The moment you've all been waiting for - the newest GSoP! For those wondering, my final exam (on Geotechnical Engineering) went pretty well.
So, without further ado..:
GSoP Post 7.0
Manchester Victoria - Preston; State of Play, week beginning 28th May 2018 (inc. Bank Holiday).
32 bases & 188 masts remain.
All mileages from Manchester Victoria. Bridge mileages are approximated where noted.
1. Man Vic Station (West End) - Man Vic West Jct - Deal Street Jct; 0m 0ch to 0m 32ch
Fully wired 2013-15.
2. Deal Street Jct - Salford Central (East End); 0m 32ch to 0m 59ch
Fully masted.
Limit of electrification is currently at 0m 46ch; SPS is up along the unwired stretch.
3. Salford Central; 0m 59ch
Fully masted, most SPS (Small Part Steelwork e.g. dangly bits) up. No wires.
4. Salford Central (West End) - Windsor Bridge South Jct; 0m 59ch to 1m 46ch
All bases in place, mostly with masts, no
catenary or earth wires. Two runs of Earth wire are up; many thanks to @Joseph_Locke for the information. More going up on 17/5.
5. Windsor Bridge South Jct - Windsor Bridge North Jct (inc. Salford Crescent); 1m 46ch to 1m 70ch
No wires. No bases in Salford Crescent P2, though Orangemen were out & about spraying fresh paint on the small retaining wall on April 23rd; these may be potential positions for new masts.
At least 3 bases are in adjacent to P2, behind the fence; a 4th driven tube appears to be unfinished, hidden by undergrowth at the Bolton end. @GRALISTAIR believes 1 base is missing, and about 3 masts are missing.
Both tracks to the east of Salford Crescent (the Up & Down Bolton thru P1, and the Up Bolton immediately to the east of that) are completely bedanglied through the station.
S Jct looks ready for wiring, but mast gaps still present at N Jct. Lots of SPS up immediately north of Salford Cres.; all stalactites up beneath the bridge at the south end on all lines.
Registration arms have now appeared on all of these; many thanks to @Joseph_Locke and @GRALISTAIR for the information.
6. Windsor Bridge North Jct - Clifton (South End); 1m 70ch to 4m 57ch
Many bases in place, some with masts, no wires.
At Pendleton (the Old Station site), just north of Broughton Rd Bridge (2m 26ch), the Pendleton retaining wall has been cut back in several places to make room for bases (which are all now in).
Between Frederick Rd & Broughton Rd (2m 26ch) bridges, most masts are up, except on the "problem bases" around Broughton Rd. The 3 bases, between Broughton Rd Bridge & Cockrobin Bridge (approx. 2m 51ch) have all now been driven home.
The "problem base" north of Cockrobin Bridge may be a TTC (Twin Track Cantilever) on the s'bound side (see photo A020m).
Dangly bits up near Agecroft, but no work on missing bases in the walled stretch north of Agecroft Rd.
Steelwork north of Park House Rd Bridge looks complete.
Structure going up between Agecroft Rd bridge and Clifton, nr Lumns Lane.
Lot of masts with SPS up on the southern approach to Clifton.
7. Clifton Station; 4m 57ch
1 boomed TTC (with SPS), no wires.
Base for another TTC in behind the southbound platform.
8. Clifton (North End) - Kearsley (South End); 4m 57ch to 7m 57ch
Most/all bases in place, large no. of masts, no wires.
Concrete slab base curing north of the former Dixon Fold station site (around the new footbridge, approx. 6m 00ch); most/all masts up there, with lots of stovepipes up.
Looking south from Kearsley, all masts that are up appear to be fully kitted out with SPS.
9. Kearsley Station; 7m 57ch
All bases in place, no masts, no wires.
10. Kearsley (North End) - Farnworth (South End); 7m 57ch to 8m 31ch
All masts (almost all with booms), no wires. Dangly bits starting to appear at the Kearsley end. Farnworth tunnel (8m 25ch) has all its registration arms in place.
11. Farnworth Station; 8m 31ch
All bases in place, 1 or 2 masts, no wires.
12. Farnworth (North End) - Moses Gate (South End); 8m 31ch to 9m 06ch
A pair of bases & squat masts are up between Farnworth Station footbridge and Rawson St Bridge (approx. 8m 44ch).
Fully boomed and partially bedanglied TTCs up between Rawson St & the Balustraded Bridge (approx. 8m 56ch).
The Gravity "Base of the century" just south of the Squeeze Belly Entry footbridge (approx. 8m 67ch) is now curing away nicely, with shuttering removed.
13. Moses Gate Station; 9m 06ch
Fully masted, no wires
14. Moses Gate (North End) - Bolton (South End); 9m 06ch to 10m 50ch
Weston St to Moses Gate looks almost ready for wiring.
Many bases, many masts, no wires. SPS and Tensorex drums appearing on some masts/cantilevers around Burnden Jct (10m 09ch).
All uprights appear to be up on both sides of Lever St footbridge; a multi-track portal is up immediately to the south of the bridge. To the north (on the east side), a TTC with reduced-height registration arms is up.
Orlando St Bridge appears to be fully "stovepiped".
15. Bolton Station; 10m 50ch
Through the station, all lines are fully masted with the exception of P1 (1 mast missing between Weston St & Newport St bridges) and P5 (1 mast missing between Weston St & Bradshawgate Tunnel), according to the observations of Reg.
The
1st TTC up over P1/2 has now been bedanglied;
in total, P1/2 is covered by 4 TTCs and 3 STCs. P2 still requires its "termination mast".
Platforms 98% open to public; the 2% not open is a fenced-off section of canopy support to the right of signal "MP9239". P2 buffers look finished. Canopies look complete.
Earth wires now going in; the first one runs parallel to P3, from the southern end almost up to the road bridge at the northern end. A second one (parallel to P5) is up, and it extends south through Burnden as far as the eye can see.
16. Bolton (North End) - Lostock (South End); 10m 50ch to 13m 52ch
Newport St bridge has now had studs/brackets of some kind drilled in.
The run of masts between Newport St & the NW end of P5 now have their earth wire affixed. Gt. Moor St. bridge now has a stovepipe in on the Down side. The most recently cured base, fresh from unwrapping, has now had a mast & two dangly assemblies put up (see pic. A300k).
Between Newport Street Bridge & Moor Lane (the Bullfield Tunnels area), the tunnels are bedanglied throughout, with Aerial Earth Wire (AEW) brackets up in both. Cable ducting troughs laid between New St & Black Horse St on the Down side, in the cess.
The overrun along the line to Blackburn (as far as Bradshawgate Tunnel) looks nearly ready for SPS & wires.
East of Dean Clough Bridge (12m 26ch), 2 "failed" driven pile bases on the southbound side now have formwork for concrete gravity pad replacements in position, awaiting the concrete pour.
Between Dean Clough Bridge and 'the' Ladybridge (next one further west), all masts appear to be up, with cantilever assembles affixed (and folded out of place).
Thence, between 'the' Ladybridge and Beaumont Rd, all 22 STCs are in, and 2 out of the 3 TTCs are up too.
All bases are in place between Beaumont Rd & Lostock station. 11 masts are still missing.
Just south of Lostock, outstanding short, fat bases are being driven, augered out, rebarred and then concreted; this process is also being used on the overrun for the Wigan lines, via Lostock Jct (13m 39ch).
Masts have started to appear immediately south of Lostock; at the extreme southern end of the station, a twin track portal with SPS has been erected,
with the uprights for a 4-track portal over Lostock Jct waiting to be "boomed" immediately south of that. 3 "failed" protruding, uncapped pile bases are on the Wigan Line; one assumes that gravity pad replacements will eventually be in the offing.
A UTX has been installed in the "vee" in Lostock Jct, for buried service access.
Work currently going on with stacks of cable ducting on the Wigan Line - possibly from the substation?
17. Lostock Station; 13m 52ch
Switchgear box delivered 6th April '18.
Two bases in behind the Down line platform north of the station bridge; the first bears a TTC (sans boom), the second is next to an abandoned Large-Dia. pile and will probably bear a TTC.
18. Lostock (North End) - Horwich Pkwy (South End); 13m 52ch to 15m 50ch
Two more UTXs have been installed in the "vee" between the two lines, to the north of the station.
Immediately north of the station, the closest TTCs to the platforms have now sprouted part of their switchgear kit.
For a mile between the stations, all wires up from the "Golf Course" Footbridge (approx. 14m 04ch) to half a mile south of Horwich Pkwy (approx. 15m 10ch).
Earth wires have gone up on the Down side immediately north of the station; these presumably extend to the existing wired section.
All masts appear to be in place with SPS for the remaining sections between the two, including the A6027/De Havilland Way overbridge, which now has dangly bits mounted on the walls.
19. Horwich Parkway Station; 15m 50ch
Two new TTCs up on the south end of the platforms; one portal and one TTC to go up. (Thanks again to @Joseph_Locke for that gen.) Bedanglied TTCs now up through the station, with more to erect.
20. Horwich Pkwy (North End) - Blackrod (South End); 15m 50ch to 17m 14ch
All masts appear to be up NW of Horwich Pkwy to the M61 bridge. (Thanks again to @Joseph_Locke for the gen.) Earth/AT wires linking 9 masts together between the 2 stations, heading north (on the Up side) from immediately north of the M61 bridge (approx. 16m 29ch).
More Earth/AT wires are now up immediately NW of the footbridge at the NW end of Horwich Parkway Car Park, on the Down side (N'bound); the footbridge in question has also been sandwiched by some very complex-looking steelwork (presumably for the reduced clearances).
SPS appearing on portals near Blackrod, and SPS assemblies have been folded out of the way on the station's southern approach.
Work has resumed on the footbridge that will replace Red Moss foot crossing; complex portal/masts are up there too.
21. Blackrod Station; 17m 14ch
Some more bases in place, no masts, no wires. Empty mast base at the southern end (not the northern end, as was writ in error).
22. Blackrod (North End) - Adlington (South End); 17m 14ch to 19m 15ch
Lots of masts up just north of Blackrod, with SPS all fitted. Some base replacement work occurred over 17th/18th Feb to replace failed bases. Successful bases have masts up with SPS on.
23. Adlington Station; 19m 15ch
Some bases in place, 1 mast up (Down side), no wires.
24. Adlington (North End) - Chorley (South End); 19m 15ch to 22m 20ch
2 short stretches of wire on the s'bound track.
Bespoke mast fixings going up on Yarrow Viaduct (21m 26ch at the southern end); 3 of the 4 are in place. The southern pair are now in; work on the northern pair has stopped after the alleged discovery of large void within the structure.
25. Chorley Station; 22m 20ch
Some bases in place, no masts, no wires.
26. Chorley (North End) - Buckshaw Pkwy (South End); 22m 20ch to 24m 39ch
Many bases, some masts, 1 or 2 wires. Roof brackets affixed in Chorley Tunnel (23m 20ch to 23m 25ch), and at least 6 dangly bits/SPS are up in the Flying Arches cutting. All bases on top of the retaining wall at the northern are mastless.
27. Buckshaw Parkway Station; 24m 39ch
Some bases in place, 2 masts up (both on Down side), no wires.
28. Buckshaw Pkwy (North End) - Euxton Jct; 24m 39ch to 25m 31ch
Almost fully masted; about half the wires up until halfway to Euxton, then fully wired the rest of the way.
Do let me know if I've missed anything!
