Buxton Line

[Bill EWS]

Traveled over this line twice last week. Only beef is that every time I have traveled over this line, starting from Stockport, it is nearly always a few minutes late, although nothing too serious. It appears get held up quite regularly.

It's a very pleasant run. I get off either at Whaley Bridge or Buxton. The hourly service is excellent. It was a pleasant surprise to find that there are numerous extended services rather than just shunting between Manchester and Buxton.

This last time (9th June 2016), instead of waiting for the 10.01 to Whaley Bridge, I caught the Hazel Grove Only train and spend a few minutes looking around that station, which broke up the usual 40 minute wait at Stockport. I enjoyed a pleasant chat with the station chap, a french man, new to the area and job. I also took a few photos of the station and a couple of trains, one going through to Manchester Airport. The 1647 back from Buxton was booked trough to Blackpool North.

Here are the photos I took at both stations. On Fickr....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31261872@N07/albums/72157669231156731

 

[miami]

Only beef is that every time I have traveled over this line, starting from Stockport, it is nearly always a few minutes late,
...
there are numerous extended services rather than just shunting between Manchester and Buxton.

I suspect these two things are linked. Presumably a delay with the WCML at Preston can mess up the Buxton-Whaley Bridge service.
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There is an hourly bus service Buxton to Macclesfield- all that is needed is agreement between Virgin West Coast and High Peak Buses, tho' that could take longer than a week to arrange!

Assuming the bus doesn't just miss the hourly Macclesfield to London train.

 

[Greybeard33]

I may be being thick here but what reason is there to stop the TPE and EMT trains additionally, if the trains that are supposed to be going to Buxton are terminating at Hazel Grove, which therefore has a normal service towards Manchester?

Some of the services between Buxton and Piccadilly have been cancelled today, rather than cut back to Hazel Grove. See http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/HAZ/2016/06/13/0200-0159?stp=WVSC&show=all&order=wtt&toc=NT. For example, the 0724 Buxton to Piccadilly, which normally departs Hazel Grove at 0801, was cancelled.

I do not know the reason - maybe because of units trapped at Buxton, and/or because of difficulty pathing reversing shunt moves at Hazel Grove?
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Northern has now put this update on its website:

Rail replacement transport will operate between Hazel Grove and Furness Vale in both directions until further notice. From tomorrow, there will also be a rail replacement option between Furness Vale and New Mills Central.

https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/news/travel-alerts/418-service-disruption-between-hazel-grove-and-buxton11

This implies that they are going to run a rail shuttle between Buxton and Furness Vale (there is a crossover between Furness Vale and New Mills Newtown). Buses will run from Furness Vale both to Hazel Grove, calling at New Mills Newtown and Disley, and across the valley to New Mills Central, to connect with the Northern services to Piccadilly on the Marple line.

 

[Signal Head]

Wow. Common sense.
A rare commodity these days.

 

[Class 170101]

Presumably the units could be swapped via the freight lines in the peak Forest once a day per direction to ensure fuelling and maintenance.

 

[PHILIPE]

Presumably the units could be swapped via the freight lines in the peak Forest once a day per direction to ensure fuelling and maintenance.

Already discussed earlier in the thread

 

[luke1420]

Presumably the units could be swapped via the freight lines in the peak Forest once a day per direction to ensure fuelling and maintenance.

Neither Buxton or Pic crews sign it and DMU's are not cleared on the line as mentioned earlier.

Anyone know what Buxton crew are up to while the line is closed? Taxi to Hazle Grove to work the trains from there?

 

[PHILIPE]

If a shuttle was to be introduced from the Buxton end, the 156 perhaps could be fuelled by using road tanker at a suitable access point. This arrangement has been used in the past. 1 fill up would see it through the week.

 

[BurtonM]

When did that landslip happen? I was on a South TPE service towards Manchester on Saturday evening (5/6pm), from Sheffield to Manchester. We stopped around New Mills Junction, when the guard told us that due to flooding around Hazel Grove we weren't calling at Stockport and being diverted via Marple, Bredbury etc to get to Piccadilly. After a short while the guard told us we'd been re-redirected through Hazel Grove to see if it was possible to run services through. The train got through westbound just fine but the water was fairly high, bordering on the eastbound railhead.
Can't imagine many more services got through after us.

 

[Loop & Link]

Neither Buxton or Pic crews sign it and DMU's are not cleared on the line as mentioned earlier.

Anyone know what Buxton crew are up to while the line is closed? Taxi to Hazle Grove to work the trains from there?

I know Buxton crew were taxied all the way to Oxford Road to work a Wigan service (0602 Buxton-Kirkby)

 

[RichmondCommu]

From memory there is a refueling point at Peak Forest which opened when the depot at Buxton closed (which was demolished a few months a go). If indeed that is the case could the class 156 not be refueled there? From what I know the route between Peak Forest and Buxton is pretty quiet so surely there would be room for a class 156 to run along the line?

 

[Signal Head]

When did that landslip happen?

Around 5pm I think.

I was on a South TPE service towards Manchester on Saturday evening (5/6pm), from Sheffield to Manchester. We stopped around New Mills Junction, when the guard told us that due to flooding around Hazel Grove we weren't calling at Stockport and being diverted via Marple, Bredbury etc to get to Piccadilly. After a short while the guard told us we'd been re-redirected through Hazel Grove to see if it was possible to run services through. The train got through westbound just fine but the water was fairly high, bordering on the eastbound railhead.

Was this flooding at HG station itself?

Initial reports were confused. NRE showed 'delays' of about 20 minutes I think to Hope Valley services via Stockport, and the Buxton line to start with, but the stated location was either HG or Disley, or somewhere in between, depending on where you looked.

Anything East of the junction at HG shouldn't affect Hope Valley stuff anyway, so when the Buxtons were suspended I wondered if there was actually more than one problem area, which you've just confirmed that there was.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Was this flooding at HG station itself?
.

I thought the area in question was nearer to Middlewood station.

 

[Signal Head]

I thought the area in question was nearer to Middlewood station.

The washout/landslip is at Middlewood, but that wouldn't affect a Hope Valley service as they don't pass through it. The previous poster said they saw water nearly up to the railhead. There was also flooding at Disley, it has emerged, also too far east to affect HV services, so there was more than one incident.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

The washout/landslip is at Middlewood, but that wouldn't affect a Hope Valley service as they don't pass through it. The previous poster said they saw water nearly up to the railhead. There was also flooding at Disley, it has emerged, also too far east to affect HV services, so there was more than one incident.

There was a number of incidences of flash flooding up and down the western side of the Pennine chain on Sunday though railways were mostly unaffected. The forecast suggests quite a high risk of similar events for the rest of the week.

 

[BurtonM]

The flooding was a bit before Hazel Grove.

 

[Haydn1971]

This mornings EMT had to call on the "wrong" platform - there was a 150 unit stationary on the to Stockport line, passengers had to leg it over the bridge to get on the EMT service.

 

[LowLevel]

All EMT services are apparently calling additionally today to assist.

 

[Haydn1971]

All EMT services are apparently calling additionally today to assist.

Both ways ?

 

[LowLevel]

I believe so yes, just had the first batch of alterations emails come through on the Blackberry plus the following:

'All services on the Liverpool/Nottingham/Norwich route will stop additionally at Hazel Grove due to the closure of the Northern route between Buxton and Hazel Grove.

Please accept passengers on journeys to/from Buxton who may board your train to utilise the replacement bus service between Buxton and Hazel Grove'

 

[edwin_m]

Just as well I'm not planning to make my frequent journey to Altrincham this week, which involves a 6min connection off one of these at Stockport. If EMT aren't bang on time at Hazel Grove the Pendolino goes through in front at Edgeley, so they enter the Manchester bottleneck several minutes late with a risk of being stuck behind the slow from Oxford Road. There is sometimes a few minutes waiting for time on the approaches to Hazel Grove but by no means always.

 

[PHILIPE]

The flooding was a bit before Hazel Grove.

Initial reports stated Disley.

 

[Greybeard33]

RTT now showing the VSTP workings between Buxton and Furness Vale. It appears to be an hourly shuttle by a single train, with a 12 minute turnround at FNV and 5 minutes at BUX.

Northern's twitter feed says the buses are still running hourly Buxton to Hazel Grove, with an additional hourly service Furness Vale to New Mills Central.

 

[pemma]

Initial reports stated Disley.

Middlewood or Disley is probably correct as it was the Poynton area that was worse affected: http://www.itv.com/news/granada/upd...y-after-flash-floods-bring-damage-and-misery/ while the line through Hazel Grove remained open for the South TPE and EMT services.

 

[185143]

Middlewood or Disley is probably correct as it was the Poynton area that was worse affected: http://www.itv.com/news/granada/upd...y-after-flash-floods-bring-damage-and-misery/ while the line through Hazel Grove remained open for the South TPE and EMT services.

Also went to Disley on sunday

 

[pemma]

Just as well I'm not planning to make my frequent journey to Altrincham this week, which involves a 6min connection off one of these at Stockport.

Looking at RTT it looks like 2 x EMT services so far today have arrived at platform 3 after the Chester service arrived at platform 2. However, on both those occasions the Chester service didn't depart until 32 minutes past for some reason.

 

[luke1420]

Looking at RTT it looks like 2 x EMT services so far today have arrived at platform 3 after the Chester service arrived at platform 2. However, on both those occasions the Chester service didn't depart until 32 minutes past for some reason.

I am assuming the Chester left 2 late because it was waiting for the Crewe-Pic service to pass edgley jc. Usally when the Chester uses plt 3 at Stockport it pulls out of Stockport and waits for the 323 to pass just after Stockport. wether on platform 2 that starting signal is protecting the point onto the Chester branch. (I may be wrong)

 

[Greybeard33]

I am assuming the Chester left 2 late because it was waiting for the Crewe-Pic service to pass edgley jc. Usally when the Chester uses plt 3 at Stockport it pulls out of Stockport and waits for the 323 to pass just after Stockport. wether on platform 2 that starting signal is protecting the point onto the Chester branch. (I may be wrong)

A Chester-bound service cannot use Platform 3 at Stockport, only Platform 2 or (occasionally) Platform 1. Either way it waits at Edgeley Jn, not in the platform, for any conflicting northbound train to pass. Any delay leaving the platform risks a signal check delaying the following xx:35 XC service.

 

[Whistler40145]

Obviously there's a crossover at Furness Vale to enable the shuttle to run?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
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On the subject of servicing a unit, would it be possible for a FOC driver to route conduct a Northern Buxton driver via Peak Forest to Chinley for onward movement to Newton Heath?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[luke1420]

A Chester-bound service cannot use Platform 3 at Stockport, only Platform 2 or (occasionally) Platform 1. Either way it waits at Edgeley Jn, not in the platform, for any conflicting northbound train to pass. Any delay leaving the platform risks a signal check delaying the following xx:35 XC service.

My bad getting confused with platform numbers there:roll: