RIBA OHLE competition shortlist

[IKBrunel]

shortlist published today,
www.ribacompetitions.com/ols/shortlisted.html
13 contenders, various T, triangular, monopole designs.
The half hoop 'bow' design (similar to that used for light rain in places in Belgium?) is my favourite by a long margin.

Some of the impressions are more honest than others, many don't show the stitching which makes a big difference to the aesthetics. Nonetheless I still think the bow design is most pleasing to the eye.

Might actually be cheaper to have single rolled tube & less components.

 

[TheKnightWho]

Will these be used only for sensitive structures and views?

 

[IKBrunel]

That's how its being sold as a project, but if they've once been approved for UK use and are of comparable cost and are deemed to be more aesthetic than current designs, I could anticipate pressure to use them outside of National Parks, AONBs etc.

If that helps secure wider public acceptance of new rail lines then bring it on.

 

[LateThanNever]

shortlist published today,
www.ribacompetitions.com/ols/shortlisted.html
13 contenders, various T, triangular, monopole designs.
The half hoop 'bow' design (similar to that used for light rain in places in Belgium?) is my favourite by a long margin.

Some of the impressions are more honest than others, many don't show the stitching which makes a big difference to the aesthetics. Nonetheless I still think the bow design is most pleasing to the eye.

Might actually be cheaper to have single rolled tube & less components.

I agree too - by a long margin - but then I think to most curves look/?are more natural!

 

[ash39]

From a photography point of view, any of the centrally mounted twin masts would be great!

Always wondered why they're not done this way anyway. Wouldn't it be cheaper only needing half as many masts?

 

[Railsigns]

From a photography point of view, any of the centrally mounted twin masts would be great!

Always wondered why they're not done this way anyway.

The standard 'six foot' spacing between running lines doesn't leave enough clearance for masts.

 

[talltim]

The standard 'six foot' spacing between running lines doesn't leave enough clearance for masts.

Might be ok for HS2 if you plan it in

 

[John Webb]

From a photography point of view, any of the centrally mounted twin masts would be great!

Always wondered why they're not done this way anyway. Wouldn't it be cheaper only needing half as many masts?

Besides the lack of room in the 'six foot', if you have one mast for two lines, a fault on one line could badly affect the other line, as happens where headspan wires are used as per ECML and MML for four tracks.

 

[IKBrunel]

Ah, a faulty insulator or other earth fault on the T mast means the potential of the mast is floating somewhere between ground potential & 25kV so you might have to isolate the wires for both lines to identify the fault & fix it. Whereas with seperate masts for each running line they might be able to do tests on them independently. Whether you could do actual OHLE maintenance work next to an operational line I don't know?

 

[edwin_m]

Of these I think only VelocitY, Needle System, Origami Birds, Integrated and Rhythmic show the structual elements necessary to provide support and registration, with the photo of Responsive being too small to tell. Possibly not a coincidence that several of the above have involved engineers as well as architects!

Any of the others, if re-engineered to be workable, would be considerably less pleasing than shown in the photos.