Cable Routes and the Mole Plough

[iands]

Since signing up to RMweb as member earlier this year and viewing a number of threads on model layouts, I've been pleasantly surprised by the fact that several of these modellers have gone that little bit further with the lineside detail by providing some "Surface Concrete Troughing" (SCT), a very nice touch especially with the lineside 'locations' (or 'locs' for short) - the grey equipment boxes.

 

However, perhaps not all modellers may feel inclined to go to this level of detail, nor to providing a 'pole route' either (probably more difficult/time consuming than the SCT?). Don't despair, you can still add a touch of "realism" if required by simply adding a few 'locs' here and there (roughly adjacent to signals, points etc.), and when someone asks "where's your trough route?", just say "the cables have been buried, with a "mole plough"!

 

Quite a few years ago I was browsing around the "Collectors Corner" in York (remember them?) when I came across the following short "report" - I couldn't resist it for a couple of reasons; 1. Although I'd been on a couple of cable laying trains, I'd not managed to get on a Mole Plough, and 2. After browsing this report, I recognised one of the individuals in the photos.

 

The report is a bit of a home made affair and they certainly haven't gone overboard with the descriptions (obviously well before computers/word processors etc.), but the photos are fascinating and provide a pictorial record of yet another aspect of railway infrastructure application that has now passed into history. Although not dated, I'm guessing this cable installation on the Carlisle-Maryport line was from the late '60s or early to mid '70s.

 

The train consist is made up of the "plough", a one or two support wagons/vans and a few wagons carrying the cable(s). Essentially the cable is fed into the blade of the plough (a bit like a needle and thread). The blade is then lowered to the ground and as the train moves forward the blade digs into the ground, ploughs a narrow trench and deposits the cable in the trench. Because the trench is narrow, it sort of back-fills itself to a degree, burying the cable to a depth of about 18" to 2 feet. A roller follows up to finish the job.

 

It was far from perfect, you had to watch out for things like culverts, drains and such like below the surface (no matter how detailed the survey was prior, something buried could often get missed). Improvements were made, not least dispensing with the "rope and pulley" system and replacing with hydraulics, but eventually the Mole Plough technology was dispensed with altogether in favour of surface concrete troughing.

 

I hope this is of interest.

 

Mole Plough1.pdf

Mole Plough2.pdf

 

The guy in the raincoat nearest the camera in the top photo on the next page is Colin Brook who later became a Telecoms Instructor at the Derby Railway Training School.

Mole Plough3.pdf

Mole Plough4.pdf

Mole Plough5.pdf

Mole Plough6.pdf

 

Regards, Ian.

 

[Merfyn Jones]

Since signing up to RMweb as member earlier this year and viewing a number of threads on model layouts, I've been pleasantly surprised by the fact that several of these modellers have gone that little bit further with the lineside detail by providing some "Surface Concrete Troughing" (SCT), a very nice touch especially with the lineside 'locations' (or 'locs' for short) - the grey equipment boxes.

 

However, perhaps not all modellers may feel inclined to go to this level of detail, nor to providing a 'pole route' either (probably more difficult/time consuming than the SCT?). Don't despair, you can still add a touch of "realism" if required by simply adding a few 'locs' here and there (roughly adjacent to signals, points etc.), and when someone asks "where's your trough route?", just say "the cables have been buried, with a "mole plough"!

 

Quite a few years ago I was browsing around the "Collectors Corner" in York (remember them?) when I came across the following short "report" - I couldn't resist it for a couple of reasons; 1. Although I'd been on a couple of cable laying trains, I'd not managed to get on a Mole Plough, and 2. After browsing this report, I recognised one of the individuals in the photos.

 

The report is a bit of a home made affair and they certainly haven't gone overboard with the descriptions (obviously well before computers/word processors etc.), but the photos are fascinating and provide a pictorial record of yet another aspect of railway infrastructure application that has now passed into history. Although not dated, I'm guessing this cable installation on the Carlisle-Maryport line was from the late '60s or early to mid '70s.

 

The train consist is made up of the "plough", a one or two support wagons/vans and a few wagons carrying the cable(s). Essentially the cable is fed into the blade of the plough (a bit like a needle and thread). The blade is then lowered to the ground and as the train moves forward the blade digs into the ground, ploughs a narrow trench and deposits the cable in the trench. Because the trench is narrow, it sort of back-fills itself to a degree, burying the cable to a depth of about 18" to 2 feet. A roller follows up to finish the job.

 

It was far from perfect, you had to watch out for things like culverts, drains and such like below the surface (no matter how detailed the survey was prior, something buried could often get missed). Improvements were made, not least dispensing with the "rope and pulley" system and replacing with hydraulics, but eventually the Mole Plough technology was dispensed with altogether in favour of surface concrete troughing.

 

I hope this is of interest.

 

Mole Plough1.pdf

Mole Plough2.pdf

 

The guy in the raincoat nearest the camera in the top photo on the next page is Colin Brook who later became a Telecoms Instructor at the Derby Railway Training School.

Mole Plough3.pdf

Mole Plough4.pdf

Mole Plough5.pdf

Mole Plough6.pdf

 

Regards, Ian.

 

Facinating, I worked on the mole train in 1978, same plough but a different make up. I have posted some pictures on here some time ago.

[iands]

Facinating, I worked on the mole train in 1978, same plough but a different make up. I have posted some pictures on here some time ago.

Thanks Merfyn,

 

I did try a search on the forum to see if anything on this subject had already been posted but got a "negative" return. It would be good to view your photos, could you advise where I could find them?

 

Regards, Ian.

[Gordon A]

Its a shame they don't still bury the cables. It might make it harder for low lifes to nick the cable.

 

Gordon A

[Fat Controller]

Its a shame they don't still bury the cables. It might make it harder for low lifes to nick the cable.

 

Gordon A

It's a good idea to bury the cable, provided you record where it's been buried; otherwise you run the risk of cutting it during ballast-cleaning or other works.

[TheSignalEngineer]

Its a shame they don't still bury the cables. It might make it harder for low lifes to nick the cable.

 

Gordon A

It doesn't, believe me, especially around Bulwell.

 

It's a good idea to bury the cable, provided you record where it's been buried; otherwise you run the risk of cutting it during ballast-cleaning or other works.

Also helps if all other services are recorded and marked properly when you use the Mole. Our best hit was an uncharted gas main.

[5BarVT]

Our best hit was an uncharted gas main.

In the autumn of 1975 the Oxford Signalling Techs told me that the mole plough had found an unmarked 6" water main at Islip. They wondered if there had been watering facilities there at one point but it seemed a bit unlikely.

Paul.

[LNERGE]

Super stuff. I'm sure i saw something bolted to the buffers of a 31 many years ago. You dug a hole, Set the depth of the plough and drove forward feeding the cable as you went. Nothing as high tech as the one in the photos. I bet it found just as many uncharted buried services as the more expensive model.

[Merfyn Jones]

Thanks Merfyn,

 

I did try a search on the forum to see if anything on this subject had already been posted but got a "negative" return. It would be good to view your photos, could you advise where I could find them?

 

Regards, Ian.

 

 

 

Only one I can find at the moment, will have a look tomorrow.

[43110andyb]

Thanks for posting this, I remember getting a safety video on the mole plough when I was a trainee technician back in the early 90's and it must have been filmed in the 60/70's - it was in black and white as I remember and hi-viz was non existent (even by early 90's standard). I have searched YouTube without luck but found this which may be of interest - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0dKDZD_HRL4

[iands]

Its a shame they don't still bury the cables. It might make it harder for low lifes to nick the cable.

 

Gordon A

That's a bit of a myth about burying cables - "out of site out of mind". I remember working the night shift in the Telecom Fault Control in York on several occasions and getting a call from Route Control to say the Norton SB had been on to report that the "Blocks to Stillington" had failed again. Every time cable thieves had been out, cut the cable just outside the loc and tied the cable end to the back of a van or truck and set off down the field (or lineside if enough space was available). Out zipped 400+ yards of cable in about 10 minutes. Cable cut up into manageable lengths, thrown onto truck/van and a quick getaway. They had it down to a fine art. From start to finish was about 45 minutes, well before BT Police or the local techs could get on site.

 

The only really effective way of stopping the cable thieves was not to target them, but the scrap dealers. The Police/Courts had quite a bit of success with this. Jailed a couple of dealers and all of a sudden the rest wouldn't touch scrap cable with a proverbial "Barge Pole".

 

Regards, Ian.

[TheSignalEngineer]

That's a bit of a myth about burying cables - "out of site out of mind". I remember working the night shift in the Telecom Fault Control in York on several occasions and getting a call from Route Control to say the Norton SB had been on to report that the "Blocks to Stillington" had failed again. Every time cable thieves had been out, cut the cable just outside the loc and tied the cable end to the back of a van or truck and set off down the field (or lineside if enough space was available). Out zipped 400+ yards of cable in about 10 minutes. Cable cut up into manageable lengths, thrown onto truck/van and a quick getaway. They had it down to a fine art. From start to finish was about 45 minutes, well before BT Police or the local techs could get on site.

 

The only really effective way of stopping the cable thieves was not to target them, but the scrap dealers. The Police/Courts had quite a bit of success with this. Jailed a couple of dealers and all of a sudden the rest wouldn't touch scrap cable with a proverbial "Barge Pole".

 

Regards, Ian.

On the OWW near Dudley the copper fairies even put down tarmac they had 'left over' from a road job to make a haul road for pulling the cable. Obviously a better return than doing half a dozen drives.

 

My reference to Bulwell earlier was related to a series of thefts about 25 years ago. Thieves were using the cut and pull method every time the cable was replaced. The Works Engineer on the job we were doing then put in a new cable and covered it in readymix where it came out of the ground. He also put the offcuts from terminating in the ground and left the ends coiled up in the bottom of the location cases at each end. Sure enough they turned up again and got to work on the seemingly new unterminated cables. The look on their faces must have been priceless when the driver put his foot down and the truck shot off with only about 20 feet of cable trailing behind.

[Merfyn Jones]

Thanks for posting this, I remember getting a safety video on the mole plough when I was a trainee technician back in the early 90's and it must have been filmed in the 60/70's - it was in black and white as I remember and hi-viz was non existent (even by early 90's standard). I have searched YouTube without luck but found this which may be of interest - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0dKDZD_HRL4

 

That youtube film is the same unit and roller vehicle that we had in 78. Brightened up by the Satlink livery.