Buxton Line

[BurtonM]

Initial reports stated Disley.

Referring to my previous post.

 

[Signal Head]

Northern's Facebook page has a couple of images of the repair work and a revised reopening date, which has now slipped to the 25th.

 

[Altfish]

My Nottingham to Stockport journey by EMT called additionally at Hazel Grove today; I assume that is related.

 

[PHILIPE]

My Nottingham to Stockport journey by EMT called additionally at Hazel Grove today; I assume that is related.

Already mentioned several times earlier in the thread

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Northern's Facebook page has a couple of images of the repair work and a revised reopening date, which has now slipped to the 25th.

Torrential rainstorms that have occurred since the date of the original occurrence cannot have helped matters of time completion, as the ground conditions would be affected.

 

[Signal Head]

I've seen information elsewhere stating that trapped 150s at Buxton are to be taken out via Peak Forest over the weekend for fuelling.

This is at odds with earlier statements on here that DMUs weren’t passed for that route. A 156 however remains trapped as that is not passed for the route.

 

[Greybeard33]

I've seen information elsewhere stating that trapped 150s at Buxton are to be taken out via Peak Forest over the weekend for fuelling.

This is at odds with earlier statements on here that DMUs weren’t passed for that route. A 156 however remains trapped as that is not passed for the route.

RTT shows a Northern Sprinter ECS working from Piccadilly to Buxton via Peak Forest on Saturday 18th, http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/O03551/2016/06/18/advanced but nothing in the reverse direction as yet. Presumably a driver from one of the freight operators will act as route conductor.

I have noticed that the farewell railtour of TPE's Class 170s next month includes a visit to Buxton via Peak Forest - http://www.branchline.org.uk/events.php.

If 170s have been cleared for the line, surely it would not be too hard to clear the 156 too?

 

[Signal Head]

I have noticed that the farewell railtour of TPE's Class 170s next month includes a visit to Buxton via Peak Forest - http://www.branchline.org.uk/events.php.

If 170s have been cleared for the line, surely it would not be too hard to clear the 156 too?

A 170 is apparently slightly longer than a 156. I realise that's not the only consideration though.

That's an interesting run, I might have to make enquiries about a ticket.

 

[PHILIPE]

Line re-opening slipped from 22nd to 24th now.
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RTT shows a Northern Sprinter ECS working from Piccadilly to Buxton via Peak Forest on Saturday 18th, http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/O03551/2016/06/18/advanced but nothing in the reverse direction as yet. Presumably a driver from one of the freight operators will act as route conductor.

I have noticed that the farewell railtour of TPE's Class 170s next month includes a visit to Buxton via Peak Forest - http://www.branchline.org.uk/events.php.

If 170s have been cleared for the line, surely it would not be too hard to clear the 156 too?

There was a 5Z51 08+00 Buxton to Manchester Picc this morning to change over the units. Appears in RTT now.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Sorry, don't follow your train of thought
Surely, having the units means that a shuttle could be introduced?

A shuttle could be introduced, yes. However it would have to be single line working between Furness Vale and New Mills Newtown because of partial access at New Mills Newtown (Manchester bound platform isn't fully accessible). I have no idea which way the crossover at Furness Vale faces but if the crossover runs from right line to wrong line (facing Manchester) then SLW could work to as mentioned New Mills Newtown from Furness Vale and then bus from there to Hazel Grove.
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There's a service bus if people want to do that, isn't there? Though I don't believe it's frequent these days. Edit: it's actually hourly, so not too bad.

It is a very enjoyable ride in summer, though. I did it a couple of times in the days of the Virgin-Stagecoach RailLinks.

Not after 6pm there isn't and on Sundays its infrequent as two journeys continue to Chatsworth.

 

[Tomnick]

A shuttle could be introduced, yes. However it would have to be single line working between Furness Vale and New Mills Newtown because of partial access at New Mills Newtown (Manchester bound platform isn't fully accessible). I have no idea which way the crossover at Furness Vale faces but if the crossover runs from right line to wrong line (facing Manchester) then SLW could work to as mentioned New Mills Newtown from Furness Vale and then bus from there to Hazel Grove.

It's a trailing crossover at Furness Vale, so you'd end up at the non-accessible platform. The cost of providing a Pilotman (two shifts), maybe someone to clip and scotch the crossover too, probably wouldn't be justified, either way, and it might push the timings beyond being able to provide an hourly shuttle with a single unit.

 

[PHILIPE]

A shuttle could be introduced, yes. However it would have to be single line working between Furness Vale and New Mills Newtown because of partial access at New Mills Newtown (Manchester bound platform isn't fully accessible). I have no idea which way the crossover at Furness Vale faces but if the crossover runs from right line to wrong line (facing Manchester) then SLW could work to as mentioned New Mills Newtown from Furness Vale and then bus from there to Hazel Grove.
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Not after 6pm there isn't and on Sundays its infrequent as two journeys continue to Chatsworth.

See #53 which describes the Shuttle which has been running for several days between Buxton and Furness Vale. Not Saturday and Sunday, though.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Well I've found the revised timetable regarding the aformentioned shuttle services.

Monday to Friday

Saturday and Sunday

 

[lincolnshire]

The following units was at Buxton yesterday stood in the platform 150134, 150207 & 156420.

The DB stone train was also running yesterday.

A shuttle service from Buxton to Furness Vale then Bus to Hazel Grove will operate all week till Friday. Saturday 25th June is the planed day for everything been back to normal.

 

[trickyvegas]

I wonder where the pickup point is for Middlewood, I'm assuming on the A6 in order to keep to the published times.

 

[Lampshade]

I wonder where the pickup point is for Middlewood, I'm assuming on the A6 in order to keep to the published times.

Yes it's just the bus stops near the junction between the A6 and Middlewood Road.

 

[Class 170101]

Well I've found the revised timetable regarding the aformentioned shuttle services.

Monday to Friday

Saturday and Sunday

Just be aware that the journey from Manchester off peak is actually slightly quicker by catching the EMT service at xx43 which is not shown on the timetable but is offered in journey planners.

 

[Greybeard33]

Just be aware that the journey from Manchester off peak is actually slightly quicker by catching the EMT service at xx43 which is not shown on the timetable but is offered in journey planners.

And journey planners will also offer the route to/from Manchester on the Marple line, using the bus between Furness Vale and New Mills Central, when this is quicker than the Hazel Grove route (mainly in the peaks). The shorter cross-valley bus journey to New Mills Central may also be less prone to traffic delays than the A6 to Hazel Grove. However, Northern's temporary timetable fails to show the train connections between Piccadilly and New Mills Central - they are on Timetable 22.

 

[snowball]

Press release

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...er-and-buxton-expected-to-reopen-this-weekend

Railway between Manchester and Buxton expected to reopen this weekend

Emergency work to repair the railway between Buxton and Hazel Grove is due to be completed this week so train services can resume on Saturday.

Around 6,000 tonnes of material was dislodged following heavy rain on Sunday and Monday of last week (12 and 13 June) when about two inches of rain fell in less than two hours.

In order to reopen the railway, Network Rail’s orange army has worked quickly and safely over the last week to repair the damage and minimise the impact to passengers. The work has involved rebuilding a section of embankment and removing track and ballast – the stone which provides the foundation of the railway – near Middlewood station.

Terry Strickland, area director for Network Rail said: “The orange army has completed a large amount of work and the railway is due to reopen once again on Saturday morning. The heavy rain that we experienced at the beginning of last week caused a significant amount of damage that required extensive repairs.

“The landslip and wash away of material meant that it was impossible to run trains through the area and a temporary closure of the line was unavoidable. We have worked closely with Northern to keep disruption to the public to a minimum and I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carried out these essential repairs.”

Alex Hynes, Managing Director for Northern said: “As an operator, we regularly deal with exceptional weather conditions such as heavy rain which unfortunately can cause disruption for our customers. The good news is we are able to start running services again from Saturday following the completion of a mammoth engineering task by Network Rail. We would like to thank our customers for their continued patience.”

While the work is completed Northern is operating an hourly train service in both directions between Buxton and Furness Vale and rail replacement transport between Furness Vale and Hazel Grove.

There will also be rail replacement transport between Furness Vale and New Mills Central to connect into services into Manchester. East Midlands Trains will call additionally at Hazel Grove in both directions.

 

[Signal Head]

Press release

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...er-and-buxton-expected-to-reopen-this-weekend

Interesting, the press release confirms in pictures that, as well as the washout at Middlewood station, there was indeed a second affected site, involving a cutting slope slipping onto the railway, which appears to be near Middlewood tunnel. This presumably explains the reference to 5 or 6 tons of debris on the track, mentioned in early reports, before the washout images surfaced.

 

[tonysk14]

So is it open today then?

 

[Greybeard33]

So is it open today then?

Yes. See http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y13770/2016/06/25/advanced

 

[edwin_m]

Good to know thanks. I need to make the connection off the EMT onto the Chester train at Stockport one day next week!

 

[3141]

I have noticed that the farewell railtour of TPE's Class 170s next month includes a visit to Buxton via Peak Forest - http://www.branchline.org.uk/events.php.

If 170s have been cleared for the line, surely it would not be too hard to clear the 156 too?

I'm attaching a photo of the TPE class 170s tour between Chinley and Buxton on 3 July.

As well as the unusual sight of a passenger train on the route, there probably haven't been many occasions when three of TPE's class 170s operated together.

I'm still puzzled by statements earlier in this thread that DMUs aren't cleared for this route.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

I'm still puzzled by statements earlier in this thread that DMUs aren't cleared for this route.

There is a difference between a DMU of a particular class being permitted to operate on the route as a one-off under special arrangements and clearing many DMU for "normal" operation ...

Also, if there are no booked passenger services and it isn't a diversion route, why would NR expend the time and effort to manage gauge clearance for passenger stock anyway? That'd be a waste of your money!

 

[edwin_m]

But if the route is physically compatible with particular types of DMU then surely it makes sense to maintain and regularise that status to avoid problems if they need to be run again at short notice? Maintenance activities shouldn't really be eroding clearances anyway.