Lowering track under bridges because of tall trains

[Meridian richard]

A friend of mine who is a resident of renishaw received a letter today stating track works may cause noise pollution because of the lowering of the track near the golf course due to taller trains passing through!
The line is the freight line between Sheffield and Chesterfield does anyone have a clue what this is?

 

[David10]

Probably to allow W10 containers to pass.

 

[Lrd]

The same happened at Southampton, they had to lower the entire trackbed through the tunnel to allow the 'new' taller (9ft6in) containers to pass through.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

and is what was being done to one side of the Panmanshiel Tunnel (while the other side had already been lowered with trains in service) when it collapsed trapping those inside.

 

[43106]

The only occasion I know when track was being lowered was when the Carstairs - Edinburgh line was electrified - it was simply to allow the OHLE to fit. I actually saw them doing it in the late 1980's under the Slateford Road bridge. IF they have decided to electrify the MML, then this could be preparatory work for it.

 

[David10]

Ipswich tunnel was lowered in 2004 to accomodate W10s.

 

[talltim]

They could just do this http://mp154trainblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/tunnel-18-making-double-stack-space.html
or this http://www.nscorp.com/nscorphtml/pdf/09invday-dws-color.pdf pages 51 to 53

 

[bolli]

It will be interesting to see if the same needs to be done to the Severn Tunnel during electrification of the SWML. I gather that the guage is a bit tight there alerady. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Severntunnel1.jpg/800px-Severntunnel1.jpg as an example)

 

[Scotrail84]

Haymarket North Tunnel was lowered to allow OHLE to be installed IIRC

 

[tirphil]

Hibel Road and Prestbury tunnels on the Macc & Colwich both had their trackbeds lowered during the WCML upgrade.

 

[Ploughman]

A combination of Track Lowering and Bridge lifts was used for all the lines affected by the electrification for Leeds North West.
I seem to remember a figure of 30 track lowerings to get the clearance for the wires.
For a basic lowering approx 150m of track either side of the bridge would be taken out, ballast dug out to grade then relaid to new levels.

On one stretch Shipley to Bradford we had to track lower under 4 consecutive bridges. We wanted to uplift the lot and dig out from start to finish so it would look better and give a better ride. But no the high ups stipulated we dig each bridge to its own lowering scheme. In the end over the 1 mile length 1 panel of track was not removed and the result is a Roller Coaster ride.

 

[swt_passenger]

It will be interesting to see if the same needs to be done to the Severn Tunnel during electrification of the SWML. I gather that the guage is a bit tight there alerady.

Railway myth repeated as fact? There's actually no evidence that there's a problem whatsoever.

NR quoted here: http://www.rail.co/2011/04/28/electrification-delivering-the-transformation/
...said there is ample room for electrification in the tunnel:

As for the tunnels – the big one I guess you’re interested in on GW is the Severn which in fact is really quite an electrification-friendly tunnel with quite good clearances. From the initial survey work we’ve done already, we’ve found that the room in the roof of the tunnel is capable of accommodating normal low encumbrance equipment like we put in tunnels elsewhere in the UK. And it would also be perfectly appropriate to use solid beam technology through the tunnel. We will consider both options when we move into the detail design phase.

 

[W230]

IF they have decided to electrify the MML, then this could be preparatory work for it.

I think that this section of track at Renishaw is part of the Tapton "Old Road" and not the MML. In which case it's nearly all freight so is likely to be for the larger 9'6" containers as already suggested.

All passenger services north from Chesterfield now serve Sheffield, and the section north from Tapton Junction to Rotherham Masborough (the "Old Road") has been freight only since July 1954, although it is occasionally used as a diversionary route. It serves as a bypass line which keeps freight trains away from the congested lines through central Sheffield.

 

[LE Greys]

Just out of curiosity, will all the old GWR overbridges go when the wires are put up west of Airport Junction or will they be raised/the track be lowered? I can understand if there are preservation orders on them, and they are nice bridges, but it seems a bit expensive just for the sake of that.

 

[swt_passenger]

Just out of curiosity, will all the old GWR overbridges go when the wires are put up west of Airport Junction or will they be raised/the track be lowered? I can understand if there are preservation orders on them, and they are nice bridges, but it seems a bit expensive just for the sake of that.

They will do whatever is most cost effective at each location. They have already altered a number of overbridges quite significantly west of Reading for gauge clearance anyway.