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East-West Rail (EWR): Consultation updates [not speculation]

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DarloRich

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OK, so a bit more expensive than I thought! :D

Don't know if it's needed, anyway. We're only talking adding one more TPH each way to that section - there must be loads of lines like that with one fast and one slow per hour that manage perfectly fine.
And it’s been confirmed many times that no redoubling of that section is intended. We’re getting into speculation territory here...


I have misspoken myself slightly. It isn't the Saxon street bridge that needs doubling but the embankment immediately after it
 
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Bletchleyite

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I have misspoken myself slightly. It isn't the Saxon street bridge that needs doubling but the embankment immediately after it

I've never noticed before but there are actually two bridges. One which is single-track width and leads to the flyover, the other is double-track width (albeit with an apparently disused siding on the down side) and leads to the station.

So there's probably no need :)
 

civ-eng-jim

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IF the section from Bletchley / Fenny to Bow Brickhill is to be doubled tracked the Saxon Street & A5 bridges need replacing. The old stone bridge over the Ouzel is a double width bridge as is the canal bridge. Are these up to modern standards is the question!

Sadly it's a wee bit too narrow for two tracks. By the looks of things, the abutments/piers of the original bridge are still there and you can just about make them out - they stick out a bit further than bridge deck. I'm guessing the original deck was removed and a similar new concrete one (like the A5 bridge) put in place at the same time when it was singled.

The canal bridge is partly encapsulated in concrete for some reason - Not sure how this could be reliably assessed with lots of key structural elements now hidden.

I've never noticed before but there are actually two bridges. One which is single-track width and leads to the flyover, the other is double-track width (albeit with an apparently disused siding on the down side) and leads to the station.

The single-track concrete bridge over Saxon street look rather spindly and it has a very shallow deck - Could be a maintenance headache for some poor soul. The twin-track metallic bridge has a buffer stop on one of the lines which then continues to a big drop and a missing embankment (as DarloRich mentions) I suspect the buffer is part of a trapping arrangement for the Vale Sidings.

Could be several options for someone with a box of crayons to conjure up. Something for the future once the Oxford to Milton Keynes bit is near completion.
 

DarloRich

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Sadly it's a wee bit too narrow for two tracks. By the looks of things, the abutments/piers of the original bridge are still there and you can just about make them out - they stick out a bit further than bridge deck. I'm guessing the original deck was removed and a similar new concrete one (like the A5 bridge) put in place at the same time when it was singled.

The canal bridge is partly encapsulated in concrete for some reason - Not sure how this could be reliably assessed with lots of key structural elements now hidden.


I will have a stroll down later on and take a look ;)

There is a decent cab ride video that shows Blethcley to Bedford if anyone can find it. The most recent I have seen is from the other end and has a horrible voice over
 

civ-eng-jim

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There is a decent cab ride video that shows Blethcley to Bedford if anyone can find it. The most recent I have seen is from the other end and has a horrible voice over

Ha! Would be good to hear so we know what voice riles you. Do they cough or clear their throat a lot? Is it a strong Norwegian accent? Is it an early pilot for the never-aired programme "Cab rides with Joe Pasquale" ?
 

mr_jrt

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Not being au-fait with the area, is there a reason that there are separate bridges over Saxon Street for the two routes, i.e. are they at massively different levels? Seems like you could just shift the chord north slightly and junction to the other line before the potentially double track bridge? It can't be that much of a difference in height as the lines converge not that far other the other side of the bridges.

...just realised I could look at Google Streetview to see, and yes, they are at slightly different levels (looks like slightly less than a metre in difference to me?) I can only presume the is because the station line needs to pass under the Milton Keynes chord from the flyover, setting the hard limit on the maximum separation possible at that point. I presume that to make the gradients favourable the chord to Fenny can't fall more sharply, nor the chord from the station rise slightly to meet it at the same level?
 

Ianno87

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Not being au-fait with the area, is there a reason that there are separate bridges over Saxon Street for the two routes, i.e. are they at massively different levels? Seems like you could just shift the chord north slightly and junction to the other line before the potentially double track bridge? It can't be that much of a difference in height as the lines converge not that far other the other side of the bridges.

...just realised I could look at Google Streetview to see, and yes, they are at slightly different levels (looks like slightly less than a metre in difference to me?) I can only presume the is because the station line needs to pass under the Milton Keynes chord from the flyover, setting the hard limit on the maximum separation possible at that point. I presume that to make the gradients favourable the chord to Fenny can't fall more sharply, nor the chord from the station rise slightly to meet it at the same level?

Fenny station has an overbridge one end, level crossing at the other, just to be super-helpful!
 

DarloRich

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Not being au-fait with the area, is there a reason that there are separate bridges over Saxon Street for the two routes, i.e. are they at massively different levels? Seems like you could just shift the chord north slightly and junction to the other line before the potentially double track bridge? It can't be that much of a difference in height as the lines converge not that far other the other side of the bridges.

...just realised I could look at Google Streetview to see, and yes, they are at slightly different levels (looks like slightly less than a metre in difference to me?) I can only presume the is because the station line needs to pass under the Milton Keynes chord from the flyover, setting the hard limit on the maximum separation possible at that point. I presume that to make the gradients favourable the chord to Fenny can't fall more sharply, nor the chord from the station rise slightly to meet it at the same level?

You also need to get the line through Fenny station and under the Watling Street road bridge at Fenny Stratford before the line splits.

Fenny station has an overbridge one end, level crossing at the other, just to be super-helpful!

Watling Street street was raised, apparently, when the line was built. I suspect the other end of Fenny station was governed by access to the saw mills ( which had their own sidings) and the need to get over the canal and the Ouzel at something approaching a decent level
 

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D365

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I don't think this visualization has been posted on this forum: https://www.ice.org.uk/ICEDevelopme...ectures/east-west-london-railway.jpg?ext=.jpg

Unlike the previous one it shows the whole length of the platforms. It also shows the existing Bedford line emerging underneath the new platform, which is clearly an error but usefully illustrates that the junction will have to move north.

Not seen that before, thanks. The high level platforms look awfully narrow though...
 
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Bletchleyite

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FWIW they were working on it last night and it made a right racket, audible all across Bletchley. Was this an overnight blockade? If not, should they really be doing this?
 

swt_passenger

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FWIW they were working on it last night and it made a right racket, audible all across Bletchley. Was this an overnight blockade? If not, should they really be doing this?
It was a planned weekend closure, but someone had posted it in a separate thread about WCML closures more generally...
”Eight sections which cross directly over the West Coast main line will cause it to be closed between the 2-3, 8-10 and 23-25 May for the rest of the flyover to be removed.”
 

Bletchleyite

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causton

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FWIW they were working on it last night and it made a right racket, audible all across Bletchley. Was this an overnight blockade? If not, should they really be doing this?

Surely every Saturday night - Sunday morning there is an effective overnight blockade? The first trains were replaced by buses so I suspected something was going on. May take a wander down later to see!
 

swt_passenger

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I was wondering if they’ll rationalise the various bespoke OHLE gantries in the vicinity of the existing flyover while they have access? Presumably “normal” four track portals would be stronger and more reliable in the long term?
 

The Planner

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Surely every Saturday night - Sunday morning there is an effective overnight blockade? The first trains were replaced by buses so I suspected something was going on. May take a wander down later to see!
There is, but the all line opportunity is not big enough to do anything meaningful as you only get 0130 - 0615 Sunday.
 

edwin_m

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I was wondering if they’ll rationalise the various bespoke OHLE gantries in the vicinity of the existing flyover while they have access? Presumably “normal” four track portals would be stronger and more reliable in the long term?
There was some work a while ago to provide new structures underneath the flyover, as I think the OLE was previously attached to the flyover itself. Rationalising the rest isn't on the critical path and can be done as and when, if indeed it is needed at all.
 

swt_passenger

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There was some work a while ago to provide new structures underneath the flyover, as I think the OLE was previously attached to the flyover itself. Rationalising the rest isn't on the critical path and can be done as and when, if indeed it is needed at all.
Ok thanks, so they‘ve already made some changes. Of course once the new flyover is complete they could possibly even revert to attaching to the flyover deck if required.
 

hwl

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Ok thanks, so they‘ve already made some changes. Of course once the new flyover is complete they could possibly even revert to attaching to the flyover deck if required.
The new and most of the old structures are visible in the twitter pics linked above, several of the new structures still not in use (non SPS).
 

swt_passenger

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The new and most of the old structures are visible in the twitter pics linked above, several of the new structures still not in use (non SPS).
Ok thanks for that note, I’ll try and look at them at a decent size...
 
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Ok thanks, so they‘ve already made some changes. Of course once the new flyover is complete they could possibly even revert to attaching to the flyover deck if required.
OLE works to date have broadly been installation of new OLE foundations/structures in the cess, 10ft and wideway, re-registering of catenary system and removal of redundant OLE structures. The new OLE structures are clearly identifiable in the twitter photos - being light grey, whilst the old ones of brown/darker grey.
The new BFO portal structure beams will be installed in-between the OLE structures. Then stove pipes will be attached between the new portal structure beams to allow the OLE to be re-registered to it's final position, at which stage the OLE structures within the footprint of the BFO portal structure can be removed and the gaps between beams filled with the remaining portal structure beams.
The result will be all ground mounted OLE removed within the BFO portal structure footprint, leaving the OLE system mounted from stove pipes attached to the underside of the BFO portal structure deck.
 

bspahh

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https://twitter.com/nrairops/status/1265204798305054726 has some more aerial photos of the Bletchley flyover, from Network Rail Aerial Operations, taken on Thursday May 21st
EY7oBdNWkAAcHnX
EY7oBdNXsAEC7Gc
EY7oBdOWAAEC3lz
 

DarloRich

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heard them buzzing around last week. Good to see some updates. I decided this weekend to walk out into the country rather than down to this end of town.
 
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