MML Electrification: progress updates

[59CosG95]

A quick reminder of the power supply layout (pre-Grayling) on the MML:

At the moment, everything from Bedford northwards is due to be classically fed (i.e. earth wires and RSCs in troughs). Sharnbrook MPATS (Mid Point Auto Transformer Site) is now just referred to as an MPTSC (Mid Point Track Sectioning Cabinet), for example.

Although, that being said, this looks very like an auto-transformer to me... @Elecman , what say you?
(This is Sharnbrook)

I've seen works taking place on Flickr for Ampthill TSC (to be SATS?), and Chalton/Long Meadow Farm (AT)FS has been covered before in the thread. I recall work on the Bedford ATS being mentioned too, although I've yet to visit. Nothing on Leagrave, East Hyde & Napsbury so far though.

Rather anachronistically, Irchester TSC (to be SATS) is on the Wymington Deviation - something of interest to @WymoWanderer methinks! (Images to follow)

Harrowden TSC (/ATS?) is located on the site of Finedon Station (just north of Finedon Stn Rd O/B) - no photos as I couldn't find anywhere near it to park!

Finally, Kettering North TSC (to be SATS?) is pretty much at the point where the MML and the Corby line diverge; of note, only the across-track feeder wires for the Corby lines are attached to the OLE. About half of the cross-track feeders are coiled up, either awaiting wires on the main line or mothballed. (Pics to follow)

 

[Nym]

Where the 400kV grid wires cross the railway to be spesific...

 

[Elecman]

No. AT Transformers are large things and there are normally 2 of them. That just looks like a 25Kv to 650/ 400 volt Auxilliary transformer feeding something in one of the buildings

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Next power-feed grid supply heading north would be Kegworth iirc?

 

[59CosG95]

No. AT Transformers are large things and there are normally 2 of them. That just looks like a 25Kv to 650/ 400 volt Auxilliary transformer feeding something in one of the buildings

Thanks, I did think it was unlikely to be an Auto! It's probably for all the SCADA equipment contained in the buildings. Interestingly enough, I didn't see any sign of a neutral section around Sharnbrook - presumably Long Meadow Farm/Chalton is end-feeding the Corby branch until Braybrooke goes online.

 

[59CosG95]

Other things to report:
1 wire run on the Down Slow between Wellingborough & Harrowden Jn lacks a contact wire; while the catenary is up and droppers are fitted, the reg arms are cable-tied OOU until the contact gets run.
2 TTC structures on the Wymington Deviation (just north of the bridge by the TSC - 'Gooseys Bridge' according to the NR location plate) have the catenary wires attached to both their respective cantilevers, but reg arms aren't yet in place (total of 4 cantilevers affected).

Until these snags are resolved, NR would be mad to energise!

 

[WymoWanderer]

This is the most recent photo I have of the substation at Wymington (October 2019).

 

[59CosG95]

View attachment 78116
This is the most recent photo I have of the substation at Wymington (October 2019).

It's certainly changed a bit there now - the troughing's complete, and the yard is full of stored steelwork for various types of portal, TTC etc.

 

[Merle Haggard]

I'm not sure if the map at the top of this page is Network Rail but whoever produced it miss-spelt 'Braybrooke'. The flyer sent out by NR referred to 'Greater Bowden' instead of 'Great...' (not many villages start with the adjective 'Greater').
I realise these are small pedantic details but isn't civil engineering and electrification about getting the detail right?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Braybrooke - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

well spotted on the spelling!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I'm not sure if the map at the top of this page is Network Rail but whoever produced it miss-spelt 'Braybrooke'. The flyer sent out by NR referred to 'Greater Bowden' instead of 'Great...' (not many villages start with the adjective 'Greater').
I realise these are small pedantic details but isn't civil engineering and electrification about getting the detail right?

Interesting. So much so I did some research.

Braybrooke Kettering map

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GetOutside is here to help everyone in Britain do more outside. From fun family activities to extreme sports there's ideas, advice and interviews, and you can add your pledge to join in.

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Great Bowden map

Great Bowden, Harborough - area information, map, walks and more

Great Bowden, Harborough - local area information, map, walks and more

getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

I thought the logic was that the grid feeder needs to be close to the MML and also close to the UK grid. The feeder is to be SOUTH of Market Harborough and therefore it was commonsense to extend electrification to Market Harborough. Great Bowden is NORTH of MH on these two maps so something is not quite adding up in my mind.

 

[mr_jrt]

Wasn't the wires reaching Great Bowden just due to providing some overrun? I certainly recall reading that it's always been Great Bowden rather than Market Harborough itself for the wires...aren't there currently, or at least, going to be crossovers north of the station, which would help with this if units failed to switch over to diesel?

 

[Flying Phil]

To confirm, the crossovers are now just North of the new Market Harborough platforms and allowing for 12 coach trains swapping tracks that takes them to just about the bridge over the MML - which leads into Great Bowden. The other side of the bridge is the curve which was going to be eased to increase the linespeed...but that work was cancelled.

 

[WAO]

Where does the National Grid physically feed into the MML at Market Harborough?

OS ref SP 7585 8555, (sheet 141) where the 400kV line crosses the MML.

It's probably the most difficult, lengthy and costly GSP/feeder on the route as the line has to be cut in to and a new compound created. The other sites at Kegworth (Ratcliffe) and Chesterfield are derived from existing NG compounds.

It's only really needed if there will be more intensive use of the OLE North of Bedford than just the Corby services. To me it shows that the full MML wiring will proceed but slowly.

WAO

 

[Merle Haggard]

I thought the logic was that the grid feeder needs to be close to the MML and also close to the UK grid. The feeder is to be SOUTH of Market Harborough and therefore it was commonsense to extend electrification to Market Harborough. Great Bowden is NORTH of MH on these two maps so something is not quite adding up in my mind.

Thank you for that. I do remember, from long ago trainspotting days, being confused by Bowdens.

There was a signalbox on the Northampton line just South of Market Harboro. named 'Great Bowden', but when cycling North of M.H. to photograph trains coming off the Peterborough line I noticed there were signposts showing 'Great Bowden' there. I think that Bowden and Great Bowden are two different villages, North and South of M.H. respectively and the railway has always been confused. But this was all over 50 years ago and relying on my (recently proved unreliable on this forum) memory

 

[Flying Phil]

The Northampton line goes....went.. through Little Bowden which is now a southern suburb of Market Harborough. Great Bowden is a village (but now just about a suburb) to the North East of MH. Of course the Lamport heritage railway is further south on the former Northampton line.

 

[Merle Haggard]

The Northampton line goes....went.. through Little Bowden which is now a southern suburb of Market Harborough. Great Bowden is a village (but now just about a suburb) to the North East of MH. Of course the Lamport heritage railway is further south on the former Northampton line.

Sorry, thank you for that; I was so sure the 'box was Great Bowden when I posted but then remembered it was Little Bowden Crossing. It was alongside the road from Northampton and had gates across a side road heading East, there was a filling station nearby - I suppose it's unrecognisable now. So I was confused, too.

 

[hwl]

Starting at the wires at Great Bowden means the southbound trains can be on electric all the way uphill to Desborough - the high point on the southern MML.

 

[Flying Phil]

Sorry, thank you for that; I was so sure the 'box was Great Bowden when I posted but then remembered it was Little Bowden Crossing. It was alongside the road from Northampton and had gates across a side road heading East, there was a filling station nearby - I suppose it's unrecognisable now. So I was confused, too.

Well the rail track is now a cycleway, the crossing keepers house is a private residence and the filling station is still Protheroes, so some things haven't changed too much....and our house garden is on part of the embankment with the Little Bowden park on the other side....(Sorry for thread diversion)

 

[Merle Haggard]

Starting at the wires at Great Bowden means the southbound trains can be on electric all the way uphill to Desborough - the high point on the southern MML.

Yes, it's odd how Desboro' summit never gets a mention; it's also almost as steep a climb (1 in 132/3) as Sharnbrook (119/120). It's all the legacy of the Midland Railway's meanness - the original estimate for the Leicester & Hitchin railway was £1m, but the Midland chairman told the contractors 'it gets done for £900,000 or it doesn't get done at all'. And the curves and gradients are the result, tunnels are expensive.

 

[vic-rijrode]

Yes, it's odd how Desboro' summit never gets a mention; it's also almost as steep a climb (1 in 132/3) as Sharnbrook (119/120). It's all the legacy of the Midland Railway's meanness - the original estimate for the Leicester & Hitchin railway was £1m, but the Midland chairman told the contractors 'it gets done for £900,000 or it doesn't get done at all'. And the curves and gradients are the result, tunnels are expensive.

The old saying that the LNWR was designed by engineers, the Midland by mountaineers....

 

[59CosG95]

MMLE - Midland Main Line Electrification

Shots taken from both my DSLR & mobile phone of electrification work on the Midland Main Line during 2019 & 2020. OLE is being extended from Bedford to Kettering & Corby by December 2020, and to Market Harborough (at this stage) by 2023.

flic.kr

I've added some photos taken from a trip to the MML on Monday, to my MMLE folder on Flickr.

 

[59CosG95]

Additionally, 90035 recently left Leicester to travel to Crewe - but today it has returned. https://flic.kr/p/2j4aEG3
It must have been a routine maintenance trip or exam.

 

[59CosG95]

MML Wiring Progressometer 41.0 (Updated as of 22nd of May 2020)
Mileages are from St. Pancras. Unless mentioned otherwise, all reference to the "Fast" side refers to tracks on the western side of the "10-foot" (centre of the track pairs), and the "Slow" side for the tracks on the eastern side.
All 2,248 foundations are now installed.

South of Bedford

• In the Cricklewood area, around 13 new structures are gradually being erected; these are confirmed to be part of the works for the new Brent Cross West station.
• Power Supply Upgrade Infrastructure south of Bedford station:
  
  • Napsbury ATS (Auto Transformer Site)
  • East Hyde MPATS (Mid Point AT Site)
  • Leagrave SATS (Sectioning ATS)
  • Chalton ATFS
  • Ampthill SATS
  • Bedford ATS.
• Just south of Sundon FS, Lower Farm Rd (Chalton) FS has now been commissioned (and brought online?)- this will allow for a increase in electric traction (i.e. the EMR Electrics) on the route.
  While I believe passive provision for AT operation has been made possible, there's currently no sign of an autotransformer on site; my assumption is that that will come prior to the 810s coming on stream.
• From structure "SPC1 79/659/DF", just north of the Great Ouse Viaduct, new masts are going up on either side of the Fast tracks to support Bonomi Omnia (i.e. S2/UKMS) cantilevers. All of them appear to be up.
• Just south of the new ATS south of Bedford, 2 pairs of spanwire Feeder masts are being (have been?) installed.

Bedford (49m 65ch) - Wellingborough (65m 09ch)

• The wires are now through Bedford on the Down Fast (P4), but have yet to be erected over the Up Fast. Additionally, the existing wires on Platforms 1-3 have not yet been extended to overlap with the 'offline' wires, that were extended down from north of Bromham Road O/B some weeks ago.
• All lines have been wired from Bromham Rd O/B to Wellingborough station.
• Bromham Rd O/B closure extended until the summer - reopening date not yet agreed.
• Irthlingborough Road Bridge has now been replaced - its reopening date has yet to be confirmed.
• North of Templars Way overbridge, Sharnbrook, an MPTSC (Mid-Point Track Sectioning Cabinet) - until Braybrooke goes online, it's still functionally a TSC - has been constructed in the former works compound. As of 20/4/20, it has gone live.
• The Up Slow from Wellingborough to Sharnbrook is out of use until further notice.
• The switching site at Wymington (Irchester TSC) now looks structurally complete.
• Four cantilevers across two TTCs north of the TSC have no arms; while the catenary is clamped in, the contact is not.

Wellingborough (65m 09ch) - Kettering (72m 01ch)

• Work to return the 4th platform (P4) at Wellingborough to public use is now well advanced.
• All lines are now wired within Wellingborough station. These continue along all lines to Kettering station, with the exception of 1 tension length along the Down Slow south of Harrowden Junction.
• North of Wellingborough, the Down Goods Loop (west of the Down Fast) and the Arrival/Departure Line (adjacent to the not-yet-in-service Up Slow) are now wired, along with the westernmost siding in Wellingborough Up Yard. There doesn't seem to be any concrete plan to put northern access into the yard yet, though.
• The feeding/switching site at Finedon Station has been confirmed as Harrowden ATS; although its function while feeding in boosterless classic mode is unknown. It's also unknown whether everything is connected there, as access to the bridge south of the site is difficult.
• Work to transform the former Kettering Yard into an EMU stabling facility (KES; Kettering Electric Stabling) is nearly complete: wires are all now up. Final snags to be undertaken.

Kettering (72m 01ch) - Glendon Jct (74m 00ch) - Corby (79m 40ch)

• All 4 lines are now wired through Kettering station. On the Fasts, wires finish about 500m north of the platforms, while those on the Slows continue to Glendon Jct & Corby, and thence to the planned limit of wiring.
• At Glendon, the new Kettering North SATS (Sectioning Autotransformer Site; TSC until 810s arrive) has been connected to the OLE on the Corby lines. Spanwires for the Main lines are coiled up OOU until wires head to Mkt H'boro'.

Glendon Jct (74m 00ch) - Market Harborough (82m 74ch)

• Braybrooke Substation ((AT)FS) approved. To be located here: (https://goo.gl/maps/fuy1uZeDjdQ2).
• Enabling Works happened; the land has now been returned to its original state.
• The extent of wiring towards Market Harborough has now been as good as confirmed to reach the station. Approval has been given for final design work to be carried out on that section of route.
• Ground Investigation Works are taking place between Kettering & Great Bowden (north of Market Harborough); this implies Great Bowden will be the northern limit of wiring until further wiring gets authorised.

The Future - Midlands Engine Rail (Midlands Connect) & HS2

• Electrification proposed from Market Harborough to Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham & Derby; as part of the Midlands Connect strategy. The March 2020 Budget committed to the scheme; details are alleged to be found in the July Spending Review. When this will actually be released (what with COVID-19) remains to be seen.
• Electrification proposed from Clay Cross HS2 Connection to Sheffield (Midland) as part of HS2 works.
• Currently, no electrification is proposed between Clay Cross HS2 Connection & Nottingham, or Tupton & Derby (via Belper).
  
  Any updates would be greatly appreciated.

 

[59CosG95]

Well, time for a small update on the works south of Bedford. I paid Ampthill TSC (not quite an SATS yet) a visit this afternoon; the new switchgear and modular steel building look pretty well complete. Just some troughing to add in as far as I could make out.
What's really baffled me about the current (pun intended) situation there is that the existing spanwire disconnector assembly (from the original electrification) is still there, and still connected across all 4 tracks!
View attachment IMG_2562.jpg
As far as I can make out, there seems to be no work yet on this site (nor any site north or south of here) to add Auto Transformers.

Certainly, when I went towards East Hyde to snap Union of South Africa, there were no signs of worksites being set up. Here, meanwhile, there were signs saying 'SPL Deliveries' on the A507 (Woburn Road), pointing to a track which leads to the TSC site (via a Google Maps scan).

Perhaps NR, SPL etc. wish to finish the work nroth of Bedford before heading south to install the autotransformers and renew the existing switching/feeder equipment - if that's still even part of the budget!

 

[Tobbes]

MML Wiring Progressometer 41.0 (Updated as of 22nd of May 2020)

<<SNIP>>

The Future - Midlands Engine Rail (Midlands Connect) & HS2

• Electrification proposed from Market Harborough to Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham & Derby; as part of the Midlands Connect strategy. The March 2020 Budget committed to the scheme; details are alleged to be found in the July Spending Review. When this will actually be released (what with COVID-19) remains to be seen.
  
  Any updates would be greatly appreciated.

Firstly, many thanks for this - very interesting and useful to see progress. On the Spending Review (SR), I understood it had been pushed back to 2021 becuase of COVID-19, and so unless DfT have the headroom to continue the design and development, then you're looking at a 12 month delay. Personally, I would have thought that the Govt would want to push on with something tangible for the Midlands Connect/Midlands Engine blah.

 

[edwin_m]

Perhaps NR, SPL etc. wish to finish the work nroth of Bedford before heading south to install the autotransformers and renew the existing switching/feeder equipment - if that's still even part of the budget!

Could be they intend to do it along with the OLE upgrades south of Bedford for 125mph?

 

[59CosG95]

Could be they intend to do it along with the OLE upgrades south of Bedford for 125mph?

That seems most likely. They'll have an increased electrical load by the time the 810s come around.

 

[Sonadagothalus]

On my travels for work yesterday I popped into Corby station and took a quick snap of the lines. Platform 2 doesn't seem to be any nearer completion nor is there any access to it however the track is now laid and there is what appears to be a single wire (not an expert on what they are called) whereas platform 1 seems to be fully wired.

 

[swt_passenger]

On my travels for work yesterday I popped into Corby station and took a quick snap of the lines. Platform 2 doesn't seem to be any nearer completion nor is there any access to it however the track is now laid and there is what appears to be a single wire (not an expert on what they are called) whereas platform 1 seems to be fully wired.

There is no intention to build a platform 2 as part of the scheme. I’m sure it’s been mentioned earlier in this thread.