Branch line maintenance

[allaction]

I noticed a solitary worker, armed with long handled hammer and wrench (sorry if this has already become too technical) walking between Penally and Tenby the other Sunday morning, banging a few things here and there (there I go again).

It led me to wonder what the regular maintenance regime is for the Whitland - Pembroke Dock line, and other branch lines like it?

And does the fact that we get HSTs on the Tenby line mean that maintenance is upgraded?

 

[RichmondCommu]

I'm guessing that maintenance only really occurs when train crew raise issues? Of course planned renewals would be a different matter.

 

[Steveman]

All lines still in use still have a regular maintenance schedule even if it's not very often.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

From the description, the worker will be walking the line to ensure the keys are correctly placed and the chairs are firmly bolted to the sleepers.

There's extensive discussion about this type of track and maintenance at http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=133364

 

[Bald Rick]

I noticed a solitary worker, armed with long handled hammer and wrench (sorry if this has already become too technical) walking between Penally and Tenby the other Sunday morning, banging a few things here and there (there I go again).

It led me to wonder what the regular maintenance regime is for the Whitland - Pembroke Dock line, and other branch lines like it?

And does the fact that we get HSTs on the Tenby line mean that maintenance is upgraded?

That is my dream job. Seriously.

The frequency of patrolling (what you saw) depends only on the annual tonnage, the line speed, and the type of track construction, eg jointed track or CWR.

I don't know the annual tonnage on that line, but it will be around half a million tonnes, and with linespeed of 55 max, that puts it in one of the bottom 2 categories of track for passenger lines. I don't have my Cope & Ellis* to hand, but I think it will say patrolling is fortnightly on that category of track.

So the fact HSTs make a couple of dozen trips a year won't affect the track maintenance, unless the extra 25,000 tonnes a year (approx) tips it over the line into the next category, which I doubt.

* the bible for track maintenance. Well, the bible I use. Other bibles are available.

 

[Jamesb1974]

Deleted

 

[Ships]

* the bible for track maintenance. Well, the bible I use. Other bibles are available.

Surely it should be 001?!

 

[Bald Rick]

Surely it should be 001?!

Of course, for the people doing the maintenance. But for those of us who just pretend to know about it, having all the various standards distilled into a few books helps!

 

[Crossover]

I seem to recall one of the recentish TV programmes showing one of the maintenance guys walking one of the lines in the Highlands with what basically amounted to a hammer to knock bits back to where they should be (from reading above, I'm guessing these may be the "keys")

 

[Mordac]

I seem to recall one of the recentish TV programmes showing one of the maintenance guys walking one of the lines in the Highlands with what basically amounted to a hammer to knock bits back to where they should be (from reading above, I'm guessing these may be the "keys")

I think that was Keeping Britain on Track, saw it too.