Great Western Electrification Progress

[HowardGWR]

To return to topic, I've noticed that the first wires are in place for approx 1-mile section between Dauntsey and Wootton Bassett. To my untrained eye, looks like a non-contact wire (perhaps current return or something?) that is generally strung along the outside of the stanchions.

I have wondered whether the wires from Chippenham to Thingley will ever be used (apart from drawing the current from the grid sub station). As all trains stop at Chippenham, one imagines the changeover will happen there, in the platform, rather than 'on the fly' at Thingley?

 

[edwin_m]

I have wondered whether the wires from Chippenham to Thingley will ever be used (apart from drawing the current from the grid sub station). As all trains stop at Chippenham, one imagines the changeover will happen there, in the platform, rather than 'on the fly' at Thingley?

From what I've read elsewhere changeover on the fly is planned - it's unlikely for example that all West of England trains would stop at Newbury! I read on one of these threads that there is an "extension lead" from Thingley to feed power in at Wootton Bassett, so if the OLE on that section wasn't needed then it could have been deferred along with that towards Bristol.

This section should allow bi-modes to climb the 1 in 100 of Dantsey Bank in electric mode, though unfortunatley not the simlar gradient throught Box Tunnel.

 

[snowball]

Press release

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds...-while-network-rail-carries-out-upgrade-work/

Residents are reminded that Splott Road bridge will be closed from 13 August while Network Rail carries out modernisation work as part of the Railway Upgrade Plan to improve journeys for passengers.

The bridge, which connects Adamsdown to Splott, is currently too low to accommodate the overhead line equipment needed for trains running on electricity and, at 117 years old, the bridge has reached the end of its lifespan. The existing bridge is being demolished and replaced with a new and improved structure, heightened to give clearance for trains running on electricity and strengthened to withstand modern city centre traffic.

Andy Thomas, route managing director for Network Rail Wales, said: “We are reconstructing Splott Road bridge as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan to prepare the railway for the overhead wires and posts that will power trains running on electricity.

“The new Intercity Express trains, which can run on electric and diesel, will provide extra seats and faster services for thousands of passengers. It will also mean a quieter and greener environment for communities living alongside the railway. We are working closely with Arriva Trains Wales and Great Western Railway to improve services for passengers.

“We would like to thank residents for their patience and reassure them that we are only closing the bridge when it is absolutely necessary for public safety.”

The bridge is being rebuilt in two phases to help maintain traffic flow and pedestrian access. It will be closed to all vehicles for three weeks while half of the bridge – the carriageway carrying traffic from Adamsdown to Splott – is demolished. The bridge is expected to reopen on 4 September. Following the reconstruction of the Adamsdown to Splott side of the bridge, the remaining side of the bridge will close, with the second phase of the bridge’s reconstruction completed by autumn 2018.

Pedestrians will still be able to access the bridge except for limited periods of demolition work when the bridge will be fully closed with a diversionary route in place. During these times, a fully accessible minibus service will be available to transport members of the public from one side of the bridge to the other.

Work is ongoing at Adamsdown footbridge, which is closed every Saturday from 10pm until 7am on Sunday until autumn 2017. The footbridge will be completely closed over August bank holiday weekend from 26 – 28 August.

Rail passengers are advised to check before travelling as services between Newport and Cardiff will be reduced between 19 August and 3 September 2017 as work continues to modernise the South Wales Mainline. More detail on rail services and replacement buses, as well as up to date journey information, can be found via www.nationalrail.co.uk or by calling Travel Line Cymru on 0800 464 0000.

 

[swt_passenger]

From the ground here in OX13 I hear that decisions regarding the Steventon bridge are still pending with NR refusing to engage with the Steventon Parish Council and acrimony breaking out between the PC and the local MP. It's a total fiasco that has been running for several years now. It is now highly unlikely that bridge works (if any) will start before May 2018, which puts electrification between Didcot and Wantage Road back to mid 2019.

Don't hold your breath on this one :roll:

The parish council won't be the responsible planning authority. If Network Rail believe the parish council are not interested in anything other than 'do nothing', then I can understand why they may be sticking to negotiation with the real decision makers, who employ and rely on advice from professional planning officers...

 

[veryoldbear]

The parish council won't be the responsible planning authority. If Network Rail believe the parish council are not interested in anything other than 'do nothing', then I can understand why they may be sticking to negotiation with the real decision makers, who employ and rely on advice from professional planning officers...

Of course, but it's just a failure of Public Relations.

 

[swt_passenger]

Of course, but it's just a failure of Public Relations.

I agree. What probably happens is that people at a local level are promised too much by people who don't have to make the decisions...

 

[Joe D]

From the ground here in OX13 I hear that decisions regarding the Steventon bridge are still pending with NR refusing to engage with the Steventon Parish Council and acrimony breaking out between the PC and the local MP. It's a total fiasco that has been running for several years now. It is now highly unlikely that bridge works (if any) will start before May 2018, which puts electrification between Didcot and Wantage Road back to mid 2019.

People keep posting that Steventon bridge is a problem and "delayed", and asserting the impact this has on the programme, and each time somebody replies that it's not a problem -- at least, not a showstopper -- and electrification is going ahead without dealing with the bridge.

e.g. post 4731:
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=2924551&postcount=4731

...but it never seems to be acknowledged or addressed, and I'm worried this thread might be stuck in Groundhog Day.

At least one of these positions must be wrong. What are the actual facts, vs overconfident speculation?

 

[coppercapped]

People keep posting that Steventon bridge is a problem and "delayed", and asserting the impact this has on the programme, and each time somebody replies that it's not a problem -- at least, not a showstopper -- and electrification is going ahead without dealing with the bridge.

e.g. post 4731:
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=2924551&postcount=4731

...but it never seems to be acknowledged or addressed, and I'm worried this thread might be stuck in Groundhog Day.

At least one of these positions must be wrong. What are the actual facts, vs overconfident speculation?

My quote is correct. NR acknowledge that the horizontal profile of the contact wire will not be ideal as it passes under the bridge and rises to maximum height over the level crossing. They expect wire wear to be higher than normal and will monitor its condition closely. At the IMechE meeting NR showed a drawing showing the lengthwise profile of the contact wire.

There will be no delay to the wiring schedule because of the wire profile. Work on the bridge may follow later and a longer term solution to the level crossing issue is still being sought - but the line will be wired as is.

I'm sorry to say that it seems that many posters are stuck in Groundhog Day...

 

[edwin_m]

I'm sorry to say that it seems that many posters are stuck in Groundhog Day...

They have to dig each groundhog out by hand rather than use the flashy and expensive kit that was supposed to dig out 50 groundhogs per shift.

 

[veryoldbear]

To be fair, piling and uprights are well underway both sides of the Steventon bridge so most of the OLE should be in place well ahead of any action. The actual height differences for the wire / bridge are very small and indeed a temporary running solution could be installed, but with possible speed restrictions. In practice trains stopping at Didcot wouldn't notice.

The major problems with Steventon is that the bridge designs offered by NR so far have been aesthetic rubbish for replacing a Brunel bridge and both Vale of White Horse, Parish Council, and Heritage England have had severe words about it.

 

[adrock1976]

From what I've read elsewhere changeover on the fly is planned - it's unlikely for example that all West of England trains would stop at Newbury! I read on one of these threads that there is an "extension lead" from Thingley to feed power in at Wootton Bassett, so if the OLE on that section wasn't needed then it could have been deferred along with that towards Bristol.

This section should allow bi-modes to climb the 1 in 100 of Dantsey Bank in electric mode, though unfortunatley not the simlar gradient throught Box Tunnel.

Is Thingley Junction the location where the original route to Weymouth via Melksham diverges from the Bristol/Wales mainline after Chippenham, or is that the junction north of Trowbridge?

I cannot seem to find where I have stored my track atlas, hence how I am kindly asking.

 

[snowball]

Is Thingley Junction the location where the original route to Weymouth via Melksham diverges from the Bristol/Wales mainline after Chippenham, or is that the junction north of Trowbridge?

I don't know enough rail history to answer for the original route to Weymouth, but your first description sounds right. Thingley Junction the first junction after Chippenham going towards Bath, being about two miles after Chippenham station. A line turns off southward towards Melksham, Trowbridge etc. The OS map shows there was once a west to south chord, now lifted.

 

[alxndr]

Is Thingley Junction the location where the original route to Weymouth via Melksham diverges from the Bristol/Wales mainline after Chippenham, or is that the junction north of Trowbridge?

I cannot seem to find where I have stored my track atlas, hence how I am kindly asking.

I expect it is the former, the ELR is the WEY after all.

If it helps at all you can see it marked on this map:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/WS&WR_routes.gif

And here's the link to it on google maps.

 

[coppercapped]

To be fair, piling and uprights are well underway both sides of the Steventon bridge so most of the OLE should be in place well ahead of any action. The actual height differences for the wire / bridge are very small and indeed a temporary running solution could be installed, but with possible speed restrictions. In practice trains stopping at Didcot wouldn't notice.

The major problems with Steventon is that the bridge designs offered by NR so far have been aesthetic rubbish for replacing a Brunel bridge and both Vale of White Horse, Parish Council, and Heritage England have had severe words about it.

No mention was made of any speed restrictions due to the wire profile. The design issues were to ensure that there were no sudden changes in the contact wire's vertical stiffness as the height changed over the 400 metres between the bridge and the crossing.

Added in edit: Another issue was the design of the curve in the wires (Up and Down) which is needed to join the two horizontal sections, the one under the bridge and the other over the crossing. In one direction the curve has be such that the pan doesn't lose contact with the wire as the wire increases in height and in the other the vertical force on the pan head (as the pan is forced downwards) must not be so great that the contact wire/catenary/droppers becomes unstable. It can be done but the wear on the contact wires will be greater than normal.

 

[jimm]

The major problems with Steventon is that the bridge designs offered by NR so far have been aesthetic rubbish for replacing a Brunel bridge and both Vale of White Horse, Parish Council, and Heritage England have had severe words about it.

I wasn't aware that Brunel was some kind of saint and his works were untouchable.

He built the bridge at Steventon - along with many others looking much like it - to perform a functional role, taking a road over the line. Had reinforced concrete or steel bridge beams of suitable strength been available in the 1830s, then you can bet he would have built with those, rather than faffing around with arched bridges and teams of bricklayers.

The bridge at Steventon is a variation on a bog-standard design of a type Brunel used all over the place, constructed out of brick or stone, depending on what material was most readily available locally. It really isn't that special, so quite how it has ended up being listed beats me. It's not exactly the Royal Albert Bridge, nor the viaduct at Chippenham.

And in order to build his railways, Brunel cheerfully demolished all sorts of structures that were in the way to drive the lines along his chosen route, whatever objections there might have been at the time.

Reading between the lines in the local MP Ed Vaizey's recent column in the Herald newspaper - mentioned above - I think his patience with local objections has pretty much run out - this after he intervened personally in 2014 to get demolition put on hold.

http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/...r__the_long_road_to_closing_Steventon_bridge/

 

[SpacePhoenix]

To be fair, piling and uprights are well underway both sides of the Steventon bridge so most of the OLE should be in place well ahead of any action. The actual height differences for the wire / bridge are very small and indeed a temporary running solution could be installed, but with possible speed restrictions. In practice trains stopping at Didcot wouldn't notice.

The major problems with Steventon is that the bridge designs offered by NR so far have been aesthetic rubbish for replacing a Brunel bridge and both Vale of White Horse, Parish Council, and Heritage England have had severe words about it.

Would an overhead conductor rail be a viable option for that bridge?

 

[veryoldbear]

I wasn't aware that Brunel was some kind of saint and his works were untouchable.

He built the bridge at Steventon - along with many others looking much like it - to perform a functional role, taking a road over the line. Had reinforced concrete or steel bridge beams of suitable strength been available in the 1830s, then you can bet he would have built with those, rather than faffing around with arched bridges and teams of bricklayers.

The bridge at Steventon is a variation on a bog-standard design of a type Brunel used all over the place, constructed out of brick or stone, depending on what material was most readily available locally. It really isn't that special, so quite how it has ended up being listed beats me. It's not exactly the Royal Albert Bridge, nor the viaduct at Chippenham.

And in order to build his railways, Brunel cheerfully demolished all sorts of structures that were in the way to drive the lines along his chosen route, whatever objections there might have been at the time.

Reading between the lines in the local MP Ed Vaizey's recent column in the Herald newspaper - mentioned above - I think his patience with local objections has pretty much run out - this after he intervened personally in 2014 to get demolition put on hold.

http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/...r__the_long_road_to_closing_Steventon_bridge/

I have a lot of sympathy this view. However, local objections would have been far less vociferous had NR come up with a bridge design that had some merit. The replacement bridges that have been erected locally have been lump concrete with armour plated parapets of sheet galvanised steel. Brunel certainly wouldn't have entertained this sort of rubbish.

The other problem is that the road through Steventon takes a huge amount of local traffic plus A34 contingency traffic, and the road closure for 10 months plus is going to cause mayhem and business disruption.

 

[Mordac]

I wasn't aware that Brunel was some kind of saint and his works were untouchable.

He built the bridge at Steventon - along with many others looking much like it - to perform a functional role, taking a road over the line. Had reinforced concrete or steel bridge beams of suitable strength been available in the 1830s, then you can bet he would have built with those, rather than faffing around with arched bridges and teams of bricklayers.

The bridge at Steventon is a variation on a bog-standard design of a type Brunel used all over the place, constructed out of brick or stone, depending on what material was most readily available locally. It really isn't that special, so quite how it has ended up being listed beats me. It's not exactly the Royal Albert Bridge, nor the viaduct at Chippenham.

And in order to build his railways, Brunel cheerfully demolished all sorts of structures that were in the way to drive the lines along his chosen route, whatever objections there might have been at the time.

Reading between the lines in the local MP Ed Vaizey's recent column in the Herald newspaper - mentioned above - I think his patience with local objections has pretty much run out - this after he intervened personally in 2014 to get demolition put on hold.

http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/...r__the_long_road_to_closing_Steventon_bridge/

Clearly you don't know much about the kind of crap that ends up as lists buildings all over the country. A carbuncle like Preston Bus Station is a listed building, for goodness' sake!

 

[steverailer]

Would an overhead conductor rail be a viable option for that bridge?

It could be but its the distance between the bridge and the level crossing that is the issue really. The short distance means that the wire will have to change height in too short of a distance, meaning that there is potentially a problem with keeping the pan on the wire, faster wire wear down, and possible issues with the stability of the contact wire.

Don't know whether closing Stocks Lane LC would be an option? That may give a greater distance to get the wire to height

 

[jimm]

I have a lot of sympathy this view. However, local objections would have been far less vociferous had NR come up with a bridge design that had some merit. The replacement bridges that have been erected locally have been lump concrete with armour plated parapets of sheet galvanised steel. Brunel certainly wouldn't have entertained this sort of rubbish.

The other problem is that the road through Steventon takes a huge amount of local traffic plus A34 contingency traffic, and the road closure for 10 months plus is going to cause mayhem and business disruption.

Sorry, but I don't buy these claims about aesthetics or historic value - if Network Rail had said they would build a replacement bridge alongside before shutting and demolishing the existing structure, I doubt we would have heard a peep from most people. But that would have required compulsory purchase of land, which would not have been without controversy either.

Looking back at local media coverage from 2014, it is plain as day that the closure was what was causing concern, that the bridge is listed was mentioned in passing but that's about it.

Nor have I seen comment about the looks of any of the other replacement bridges in Oxfordshire - it appears people just want something there that they can drive their cars across.

I really don't get why people think Brunel was some sort of aesthete - he built plenty of less than attractive structures all over the place, for the very simple reason that, in engineering terms, they did the job that was required. The old Chepstow bridge was hardly a thing of beauty http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/a/ab/Im1851Cat303a.jpg

And, because they were made out of wood, a lot of other pretty ugly bridges he put up are no longer with us - unlike the many brick and stone bridges from the same pattern book as Steventon, in other locations, which still have a long life ahead of them as they are well away from electrification work.

 

[Unclepete]

Hi all,
preparation work has now started on the new footbridge at Newbury Station.
Due to complete in Feb 18.

 

[veryoldbear]

It could be but its the distance between the bridge and the level crossing that is the issue really. The short distance means that the wire will have to change height in too short of a distance, meaning that there is potentially a problem with keeping the pan on the wire, faster wire wear down, and possible issues with the stability of the contact wire.

Don't know whether closing Stocks Lane LC would be an option? That may give a greater distance to get the wire to height

This was considered as an option for those very reasons, but the trade off of levels didn't seem to quite make it work.

 

[veryoldbear]

Sorry, but I don't buy these claims about aesthetics or historic value - if Network Rail had said they would build a replacement bridge alongside before shutting and demolishing the existing structure, I doubt we would have heard a peep from most people. But that would have required compulsory purchase of land, which would not have been without controversy either.

Looking back at local media coverage from 2014, it is plain as day that the closure was what was causing concern, that the bridge is listed was mentioned in passing but that's about it.

Nor have I seen comment about the looks of any of the other replacement bridges in Oxfordshire - it appears people just want something there that they can drive their cars across.

I really don't get why people think Brunel was some sort of aesthete - he built plenty of less than attractive structures all over the place, for the very simple reason that, in engineering terms, they did the job that was required. The old Chepstow bridge was hardly a thing of beauty http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/a/ab/Im1851Cat303a.jpg

And, because they were made out of wood, a lot of other pretty ugly bridges he put up are no longer with us - unlike the many brick and stone bridges from the same pattern book as Steventon, in other locations, which still have a long life ahead of them as they are well away from electrification work.

It would have been an ideal method and this is of course what was done at Grove, but there are a number of houses and a church in the way. And it's pretty obvious that NR are aesthetic numbskulls, bearing in mind the AONB cockup through the Goring area.

 

[3973EXL]

Quick selection of photos from this morning.

Taplow, old footbridge.

TRT from Southbury Lane bridge Ruscombe.

Temporary strap.

Bridge works prep.

Stanlake Lane bridge raised parapets.

I'll post some more later.

 

[3973EXL]

Twyford overbridge and ATF works going under.

Ongoing OHL works Twyford West.

A4 bridge Sonning Cutting. Parapet work on the old brick span.

802001/002 through Sonning cutting.

 

[76020]

I did a return journey from London to Cardiff yesterday, firstly Maidenhead to Tilehurst, from what I could see there is not much more to do, the only thing missing is the A/T cable in the Reading area, it is missing from about half a mile east of Reading to about just passed the train depot which on the west side of the station, does anybody know of a switch on date? it cannot be more than a month or so away I would guess.
Didcot to Swindon is coming along nicely, apart from the Steventon gap, the wiring is all done up to just short of milepost 66 apart from one length on the down main and a few crossovers from what I could see at 125 MPH!, that includes a lot of the A/T wire up as well.
From milepost 66 there are plenty of masts with the support arms fitted for the next few miles and then it all fizzles out near Swindon, here there is still some piling to do and in the Swindon station area itself there is still no steel work anywhere, I did notice that all the old signal gantries east of the station have now gone however.
From Swindon to Wootton Bassett there are plenty of masts on the down side but still a bit thin on the up.
Onto the South Wales main line and lots of masts from just past the M4 bridge to about milepost 95, then plenty of piles for the next five miles and then not much until Westerleigh Junction, then plenty of piles to just short of Bristol Parkway.
From Bristol Parkway to Cardiff there has been not much more installed since my last trip to Cardiff about four months ago, there maybe a few more piles and masts installed but that's about it.
I was hoping for a switch on up to Swindon/Wootton Bassett by the end of the year but that seems unlikely even if they sort out Steventon Bridge pronto, also as I said there has been very little activity west of Bristol Parkway recentcly apart from bridge reconstruction, piling is only about 20-30% done at best, with masts installed around half that, I think there is proposed Dec 2018 switch on but this looks like a very long shot at present, there are a lot of closures coming up in the next few months so they might get their skates on.
I must add my view about the recent events about the electrification cancellations, when I was a little boy I was told do not make promises you cannot keep, Chris Grayling and his mates has obviously forgotten this, hence a lot of upset people.

 

[jyte]

I must add my view about the recent events about the electrification cancellations, when I was a little boy I was told do not make promises you cannot keep, Chris Grayling and his mates has obviously forgotten this, hence a lot of upset people.

It's not just Chris Grayling (though I think he's worse than most). Politicians promise things they know they can't deliver all the time - that's politics. If you're not selling the electorate bull****, you're not working hard enough

The gov (not that anyone really cares) has kind of got itself stuck in a catch 22 over electrification. It either has to admit the benefits of electrification were overstated (which very often they were) or that Bi-Modes are more of a compromise than most people wanted.

Anyway, I'm doing Paddington-Newbury & Back on the 15th August, I'll see if I can get some photos/reports of the progress on the B&H and around Reading West.

 

[SamYeager]

It's not just Chris Grayling (though I think he's worse than most). Politicians promise things they know they can't deliver all the time - that's politics. If you're not selling the electorate bull****, you're not working hard enough

More to the point politicians know that an awful lot of voters don't really want to be told the truth. They will often, but not always, reward parties who promise them the earth but say someone else such as the "rich" or "big business" taxes will pay for it. Every now & then this blows up in their face as the LibDems found out.

 

[leomartin125]

I did a return journey from London to Cardiff yesterday, firstly Maidenhead to Tilehurst, from what I could see there is not much more to do, the only thing missing is the A/T cable in the Reading area, it is missing from about half a mile east of Reading to about just passed the train depot which on the west side of the station, does anybody know of a switch on date? it cannot be more than a month or so away I would guess.
Didcot to Swindon is coming along nicely, apart from the Steventon gap, the wiring is all done up to just short of milepost 66 apart from one length on the down main and a few crossovers from what I could see at 125 MPH!, that includes a lot of the A/T wire up as well.
From milepost 66 there are plenty of masts with the support arms fitted for the next few miles and then it all fizzles out near Swindon, here there is still some piling to do and in the Swindon station area itself there is still no steel work anywhere, I did notice that all the old signal gantries east of the station have now gone however.
From Swindon to Wootton Bassett there are plenty of masts on the down side but still a bit thin on the up.
Onto the South Wales main line and lots of masts from just past the M4 bridge to about milepost 95, then plenty of piles for the next five miles and then not much until Westerleigh Junction, then plenty of piles to just short of Bristol Parkway.
From Bristol Parkway to Cardiff there has been not much more installed since my last trip to Cardiff about four months ago, there maybe a few more piles and masts installed but that's about it.
I was hoping for a switch on up to Swindon/Wootton Bassett by the end of the year but that seems unlikely even if they sort out Steventon Bridge pronto, also as I said there has been very little activity west of Bristol Parkway recentcly apart from bridge reconstruction, piling is only about 20-30% done at best, with masts installed around half that, I think there is proposed Dec 2018 switch on but this looks like a very long shot at present, there are a lot of closures coming up in the next few months so they might get their skates on.
I must add my view about the recent events about the electrification cancellations, when I was a little boy I was told do not make promises you cannot keep, Chris Grayling and his mates has obviously forgotten this, hence a lot of upset people.

What I can't believe is that with the OLE work nearly complete and ready for testing by the end of August, why there are no 387's to Reading till early 2018?

 

[coppercapped]

What I can't believe is that with the OLE work nearly complete and ready for testing by the end of August, why there are no 387's to Reading till early 2018?

Is that true, or just a 'belief'?

Added in edit. Testing of the OHLE in the Reading area is scheduled for September 16 and 17th, not August. This is your employers own web site.

If all goes well then the OHLE will be energised either on that day or soon afterwards.