Eccles/Weaste freight spur

[montyburns56]

The planning permission for Port Salford was originally subject to conditions that the new rail and road links must be in place before any business starts to operate from the site. However, last March Salford Council agreed Peel's application to amend these conditions, allowing the site to open in 2016 without the new links. See http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/culina-group-create-280-jobs-8899409. Peel has a strong bargaining position vis-a-vis the council because of the employment and revenue the terminal will generate.

If/when the rail link is complete, Port Salford could potentially compete with the two Trafford Park intermodal terminals for the container traffic from Felixstowe, Southampton and London Gateway. The western access to the WCML, avoiding Manchester, could be an advantage. However, Peel's overarching master plan is for its new Liverpool2 container port to compete with the southern ports, which, if successful, will reduce rail container traffic from them to the North West. It seems to me that containers shipped up the Ship Canal from Liverpool2 to Port Salford are likely to be moved on by road to nearby destinations, which could not be economically served by rail. Any longer distance flows from Liverpool2 to other parts of the country are more likely to go by rail all the way, rather than incur the extra costs and delays of transshipment through Port Salford.

To my cynical mind, Peel may be in no hurry to complete the Port Salford rail link for it to be used mainly for traffic from the southern ports. Even if it does open, Freightliner, DBS and GBRf might be reluctant to use Port Salford instead of Trafford Park as the terminal for their trains from the southern ports, because of Peel's potential conflict of interest.

Right, it's just that the council seem so opposed to Culina moving in before the road/rail links were built that I presumed that they had blocked the plans. Like you I'm a little bit cynical about the rail link as the terminal wouldn't be the first that had been built with a rail link to justify the planning permission, which was then barely used to transports goods in and out of the site.

 

[Wandering pete]

Realtime Trains yesterday(16 th June) shows a path for a 13.55 Weaste-Northfleet Lafarge...loading to 600 tonnes and routed via Patricroft and Winwick Jn.This was shown as a cancelled working but are there plans for a flow in future..?This looks to be a similar working to the Weaste-Oxwellmains which probably never ran...why do these workings appear if there is no intention for the train to run...?

 

[Freightmaster]

Realtime Trains yesterday(16 th June) shows a path for a 13.55 Weaste-Northfleet Lafarge...loading to 600 tonnes and routed via Patricroft and Winwick Jn.This was shown as a cancelled working but are there plans for a flow in future..?

I understand this path (if/when it runs) is to bring emergency supplies
to repair the new ship canal lift bridge which collapsed on itself a few
weeks ago.

MARK

 

[montyburns56]

I understand this path (if/when it runs) is to bring emergency supplies
to repair the new ship canal lift bridge which collapsed on itself a few
weeks ago.

MARK

Is it for the bridge though, or is it just that the bridge being down has stopped the normal cement supplies being brought in by ship?

 

[Freightmaster]

Is it for the bridge though, or is it just that the bridge being down has stopped the normal cement supplies being brought in by ship?

Good point!

My contact just mentioned the bridge being the "reason" for the new traffic,
so it could be as you suggest.


MARK

 

[Signalmans Eye]

Lafarge weaste @june 21st unloading facilities from ship to shore have been removed so cement by ship seems to have ceased.unloading from rail seems unlikely sdgs seem to be closed.

 

[billh]

I noticed today there is a ship( Arklow Line?) tied up at the scrap metal wharf upstream of the collapsed bridge- I should think substantial compensation will have set in by now.

 

[snowball]

It's the Arklow Vale according to the discussion on Skyscrapercity immediately following the collapse. The website marinetraffic.com was mentioned, which enables you to see what ships are where.

The bridge collapse was captured on a windscreen video camera:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...ews/m60-bridge-collapse-video-barton-11355496

 

[Ships]

The maintainer has had to do a fair bit of work to get the branch back into use

 

[8A Rail]

I noticed today there is a ship( Arklow Line?) tied up at the scrap metal wharf upstream of the collapsed bridge- I should think substantial compensation will have set in by now.

Yes it is an Arklow ship "Arklow Vale" (for scrap) and being suggested as £8K a day while the ship remains there. Likewise "MerseyTravel" losing income as there no MSC cruises to and from Salford either. An expensive excerise this is going to turn out to be and no news on what is happening with the "new" lift bridge.

 

[mikestone1952]

I don't understand these trains at all - wagons seem to materialise out of thin air at both ends, and I have my doubts that trains off the Weaste branch can go west.

 

[Ships]

I don't understand these trains at all - wagons seem to materialise out of thin air at both ends, and I have my doubts that trains off the Weaste branch can go west.

Run into the UGL, reverse back over the crossover at Eccles then off west?

 

[mikestone1952]

Went over the line today, the signal off the up loop appears to have no route to the down main.
;
Train planning done rules don't explicitly prohibit it but on the other hand don't quote any "template" times.

 

[Signalmans Eye]

no no no reversing over xing to go west involves setting back behind eccles home signal the signals in rear of this home signal are automatic so the signaller at eccles has no control of these signals therefore a train could approach home signal . unless the signals in rear are locked to danger this move I would say is not permitted.

 

[mikestone1952]

The wagons off last night's Tunstead-West Thurrock didn't go back - I was going to suggest they might be going to Northfleet to establish a circular working, but the train to Northfleet is now cape due to a rostering error according to RTT.
;

 

[hairyhandedfool]

There are no signaled moves from either the loop or the Up line (eastbound) to the Down Line (westbound). The west end of the loop is signaled for shunt moves only on to the Up line and has a limit of shunt preventing movement too far.

The only time I have seen trains go from the Up to the Down at Eccles was by Pilotman working during engineering works at Ordsall Lane Junction, so no trains could approach from Manchester, but even that was years ago now.

 

[Stuwhu]

So has an actual train actually been down the branch recently??

 

[mikestone1952]

I don't think so. The empties appear to have gone to Northfleet for tonights train so it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.

 

[Wandering pete]

RTT shows a path on Friday 1st July for a 14.53 weaste-tunstead with 715 t trailing load..??
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
..something stirring on the Northfleet branch tonight(30 th June)...23.00 to Weaste left late at 23.15 and just gone thru Crayford...due Weaste at 08.42 Friday morning(1st July).

 

[furnessvale]

RTT shows a path on Friday 1st July for a 14.53 weaste-tunstead with 715 t trailing load..??
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
..something stirring on the Northfleet branch tonight(30 th June)...23.00 to Weaste left late at 23.15 and just gone thru Crayford...due Weaste at 08.42 Friday morning(1st July).

RTT shows this as a light engine?

 

[driver9000]

RTT shows this as a light engine?

6M29 is the headcode. 15 minutes late passing Eccles.

Two return paths showing, 6L49 14:33 Weaste to Northfleet and 6H37 14:53 Weaste to Tunstead sidings. All showing as Freightliner "building materials".

 

[Signalmans Eye]

weaste sdgs 66603 observed this morning

 

[montyburns56]

View attachment 27236

View attachment 27237

weaste sdgs 66603 observed this morning

Thanks for pics! They must have had a fairly fast turn around as I visited the site at 1:00 pm and there was nothing to be seen. It's funny because I visited the site last year to photograph one of the ships that usually deliver the cement and it looked as if trains would never be returning to site!

Also I wonder if Brexit will actually make British cement more economical and so the rail deliveries will carry on even when the canal bridge is fixed?

 

[Signalmans Eye]

Thanks for pics! They must have had a fairly fast turn around as I visited the site at 1:00 pm and there was nothing to be seen. It's funny because I visited the site last year to photograph one of the ships that usually deliver the cement and it looked as if trains would never be returning to site!

Also I wonder if Brexit will actually make British cement more economical and so the rail deliveries will carry on even when the canal bridge is fixed?

I think train departed 12.50 from weaste and held at eccles loop until 15.25 and departed eastbound for Tunstead. I visited site 21 june and site looked mothballed the ship to shore unloading had been removed completely.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
21.40 northfleet -weaste set to run,ship mv Arklow Vale moored at Irwell wharf may leave July 18th dependent on hire of cranes lifting collapsed bridge also cement traffic expected to revert to shipping.

21.40 northfleet weaste looks set to run,ship Arklow Vale no chance of leaving 18th a visit to collapsed bridge on 13th the collapsed bridge was still in situ nothing about removal has been started no cranes to lift or any sign of cutting up,looks like being trapped another month.

 

[weastebusdepot]

66603 ran to Weaste again on Friday 9th July, departing 190 minutes early and being held at the signal on the climb towards Eccles for the next three hours. Finally joining the main line 17 minutes late.

Regarding the discontinuation of filling steam locos from the fire hydrant on the station car park, I believe this was mainly due to a localised problem with the water supply which meant there was now insufficient pressure to fill it fast enough to avoid delaying the service. The final time a loco was filled was Princess Elizabeth and the water was provided from a road tanker parked on the station car park. This caused a different set of issues due to the weight limit on the bridge.

 

[Wandering pete]

Friday 15 th July....Northfleet-Weaste ran again...3rd consecutive Friday and again with 66603.

 

[Signalmans Eye]

MV 'Arkonia' bound for Weaste with cement.M/c Ship canal now clear of obstructions so end of cement to weaste by rail..

 

[snowball]

And the Arklow Vale, which a couple of days ago was still upstream of the blockage, is now off Brest.

The removal of the bridge deck is shown in this Skyscrapercity thread:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=320316&page=56

 

[Signalmans Eye]

WC july 17 saw the removal of road bridge deck at the new lift bridge,however a fire destroyed wheel house at Barton Aquaduct and had to be repaired to allow bridge to swing, this delayed departure of Arklow Vale for another couple of weeks and departed 5 Aug.MV Arkonia has now arrived weaste with cement.

 

[Wandering pete]

RTT showing a new path for a Tunstead-Weaste working departing 03.58 arriving Weaste 06.04 with a load of 2200 t.No return empties programmed yet ..watch this space.