Hull via Manchester Victoria and Leeds", but I suppose NPR might use it someday ...

ML might make an appearance too, "Euxton Junction-Manchester Deal Street Junction via Bolton", but only for the bit between Deal Street and Windsor Bridge South.

 

[LDECRexile]

There's at least one on the Lostock-Wigan overlap, with a top set of letters which aren't obviously mnemonic (but I can't remember them).

I keep trying to photograph it from passing trains, but failing abysmally. There's a bonus point for anyone who can send me a legible image for the Combined Volume.

PS, points for similar on the Bolton-Blackburn and Salford Crescent-Atherton overlaps, too.

 

[TBSchenker]

There's at least one on the Lostock-Wigan overlap, with a top set of letters which aren't obviously mnemonic (but I can't remember them).

LCN

Which must stand for Lostock Crow Nest.

 

[edwin_m]

LCN

Which must stand for Lostock Crow Nest.

LCN is the Engineers Line Reference for Lostock to Crow Nest. Every section of line has a three-letter reference, which are usually chosen to be memorable subject to avoiding clashes elsewhere on the network, so it is almost certainly derived as you espect. If there is a change of mileage on the section then the ELR will have a digit after it so that the combination of 4-character ELR and mileage uniquely identifies a single place on the network (and I think whoever looks after closed lines uses the same system).

Why they don't just use those on OLE supports everywhere instead of inventing yet another set of codes is a mystery.

 

[59CosG95]

LCN is the Engineers Line Reference for Lostock to Crow Nest. Every section of line has a three-letter reference, which are usually chosen to be memorable subject to avoiding clashes elsewhere on the network, so it is almost certainly derived as you espect. If there is a change of mileage on the section then the ELR will have a digit after it so that the combination of 4-character ELR and mileage uniquely identifies a single place on the network (and I think whoever looks after closed lines uses the same system).

Why they don't just use those on OLE supports everywhere instead of inventing yet another set of codes is a mystery.

This page (http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/electrification/mast_prefix0.shtm) and the accompnaying map (http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/electrification/ole_schematic.pdf) provide a comprehensive list as to why this is.

 

[swt_passenger]

Why they don't just use those on OLE supports everywhere instead of inventing yet another set of codes is a mystery.

I expect because electrification supply areas and switching/isolation boundaries don’t map onto ELRs 1:1 so it is much safer to have dedicated codes.