Wide Load

[northernrail]

Hi all,
looking around, some of the "Abnormal" loads carried on the road got me wondering,
Can Wide, Large Loads be carried on the railways like they used to be?
Ive seen pictures of things like huge girders etc being carried back in the British Rail day, can it still happen reguarly and safely?

 

[142094]

Anything would have to fit within the loading gauge so as not to hit structures and other trains. As for weight, I do not know the answer about what the maximum is, but no doubt it will come down to how it is loaded on a wagon.

 

[GB]

Yes, but they are known as exceptional loads and the route must be cleared for it and special paper work issued.

Doesn't happen all that regularly but I know the tube stock moves fall under such categories. I also seem to remember that a bridge made for one of the Harry Potter films had to be specially conveyed by rail and it took several months for the route to be cleared.

 

[dk1]

Cannot remember what it was but there was a signal box bell code for out of gauge loads.

Certain sections used to have restrictions. One such i recall was 'the opposite line must be blocked when either up or down line is used by MK3 rolling stock'. This was in force up until resignalling/re-alighning of a tight curve between Thorpe Jcn & Trowse Swing Bridge up until 1986.

 

[Rich_D3167]

Some of the long welded rail trains also run under the "Out of Gauge" category, but tend to be merely route restricted. Paperwork will be sent out, and will show which line the train can/cannot run on. It tends to be pointwork or areas with sharp or sudden curves, hence the rail won't be able to flex on certain pointwork/tight curves. These trains usually run as 6Xxx (or less if needs be), and run under the bell code 2-1-6 for Signalboxes.

 

[Old Timer]

Cannot remember what it was but there was a signal box bell code for out of gauge loads.

Certain sections used to have restrictions. One such i recall was 'the opposite line must be blocked when either up or down line is used by MK3 rolling stock'. This was in force up until resignalling/re-alighning of a tight curve between Thorpe Jcn & Trowse Swing Bridge up until 1986.

2-6-1
2-6-2
2-6-3
1-2-6
1-6-2
2-1-6

LWR trains ran as per OG notices because of sidings radius restrictions, and obviously because of length. In long sections, rail will twist very easily so crossing between lines and through junctions is not normally a problem, as the attached picture shows.

 

[Ploughman]

I have had to plan "Out of Gauge " trains for track renewal work when using track panels of pre curved rail. This due to the increased side overhang.
Panels from Doncaster and destined for Crimple curve on the Harrogate - Leeds One weekend they went via Leeds and the next via York and Harrogate when we relaid the opposite road.
Restrictions such as speed, clearances and passing traffic were the main considerations.

If anyone has access to Fastline films DVDs "Behind the Scenes" one of them (can't remember which one of 4" has footage of an OOG movement near Ferrybridge showing a Transformer being moved and the actual wagon could slew sideways to increase clearances if required.

 

[Chris125]

Doesn't happen all that regularly but I know the tube stock moves fall under such categories. I also seem to remember that a bridge made for one of the Harry Potter films had to be specially conveyed by rail and it took several months for the route to be cleared.

Do you mean the old footbridge at Kings Cross, which had to be moved out by rail? While it was built over a century before the filming began, I cant think of any other Harry Potter-related structure which has been moved by rail.

Chris

 

[GB]

Yeah that sounds about right. I know potter was involved somewhere along the line.

 

[dk1]

2-6-1
2-6-2
2-6-3
1-2-6
1-6-2
2-1-6

LWR trains ran as per OG notices because of sidings radius restrictions, and obviously because of length. In long sections, rail will twist very easily so crossing between lines and through junctions is not normally a problem, as the attached picture shows.

View attachment 9442

Excellent!! Thanks for that. Won'd forget call attention, usual classes, train on, train out etc but things like out of gauge escape me. We used to have odd special codes such as...

1-2 Pilot to depot
3-4 DMU to depot
5-1 LHCS to depot
3-3-3-2 Extended shunt in loop

 

[jnrsnr]

amazing what internet digging comes up with
http://forums.dhsdiecast.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1106404

 

[northernrail]

Love the picture of someone pushing overhead cables up with a long stick.......In the UK that would mean a complete shut down and isolation of tham cables.....

 

[jnrsnr]

it just show how OTT health and safety is in the country

 

[Trog]

View attachment 9442

Yes but 1995 and 2004 were very good years for bendy 113A.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I have had to plan "Out of Gauge " trains for track renewal work when using track panels of pre curved rail. This due to the increased side overhang.

It would also be to make sure they went by a fixed route and so did not get turned unexpectedly on route. Which was always an embarrassment on site with P-Fab track for curved sites. (Voice of bitter experience.)

In the old days when all relaying was done in panels, the track panels were specified in a standard way with ends X and Y and sides A and B. There were diagrams showing how the routes to site altered which end and side would be where once the load got to site. So you knew if you had to reverse the side or end of the rail staggers when you drew up the chart. If at a busy period your prefab was coming from a foreign PAD you had to ring them up and find out what their convention was to describe a panel once it was standing on the mainline then do a translation.

Hot tip if ever specifying prefab panels for use with third rail. Ask for every fourth sleeper to be the wrong way round. That way if all goes well you have three out of four to choose from to out the pots on. But if the operating decide to have a laugh and reverse your train, you will still have enough sleepers with the holes on the right end for most of the pots and will only have to turn the extra sleepers needed at con-rail ends etc.

It does not hurt either for directionally sensitive loads to write on them in nice large letters “This end to be at north end when standing on WCML.” or something similar in the hope that this will trigger warning bells before it is too late if things go wrong.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

2-6-1

View attachment 9442

Sorry, but that's perfect caption competition material!

"Do not cross the lines; it takes hours to untangle them"

 

[Clip]

Do you mean the old footbridge at Kings Cross, which had to be moved out by rail? While it was built over a century before the filming began, I cant think of any other Harry Potter-related structure which has been moved by rail.

Chris

I dont remember it being moved out whilst they filmed Harry Potter.. I was working there whenthey were filming and it wasnt moved at all.