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GWML Electification

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ian

ian

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So the GWML electrification would go better if NR lifted all the track, installed the masts and then relaid the rails?

 

Sounds like a winning plan to me. ;)

 

What could possibly go wrong?

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Northroader

Northroader

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Reminds me of a French railway joke against the Belgians,- in France the overhead wire is laid in a zigzag along the catenary supports to equalise pantograph wear, in Belgium they lay the wire straight and zigzag the tracks. (Boum boum)

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talisman56

talisman56

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It's an Autoroute really - you can see the slip roads left and right... :no:

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jamie92208

jamie92208

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So the GWML electrification would go better if NR lifted all the track, installed the masts and then relaid the rails?

 

Sounds like a winning plan to me. ;)

 

I'm sure that the Thames Valley Commuters won't complain at all.

 

Jamie

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The Stationmaster

The Stationmaster

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Reminds me of a French railway joke against the Belgians,- in France the overhead wire is laid in a zigzag along the catenary supports to equalise pantograph wear, in Belgium they lay the wire straight and zigzag the tracks. (Boum boum)

 

Nah, it's much cleverer than that - the Belgians use two wires; twice as much wear for the same journey length. ;)

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Mike Storey

Mike Storey

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Yep, and LGV Atlantique (or Ocean in PR speak) is only a year late!

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JJGraphics

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Shame those super new electric trains will be wasting huge amounts of power carting tons of diesel fuel all over the place now there are not going to be wires over parts of the GWR network for some time to come . . . so much for all the Climate Change BS and reducing carbon emissions!

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corneliuslundie

corneliuslundie

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Two little snippets of OH line clearances from yesterday.

I was browsing a 1960s document I was given on instructions regarding the new electrification between Crewe and Manchester (one route only at that stage). In the section about dealing with electric shock to staff, it says keep at least two feet from the overhead wires.

Second, at a jam packed Birmingham NS yesterday, repeated announcements for passengers carrying helium filled balloons to keep them below shoulder height.

Half seriously, these are a recent hazard and there were quite a few being carried on the station. Is this why we need greater clearances above platforms?

Jonathan

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Titan

Titan

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Second, at a jam packed Birmingham NS yesterday, repeated announcements for passengers carrying helium filled balloons to keep them below shoulder height.

Half seriously, these are a recent hazard and there were quite a few being carried on the station. Is this why we need greater clearances above platforms?

Jonathan

 

That is one of the concerns, along with the possible use of a long selfie stick being used to take aerial shots.

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Edwin_m

Edwin_m

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Two little snippets of OH line clearances from yesterday.

I was browsing a 1960s document I was given on instructions regarding the new electrification between Crewe and Manchester (one route only at that stage). In the section about dealing with electric shock to staff, it says keep at least two feet from the overhead wires.

Second, at a jam packed Birmingham NS yesterday, repeated announcements for passengers carrying helium filled balloons to keep them below shoulder height.

Half seriously, these are a recent hazard and there were quite a few being carried on the station. Is this why we need greater clearances above platforms?

Jonathan

The actual distance 25kV will arc to a solid structure is six inches or less, but if it does so there is probably no safety consequence - the supply will trip out and there may be some damage to the wire.  I'm not sure if it will arc a longer distance to a person (I doubt anybody has done any tests on this) but if it does then that person is at the very least badly injured, so it makes sense to allow a safety margin. 

 

The helium balloon situation I find rather scary and I have a lot of sympathy with trying to increase the clearances to cover this type of situation.  I have less sympathy with suggestions that huge clearances to fixed structures are essential, because the risk there is only operational performance not public safety. 

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Grovenor

Grovenor

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The helium balloon situation I find rather scary and I have a lot of sympathy with trying to increase the clearances to cover this type of situation.

Easier said than done, how long a piece of string do you allow for?

Regards

PS

There are/were some rather horrific videos on Youtube that give you an idea how close a human being needs to be.

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Mark_A

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Not sure what stopped the job out of Paddington today (now after 2pm and still to reopen) but with flooding disruption, the signalling fault near Bristol yesterday and now this, GWR really aren't having an easy time of it this week - and as well as the impact on the travelling public I'm rather empathising with the staff both front of house and not-so-front of house ...

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St. Simon

St. Simon

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Hi,

 

I've just walked past a poster in the office that says that the Overhead on Reading Passenger Loop and in the Depot Complex is now live (was due to go live Sunday, but has been brought forward).

 

I've noticed that the flyover now has more gantries with registry arms than without and at least Platform 12 has registry arms attached at the Didcot end. As I travelled from Maidenhead last Sunday evening there were a lot of the 'Orange Army' attaching registry arms at the Reading end of the station on the relief lines.

 

I suspect that for Reading station they are putting all the RRVs on at the access point at Tilehurst and driving them up to Reading as there has been some evening when I have been travelling back from College that there has been a sizeable fleet of them waiting to go out. There are RRV access points at Reading Depot and Cow lane, but I should think that the Depot is very busy overnight and trying to get RRVs in and out of the gate at Cow Lane during the morning and evenings must be quite difficult!

 

Simon

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The Stationmaster

The Stationmaster

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Hi,

 

I've just walked past a poster in the office that says that the Overhead on Reading Passenger Loop and in the Depot Complex is now live (was due to go live Sunday, but has been brought forward).

 

I've noticed that the flyover now has more gantries with registry arms than without and at least Platform 12 has registry arms attached at the Didcot end. As I travelled from Maidenhead last Sunday evening there were a lot of the 'Orange Army' attaching registry arms at the Reading end of the station on the relief lines.

 

I suspect that for Reading station they are putting all the RRVs on at the access point at Tilehurst and driving them up to Reading as there has been some evening when I have been travelling back from College that there has been a sizeable fleet of them waiting to go out. There are RRV access points at Reading Depot and Cow lane, but I should think that the Depot is very busy overnight and trying to get RRVs in and out of the gate at Cow Lane during the morning and evenings must be quite difficult!

 

Simon

 

I just noticed driving past this afternoon that a bit more wiring east of Scours appears to be in place.  A few weeks back there was a really large number of road-rail vehicles at the old Triangle Sidings depot site (see earlier post) and a lot of masts have in the past been fed in via Cow Lane to be dumped ready for erection from a stockpile on the old diesel depot admin building site - I think they've all gone now.

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Banger Blue

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Hi,

 

I've just walked past a poster in the office that says that the Overhead on Reading Passenger Loop and in the Depot Complex is now live (was due to go live Sunday, but has been brought forward).

 

I've noticed that the flyover now has more gantries with registry arms than without and at least Platform 12 has registry arms attached at the Didcot end. As I travelled from Maidenhead last Sunday evening there were a lot of the 'Orange Army' attaching registry arms at the Reading end of the station on the relief lines.

 

I suspect that for Reading station they are putting all the RRVs on at the access point at Tilehurst and driving them up to Reading as there has been some evening when I have been travelling back from College that there has been a sizeable fleet of them waiting to go out. There are RRV access points at Reading Depot and Cow lane, but I should think that the Depot is very busy overnight and trying to get RRVs in and out of the gate at Cow Lane during the morning and evenings must be quite difficult!

 

Simon

Depot switch on still Sunday as planned. No way could it be done any earlier, more Turbos than usual have had to be planned to be outstabled during the switch-on as no-one is allowed on depot. Sat night / Sun morning is the only possible time without causing major upheaval.

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phil-b259

phil-b259

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A very interesting colum from Lord Berkeley in this months railway magazine discussing the recent NAO report into the project which is worth having a look at.

 

He goes on to highlight that while NR has been guilty of making mistakes - plenty of those are down the DfT making a pigs ear of the project in the first place - which they then deny.

 

This includes not deciding to fit de-restricted engines to the IEP until Hitachi's deadline for making changes had passed by a full 9 months - even though it was blatantly obvious the electrification project was running significantly late.

Edited by phil-b259
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