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Blackpool - Manchester Electrification

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LDECRexile

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I have finally added Monday's films and photos to the Combined Volumes here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157648494725811

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157648767927083

I will strive to add captions, give due credit and add to individuals' albums today.

Apologies for the delay
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Apparently attachments to my message earlier today were skew whiff. Let's hope this lot are better.

I've added Joe's images to his album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157651953947345

and ALX400's to his album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157651121057352

and all our material to the Combined Volume here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157648767927083

Thank you Joe and ALX.
 
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Senex

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Very interesting. I have never actually been on a train through Bolton that has not actually called at Bolton so I have never experienced it.

When Virgin was working the XC service some Voyagers ran through non-stop, and a tedious business it was.

In the old days non-stop trains between Manchester and Preston tended to run via the Atherton line and Hilton House, a route which avoided both the congestion and the excessively low speed of Bolton.
 

1978NWUK

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37
I meant, which OLE structure numbers!

And if it wasn't ***f*** ***t* and it wasn't ********n, that means it can only be *o**** R***?

Apologies for the rather late response, you're close but no cigar I'm afraid☺.

It wasn't V**k** or C***l*** or the swear word.
 

LDECRexile

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Cemetery Road bridge has opened to road traffic.

Joe Callaghan has kindly sent an action photo, which I've added to his album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157651953947345

and to the Combined Volume here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157648767927083

Thank you Joe
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Joe has followed through with three night shots plus a film, including a 6 car Northern train.

I've added them to his album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157651953947345

and to the Combined Volume here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157648767927083

Thanks once again Joe
 
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Viscount702

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The route through Ordsall Lane Junction is closed for the first three weekends in January for engineering works. Do we know what work this is?

Also the route through Manchester Victoria is closed every Sunday from 24 January to sometime in April. Northern say this is for electrification work. This seems a long time to deal with Deal Street to Crescent? Again do we know if this is electrification work or something else, because I think there was some capacity improvement work and track changes to be done to the west of Victoria which I think haven't been done yet which should have been.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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At a guess it will be for starting construction of a route via the presently disused platforms at Salford Central.
This is to allow for the Ordsall Chord to be constructed partly on the current track which avoids Salford Central.
No doubt some of the newly erected OHLE will have to be diverted/extended as well.
Hopefully they will fit in the route work on the links to Salford Crescent too.
It will take a good deal longer than that to build the new platforms at Central, though.
 

Philip Phlopp

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Really? Seems decidedly sort-sighted by Network Rail if so.

Please do give us some credit - if you look at the route, you'll note twin track cantilevers at the point the Orsdall Chord diverges, so no significant changes needed to *most* structures.

The *main* changes will be wiring in the diverging tracks at either end, and providing masts for the new routes, with some replacement of the existing TTCs when the new structures exist on which to erect wider portal structures.

There is plenty of forward planning going on, that's why things are more expensive than was once the case, for example, the portals out at the side of the telephone exchange at Huyton are ready for the four tracking.

British Rail did things a bit differently and it might have been the case that the lowest cost option was used for electrification, regardless of the need to change things shortly afterwards, because it would be separately funded.
 
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LNW-GW Joint

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Are the MCV closures the start of electrification to Stalybridge?

The Stalybridge line is closed, but I imagine it will be for clearance work (bridges etc), or maybe the start of resignalling.
They haven't properly restarted Manchester-Preston yet.
 

chrissawer

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Northern Rail have announced two further weekend closures of the line through Farnworth tunnel to finish the work.

http://www.northernrail.org/news/7833

The dates to finish off the Farnworth Tunnel project have been announced as the weekends of:

23-24 January and
30-31 January 2016

During both of these weekends the railway line through Farnworth Tunnel will be closed. Trains will be amended, diverted or replaced by a bus service, with no trains running between Bolton and Manchester.

The full replacement times will be available from 11 January, so please check back after this date.

Once these weekends are finished, the redevelopment of Farnworth Tunnel will be complete. This project forms part of a major £1billon+ programme of investment from Network Rail that will greatly improve rail services across the north of England. It will eventually bring more capacity, faster services and better connections between major cities and allow us to run better, greener and faster electric trains.
 

Viscount702

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Thats interesting.

Northern have already announced that the lines to Victoria are closed every Sunday from the 24 January until mid April for as they stated Electrification work although I have doubts about that being entirely correct.

All trains through Bolton were being diverted away from Victoria to other stations but RTT etc were showing the line open.
 

Chrisyd

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Please do give us some credit - if you look at the route, you'll note twin track cantilevers at the point the Orsdall Chord diverges, so no significant changes needed to structures.

The only changes will be wiring in the diverging tracks at either end, and providing masts for the new routes.

There is plenty of forward planning going on, that's why things are more expensive than was once the case, for example, the portals out at the side of the telephone exchange at Huyton are ready for the four tracking.

British Rail did things a bit differently and it might have been the case that the lowest cost option was used for electrification, regardless of the need to change things shortly afterwards, because it would be separately funded.

For the sake of my understanding, can you clarify when you say this, when currently there are two electrified tracks to the far side of the disused platform. According to my understanding of the plans (and this could be where the confusion lies!) when finished, there will be one track on the far side (The chord track), two tracks going through the disused platform (Liverpool tracks) space and the existing two, making 5 in total, all served by platforms. Therefore 1 of the 2 current wires will be coming down. Appreciate the gantries at either end do span a significantly greater width than is currently necessary.

Thanks
 

Philip Phlopp

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For the sake of my understanding, can you clarify when you say this, when currently there are two electrified tracks to the far side of the disused platform. According to my understanding of the plans (and this could be where the confusion lies!) when finished, there will be one track on the far side (The chord track), two tracks going through the disused platform (Liverpool tracks) space and the existing two, making 5 in total, all served by platforms. Therefore 1 of the 2 current wires will be coming down. Appreciate the gantries at either end do span a significantly greater width than is currently necessary.

Thanks

The Chat Moss Lines move north and through the redundant central platforms, with the 'Ordsall Chord line' being routed through one of the trackbeds vacated by the Chat Moss Lines (southernmost, I think).

The new Chat Moss lines have portal structures in place already at the eastern end of Salford Central, awaiting small part steelwork and wires, which will move over from the existing lines, the rest is waiting the masts, TTCs and portal structures being erected.

I've edited my previous post to clarify a couple of points - there are some masts and TTCs to be moved and replaced, but this can only happen when the new structures exist onto which wider portal gantries will be installed for the Ordsall Chord wiring. There's nothing that has been put where it will knowingly need to be moved or will disrupt the Ordsall Chord, but there are things which we know are effectively temporary.
 
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Philip Phlopp

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Further to the correspondence about Salford Central, could any of these help give an idea of what's in store?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157660400952703

There was a discussion last Summer (ish) when people put coloured lines on versions of some of them.

Merry Christmas

Perfect. I'll need to see exactly what is planned for the station too, including the 'passive provision' for future growth and more platforms (or have I made that up ?)
 

snowball

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Perfect. I'll need to see exactly what is planned for the station too, including the 'passive provision' for future growth and more platforms (or have I made that up ?)

I thought that an increase to 5 platforms was to be built simultaneously with the Chord, though funded separately via TfGM; and that any further increase would be pointless in view of the constraints at Victoria.
 

Philip Phlopp

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I thought that an increase to 5 platforms was to be built simultaneously with the Chord, though funded separately via TfGM; and that any further increase would be pointless in view of the constraints at Victoria.

Yes. It's a long term requirement to not do anything to hinder further expansion, if/when Victoria undergoes expansion of its own.

There's a need to ensure nothing prevents additional track being installed on the redundant track bed immediately to the south of the current Down Chat Moss Line (which will become the Ordsall Chord Line).

It's currently clear apart from a couple of TTCs at the Vic end and a signalling run, it's desirable to keep it relatively clear in the future, if possible.
 

LDECRexile

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I've just wasted ten minutes looking back for the discussion about Salford Central layout, then it dawned that it was held on the Manchester-Liveerpool Electrification thread - Doh!

The key page on that thread is 335

The key posts are snowball's #5014 where he came up with plans

and my #5018 where I sought to interpret them onto a photo.

The correspondence may have gone on further, but I'm on a 3 Line Whip to go emergency shopping....

http://www.railforums.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=22711&d=1434581734
 

Philip Phlopp

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I've just wasted ten minutes looking back for the discussion about Salford Central layout, then it dawned that it was held on the Manchester-Liveerpool Electrification thread - Doh!

The key page on that thread is 335

The key posts are snowball's #5014 where he came up with plans

and my #5018 where I sought to interpret them onto a photo.

The correspondence may have gone on further, but I'm on a 3 Line Whip to go emergency shopping....

http://www.railforums.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=22711&d=1434581734

The blue/green line forming Platform 3 will be the Up Chat Moss Line. Red is Down Chat Moss Line on Platform 4, white is Platform 5 and yellow is the Ordsall Chord Line on Platform 5.

Disused track bed we would like to keep relatively clear is (with a signalling cable run at present) to the right of the 'yellow' Ordsall Chord Line.
 

Class 170101

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No doubt some of the newly erected OHLE will have to be diverted/extended as well.

Please do give us some credit - if you look at the route, you'll note twin track cantilevers at the point the Orsdall Chord diverges, so no significant changes needed to *most* structures.

The *main* changes will be wiring in the diverging tracks at either end, and providing masts for the new routes, with some replacement of the existing TTCs when the new structures exist on which to erect wider portal structures.

There is plenty of forward planning going on, that's why things are more expensive than was once the case, for example, the portals out at the side of the telephone exchange at Huyton are ready for the four tracking.

British Rail did things a bit differently and it might have been the case that the lowest cost option was used for electrification, regardless of the need to change things shortly afterwards, because it would be separately funded.


I was trying to give NR some credit because I couldn't believe NR would have done what LNW-GW Joint suggested. It would just be plain stupid.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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I was trying to give NR some credit because I couldn't believe NR would have done what LNW-GW Joint suggested. It would just be plain stupid.

I meant the wires themselves rather than the steelwork, to follow the new track alignments.
I am well aware of the original positioning of the masts to allow for the future Chord development, as I pointed out on here when they were first erected 2 years ago.
 
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