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Title: Grand Northern Woodhead Proposal Post by: Lee on November 22, 2018, 08:43:29 Hundreds of people have backed a petition to reopen the Woodhead railway route between Sheffield and Manchester.
A company called Grand Northern wants to revive the Woodhead tunnel route for freight and passenger services, but faces possible scuppering from National Grid plans to replace pylons with underground cables alongside the route. Sheffield Telegraph link (https://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/hundreds-back-petition-to-reopen-lost-railway-line-between-sheffield-and-manchester-1-9455071) Title: Re: Grand Northern Woodhead Proposal Post by: johnneyw on November 22, 2018, 10:47:31 Very interesting, good luck to them. Some irony there from the issue with the National Grid should Grand Northern wish to electrify the line.
Edit: Corrected spellchecker error. Title: Re: Grand Northern Woodhead Proposal Post by: stuving on November 22, 2018, 10:51:13 The real issue with grid cables is this:
Quote One major obstacle is that since the line ceased operating in 1981, the main tunnel has been used by National Grid to carry electric cables under the Peak District. Those cables would need replacing, and given that pylons would be rejected here that would be costly. Title: Re: Grand Northern Woodhead Proposal Post by: Oxonhutch on November 22, 2018, 11:11:15 I thought the electricity cables ran through one of the old single-track tunnels. There are three bores in total.
Title: Re: Grand Northern Woodhead Proposal Post by: Western Enterprise on November 22, 2018, 11:14:16 3 Bores yes but the old ones were in decay, due mainly to the sulphuric atmosphere imparted by steam hauling heavy trains up hill.
I believe that one has collapsed already.... Title: Re: Grand Northern Woodhead Proposal Post by: eightf48544 on November 22, 2018, 11:18:32 The other major problem it seems to me is what station do you use in Sheffield? Victoria or reverse and go into Midland or even both.
Edited to add recognised at end of article although it implies there is no link in Sheffield. Title: Re: Grand Northern Woodhead Proposal Post by: stuving on November 22, 2018, 11:47:45 I thought the electricity cables ran through one of the old single-track tunnels. There are three bores in total. After several bouts of agitation and a bit of shouting over many years, new cables were installed in the 1953 tunnel during 2008-2012. If you look at Dunford Bridge on Google Earth you can see the works site at that portal in the historical imagery - there doesn't seem to be much now to show it. Quote At the time of their completion in 1845, the two Victorian tunnels were among the world's longest railway tunnels. British Rail added a third tunnel in 1953. The Victorian tunnels were acquired by the CEGB in the 1960s to carry the trans-Pennine 400-kV electricity link below ground, rather than over the moors of the Peak District National Park. (From here (https://www.tdworld.com/projects-progress/national-grid-s-woodhead-tunnel-cable-replacement-project-underway), written in 2008.)It is not possible to install new electricity cables alongside the existing cables in the Victorian tunnels for two reasons: Firstly, to ensure continued safe and secure electricity supplies for Greater Manchester, the existing cables need to remain in service while new cables are installed. Because of the confined space, there is not enough room to carry out major engineering works to install new cables in the tunnels alongside the existing "live" 400-kV cables. Secondly, despite a great deal of maintenance work over the years, the condition of the Victorian tunnels has continued to deteriorate and they would require considerable civil engineering works at substantial additional cost to be made safe for long-term use for any purpose. Therefore the replacement cable circuits will be installed in the third, more modern, Woodhead Tunnel. This tunnel was closed in 1982 and was bought by National Grid in the early 1990s with this purpose in mind. This project forms part of National Grid’s ongoing national investment program and represents a significant investment in the region’s power network. The new cables are being installed in the 1953 tunnel, via the entrance at Dunford Bridge, by the Electricity Alliance - East on behalf of National Grid. This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |