Ordsall Chord

[snowball]

New pictures posted by Freel07 on SSC:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=137848670&postcount=2042

 

[Ploughman]

The query as to what the devices were.
Looks to me like a tensioning system.

 

[adamedwards]

Excellent photos as always.

Has anyone posted the new track layout? I know the station will have three extra platforms but does that mean 5 tracks or 6?

Apologies if this has been asked and posted before.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

The query as to what the devices were.
Looks to me like a tensioning system.

They are strand jacks, in this case being used to keep the arch in compression when it is lifted and to allow it to be slightly compressed as it is lowered in, then "relaxed" so it fits perfectly in the gap (between the two stubs already fixed in).

 

[snowball]

Excellent photos as always.

Has anyone posted the new track layout? I know the station will have three extra platforms but does that mean 5 tracks or 6?

Apologies if this has been asked and posted before.

Five tracks. One will be for Victoria-bound trains from both the Chord and the Chat Moss line.

This link is to the first page of a 5-page list of plans. Look for the ones that say "proposed track level plan" and click on them. Alternatively, go for the ones that say "key plan" as there are fewer of those.

http://archive.nr.co.uk/browseDirec...ord\Volume 2 - Drawings\1) Planning Drawings

Sorry it's not in a more convenient format but this is the only version I've seen.

These plans don't show the new platforms as they were originally a separate project from the Chord and are separately funded, but it shows where the tracks will be at Central.

 

[snowball]

Arch being lifted over the river. Picture posted by Chortonred on SSC.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=137925634&postcount=2051

 

[snowball]

Network Rail's Northern Programme Twitter Feed has a couple of pics and says the arch is now propped and will be lifted into place next month.

https://twitter.com/networkrailnp

However to me it looks like only one of the two arches that will be required for the two sides of the bridge.

 

[Chrisyd]

Couple of quick photos from this lunchtime, the first with the crane still attached to the "Bow"

by Chris Davis, on Flickr

By the time I moved to a spot with a better angel the crane was completely disconnected.

by Chris Davis, on Flickr

Unfortunately whilst I have missed the tensioner system off the photos, it is being used to tension the piece visible above the the line of the viaduct.

 

[snowball]

More pictures on SSC, this time by Salfordmanc:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=137927741&postcount=2053

 

[SodTheDrummer]

Some excellent pics of the Christmas works here:

http://www.matthewnichol.com/ordsallchord/

Guess this guy must be the 'official' photographer..?

 

[Chrisyd]

According to Twitter the second arch is upright:

https://twitter.com/jarrod1971/status/824258590156406784

 

[snowball]

Picture posted on SSC by Tony_H1 (known on here as Geeves):

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=137957779&postcount=2062

 

[NGrime]

Video just gone up on Network Rail's YouTube channel: Ordsall Chord Christmas 2016

 

[Heartland]

Can somebody confirm what will be the fate of the Liverpool and Manchester Bridge over the Irwell. Will it remain beside the new Chord or will it be lost with the new works?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Can somebody confirm what will be the fate of the Liverpool and Manchester Bridge over the Irwell. Will it remain beside the new Chord or will it be lost with the new works?

That's the Stephenson Bridge, which is retained and restored in the works.
It was previously obstructed by the later Prince's Bridge, which has been demolished to make way for the chord (and the new pedestrian bridge over the Irwell).
So it will in fact be more prominent than before.

 

[snowball]

That's the Stephenson Bridge, which is retained and restored in the works.
It was previously obstructed by the later Prince's Bridge, which has been demolished to make way for the chord (and the new pedestrian bridge over the Irwell).
So it will in fact be more prominent than before.

In this picture posted by jrb on Skyscrapercity last February, the line from Castlefield Junction to Ordsall Lane junction is just visible at the top. Next below it is Stephenson's bridge. Then comes the later metal extension to Stephenson's Bridge, which has since been removed. At the bottom is Prince's Bridge, which has also since been removed.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=130745125&postcount=1428

Edit: Here's another view of Stephenson's bridge partly hidden by the now-demolished extension:

http://pconf.co.uk/i/KU5/5R19_H.jpg

I think the metal column is to remain as a reminder of the extension.

And here Stephenson's Bridge can be seen as it will be, behind the footbridge under the Chord bridge:

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2016-03-30-at-11.23.08.png

Stephenson's Bridge is also visible (with a buffer stop on it) in this view of the Chord:

https://www.railengineer.uk/wp-content/uploads/Ordsall-Chord-Manchester-1.jpg

 

[Sox]

Unless the Stephenson's bridge can be put to some form of practical use (e.g. visitor's area/viewing point) it just seems to me like a pointless blight.

Then again, it would probably have cost a fortune to demolish.

 

[snowball]

It's a grade 1 listed building. There was a big fuss about the demolition of lower-grade listed buildings that delayed the project and nearly killed it. They would never have got approval to demolish Stephenson's bridge.

 

[furnessvale]

It's a grade 1 listed building. There was a big fuss about the demolition of lower-grade listed buildings that delayed the project and nearly killed it. They would never have got approval to demolish Stephenson's bridge.

I believe there are some big stones down Wiltshire way getting in the way of a new dual carriageway.

 

[tsangpogorge]

Once the chord is up and running what services will use the section of track between Salford Central and Salford Cresecnt?

 

[Nym]

Once the chord is up and running what services will use the section of track between Salford Central and Salford Cresecnt?

Anything going from Victoria to Bolton or Atherton as is now? (Except late at night when they run the long way).

 

[HowardGWR]

I believe there are some big stones down Wiltshire way getting in the way of a new dual carriageway.

I know you are trying to make a joke, but it's the complete opposite. They aren't in the way, and their presence nearby is being used as justification.

 

[Chrisyd]

Few pictures from yesterday:

You can see the Stephenson Bridge when looking under the new bridge now:
by Chris Davis, on Flickr

The arch is coming on:
by Chris Davis, on Flickr

Side view:
by Chris Davis, on Flickr

Finally they appear to be dismantling/changing the current crane.
by Chris Davis, on Flickr

 

[YorkshireBear]

Unless the Stephenson's bridge can be put to some form of practical use (e.g. visitor's area/viewing point) it just seems to me like a pointless blight.

Then again, it would probably have cost a fortune to demolish.

I think the canal/river paths underneath are being enhanced and the bridge lit up to show it off.

 

[edwin_m]

Unless the Stephenson's bridge can be put to some form of practical use (e.g. visitor's area/viewing point) it just seems to me like a pointless blight.

Then again, it would probably have cost a fortune to demolish.

On the contrary, it would have been much cheaper to demolish the whole lot. A fair bit of money is being spent on restoring Stephenson's bridge, including re-building the parapet* that was removed in the mid-19th century when the other rail bridge was built alongside it. However it is contemporary with the and adjacent to Liverpool Road, arguably the oldest railway station in the world to survive in something like its original form, so I suggest it is worth keeping.

*it is an ex-parapet!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

My copy of the February 2017 issue of The Rail Engineer arrived in the Saturday post and there is a three page update on pp34-36 on the recent infrastructural works that have been taking place.

Sorry, I cannot give a link, but I know that other like-minded members have this ability.

 

[kermit]

In this picture posted by jrb on Skyscrapercity last February, the line from Castlefield Junction to Ordsall Lane junction is just visible at the top. Next below it is Stephenson's bridge. Then comes the later metal extension to Stephenson's Bridge, which has since been removed. At the bottom is Prince's Bridge, which has also since been removed.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=130745125&postcount=1428

Edit: Here's another view of Stephenson's bridge partly hidden by the now-demolished extension:

http://pconf.co.uk/i/KU5/5R19_H.jpg

I think the metal column is to remain as a reminder of the extension.

And here Stephenson's Bridge can be seen as it will be, behind the footbridge under the Chord bridge:

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2016-03-30-at-11.23.08.png

Stephenson's Bridge is also visible (with a buffer stop on it) in this view of the Chord:

https://www.railengineer.uk/wp-content/uploads/Ordsall-Chord-Manchester-1.jpg

Thank you, that's very helpful and comprehensive. I think I've now worked out why I have been mildly confused about all of this; Prince's Bridge, which was a road bridge, was also designed by Stephenson and first erected in 1830

http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/tours/tour1/princebridge.html

But can anyone tell us more about why, according to the plaque referred to there, it had to be "re-erected" in 1905?

If so, thanks!

 

[absolutelymilk]

My copy of the February 2017 issue of The Rail Engineer arrived in the Saturday post and there is a three page update on pp34-36 on the recent infrastructural works that have been taking place.

Sorry, I cannot give a link, but I know that other like-minded members have this ability.

Does it seem that the works are on track? Do you know when the estimated completion date of the Chord is? (I assume a few months will be needed for testing before December)

 

[Geeves]

December timetables usually change on the first Sunday of the Month I think, so you would imagine the 4th of December? This is when the first timetabled trains are to run round from Vic to Oxford Road. Northerns first service will (Hopefully) be 05:51 or 05:41 now from Oxford to Leeds. Then it will be XX38 during the day passing through Vic at xx:48. Im not sure about TPE yet.

I wouldn't imagine it will take long for route learning, as for testing I cant really say. I am sure an expert will be around to answer.

 

[The Planner]

Have a look in section 7 of the EAS, if you are testing the signalling then its going to be wheels free for a good 4 or 5 signal sections in either direction off the chord so I suspect the Castlefield corridor will be shut as well as Victoria.