Flying Phil
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- 18 Apr 2016
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One of the above photos (the first of post #360) shows there’s quite a significant height difference between the subway steps and the level of the up platform precast units. The planning drawings do suggest a couple of extra steps would be needed, but it seems to me it will all look a bit odd with the present roof effectively being either too short, too low, or both?Thanks for the photos Flying Phil. From your pics today, the signal gantry to the south of the station has been removed now. Only the trackside concrete precast platform sides have been installed on the southbound platform. I assume the full length of this platform wont be available for some time yet. Looks like its all running to plan
Good news. Will look out for the pics tomorrow.swt - you are quite correct, it will be interesting to see how that works out.
They have just passed the "Inspection" and so will definitely be opening on schedule tomorrow. They are just cleaning up now so I will get some proper photographs tomorrow....but not of the first few trains!
Here is our first HST pulling away on time.
There were just about the first 6 coaches on the platform with the HST, so it is about the same as before at present. However I think they will get the rest of the platform built in the next few weeks. it all seems to be going well this morning.What is the length difference between an HST and the current usable southbound platform length and how well are the coping?
Seconded.Great pictures @Flying Phil and thanks for getting up early.
A splendid record of the project, for which a huge thank-you. You may be able to answer one small question. Have the old Midland Railway mileposts been re-used, or have they just been abandoned and replaced by the very utilitarian modern style? (As to the northern half of the original project, I do hope I might just live to see it done one day, and that you will be able to create the same sort of record for us.)
In this case there’s about a chain in it, I believe. But then which sequence of mileposts is a perfect record? (DB actually have rules for handling situations where the hectometres aren’t quite right.)On the subject of mileposts, as the new route is straighter it is also a few yards shorter. Is someone out relocating mileposts everywhere from Market Harborough to Carlisle?
Post #334 on the previous page provides a signal diagram explaining speeds etc, but it’s 85 mph both ways.Thanks for the piccies. To be honest, it's totally unrecognisable from what it was. Unless you say which way we are looking, I simply don't know if it's facing the up or the down. What is the new speed limit going to be, do we know?
Interestingly I looked back in the MML Electrification thread and there was a Network Rail presentation dated March 2016 (Post #869 P29) which outlines the project and on P20 shows the old station linespeed as 60 and the new linespeed to be 110mph.....however that was when the curve at Great Bowden was also going to be straightened to raise its linespeed to 110mph from 85mph...which of course it still is, as that improvement was taken out. So it looks like that curve is now restricting the speed improvement possible through the station.....Post #334 on the previous page provides a signal diagram explaining speeds etc, but it 85 mph both ways.
Although the tightest part of the curve near the southern platform ends has gone, the curve further south remains. This is also shown as 85mph in the previous post and I would expect that to be the maximum physically possible without a huge deviation well outside the boundary. With that constraint I doubt 110mph at Great Bowden is acheivable. Can someone passing through note exactly where the acceleration stops northbound and the braking starts southbound in that area?Interestingly I looked back in the MML Electrification thread and there was a Network Rail presentation dated March 2016 (Post #869 P29) which outlines the project and on P20 shows the old station linespeed as 60 and the new linespeed to be 110mph.....however that was when the curve at Great Bowden was also going to be straightened to raise its linespeed to 110mph from 85mph...which of course it still is, as that improvement was taken out. So it looks like that curve is now restricting the speed improvement possible through the station.....
It's the long curve south of the station that was going to be 90 but has ended up at 85, presumably dictated by the fact that the Great Bowden curve cannot go above 85 and so it simply looked sensible to keep the whole section at that value. The new layout of the station area is for 110, but to get that at Great Bowden you have to revert to the old Midland alignment, and that's the bit that hasn't been done. (Cheese-paring in the Midlands and North? Cf. Leicester Station Speed-Improvement Project, Manchester P, Manchester OR, etc.)Although the tightest part of the curve near the southern platform ends has gone, the curve further south remains. This is also shown as 85mph in the previous post and I would expect that to be the maximum physically possible without a huge deviation well outside the boundary. With that constraint I doubt 110mph at Great Bowden is acheivable. Can someone passing through note exactly where the acceleration stops northbound and the braking starts southbound in that area?
It's possible an EMU could do slightly better if the wires extended that far, but I suspect the northern part of the scheme was de-scoped due to costing a lot more per second saved with whatever traction type, rather than because the assumed traction went from undefined electrics to undefined bi-modes in diesel mode.
The track through the bridge has obviously been aligned for that...Hi Edwin - on the NR presentation, it shows that the curve to the South of the station was at 75 mph linespeed leading into 60mph through the station. The planned straightening was to allow 90mph on the curve with little change to alignment and then a steady 110mph through the station and Great Bowden.
Still the brighter news was that the construction workers are expecting the wires to go to "just North of the Station"......
That is why if you look at the pages from the drivers notice of the new layout you will see new banner repeat signals for LR212 & 214 in the up direction located in a position to be seen from the south end of the platform or within the 1st few metres after departure. LR212 & 214 are located near Little Bowden foot crossing as was but is now the bridge.
Was there nothing like a signal sighting group involving drivers before the final decisions on placement were taken?Can confirm that the banner repeaters are not visible in the Up direction from the present stopping point or the future stopping point.