Four track for Filton Bank - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

I'm sorry S&TE, I was setting it up in the hope that someone would knock it down for me: I don't know my ARS^▸ (Automatic Route Setting) from my ELBO.

For anyone else who struggles to differentiate their a*se from their elbow, the following is a handy ready reckoner.

[Red Squirrel]

Ah...  doubtful we'll be able to see it then apart from a passing train.  Not found any decent vantage points yet around where the track used to slew as I really wanted to photograph that part when they cut the line to make the new formation, unless anyone else has?

There's a footbridge near the Dovercourt Road allotments (see https://goo.gl/maps/i1AQhGxX2BP2) which I think was replaced under the electrification scope, but which (for reasons best known to NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) has not reopened; might have been a good viewpoint. My brother took this vid from it in 2015; I was stood directly above the loco and found that this was a surprisingly good way to remove excess leg hairs: https://youtu.be/iLsvFe6ukHA

[Bristolian]

The gap between the Reliefs and the Mains was always there, and I'd imagine that it's still there because of the bridge spacings to the immediate north of the former station site .

Here's one of my shots of a failed 47, which just about coasted alongside the former Up Relief platform, with a 47-hauled freight passing by on the Up Main -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bristol-re/9059595148/in/album-72157641961867643/

[SandTEngineer]

Ah...  doubtful we'll be able to see it then apart from a passing train.  Not found any decent vantage points yet around where the track used to slew as I really wanted to photograph that part when they cut the line to make the new formation, unless anyone else has?

There's a footbridge near the Dovercourt Road allotments (see https://goo.gl/maps/i1AQhGxX2BP2) which I think was replaced under the electrification scope, but which (for reasons best known to NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) has not reopened; might have been a good viewpoint. My brother took this vid from it in 2015; I was stood directly above the loco and found that this was a surprisingly good way to remove excess leg hairs: https://youtu.be/iLsvFe6ukHA

Its located about 450m South of there.

[metalrail]

Ah...  doubtful we'll be able to see it then apart from a passing train.  Not found any decent vantage points yet around where the track used to slew as I really wanted to photograph that part when they cut the line to make the new formation, unless anyone else has?

There's a footbridge near the Dovercourt Road allotments (see https://goo.gl/maps/i1AQhGxX2BP2) which I think was replaced under the electrification scope, but which (for reasons best known to NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) has not reopened; might have been a good viewpoint. My brother took this vid from it in 2015; I was stood directly above the loco and found that this was a surprisingly good way to remove excess leg hairs: https://youtu.be/iLsvFe6ukHA

Yeah i've tried getting access to that new footbridge a couple of times over the past 6 months but it's still blocked off 

[metalrail]

Oh, b****y.  Fell into that one outright

Anyway, think we have now exhausted all the signalling issues.  Just over one week to go to commissioning!

Shall we award a prize to the first person to travel over both the new Main and Relief line formations?

Yep got me with that one too...  far too clever for my brain to figure out!!!   

I don't want a prize, but I have booked next Monday off to take a couple of trips up and down the bank on both my usual GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) local stoppers, and also XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)), to see if I get to travel on both the main and relief lines.  Yes, I really am that sad!   

[Red Squirrel]

The gap between the Reliefs and the Mains was always there, and I'd imagine that it's still there because of the bridge spacings to the immediate north of the former station site .

Here's one of my shots of a failed 47, which just about coasted alongside the former Up Relief platform, with a 47-hauled freight passing by on the Up Main -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bristol-re/9059595148/in/album-72157641961867643/

Well that was my first take, after metalrail made his observation, but looking at it today I'd say that the gap was now wider than it was in your photo; in any case they could have chosen to bring the lines closer together sooner, maybe thus avoiding the need for some of the piling visible from Boiling Wells Lane.

The area to the east of the mains where any fourth platform would go looks pretty generous too, but that's probably just down to the removal of a lot of vegetation.

[metalrail]

The gap between the Reliefs and the Mains was always there, and I'd imagine that it's still there because of the bridge spacings to the immediate north of the former station site .

Here's one of my shots of a failed 47, which just about coasted alongside the former Up Relief platform, with a 47-hauled freight passing by on the Up Main -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bristol-re/9059595148/in/album-72157641961867643/

Well that was my first take, after metalrail made his observation, but looking at it today I'd say that the gap was now wider than it was in your photo; in any case they could have chosen to bring the lines closer together sooner, maybe thus avoiding the need for some of the piling visible from Boiling Wells Lane.

The area to the east of the mains where any fourth platform would go looks pretty generous too, but that's probably just down to the removal of a lot of vegetation.

Yeah the gap is definitely wider now than before.  I noticed from my train before the blockade when the new tracks had been put in just how much gap had been left between the 2 sets of lines along that whole straight run, and knowing from SandT's diagram showing they were making passive provision for the station to re-open there it was a relief to see they appeared to be planning ahead for that

[TonyK]

In all my time in Bristol I referred to, and heard referred to, The Downs as the plural, never Clifton Downs.

That's not to say their aren't many erroneous references online to the entire Downs area as Clifton Downs. One of the chief culprits being the Bristol Post.

Family Allowance was abolished on 6 December 1971, being replaced by Child Benefit. In the twilight of my "career" in public service a couple of years back, I would still occasionally interview a teenage mother who, in answer to the question "What income do you have?" would say "Family Allowance". If I had time on my hands, I might pretend not to know what she was talking about, consulting lists of welfare benefits and feigning bafflement. The last sentence of that segment of the conversation was invariably "Well, I calls it Family Allowance", even though the girl's grandmother didn't ever get Family Allowance for her mother. This is but one of many examples that demonstrate that corrections to nomenclature take generations to effect in Bristol.

I originally had xmas/new year 2018/9 in my diary some two years ago, but it seems they decided to bring it all forward.  The weekend closures are probably for follow up track works (tamping, clearing up etc.).  Think there might still be something going on over xmas/new year but its probably only closure of two tracks out of four (nice having these four track railways isn't?).

I'll say!

Four Track, Now!

[Red Squirrel]

This is but one of many examples that demonstrate that corrections to nomenclature take generations to effect in Bristol.

Where language is concerned, the angels are with those who describe rather than prescribe (or even proscribe). So at Narroways Hill Junction, it's just interesting to see this process from the outset - quite possibly someone will put up a sign soon at the junction, without the 's', and it will begin to gain currency among railway folk. However the original name of the wider area is unlikely to go away just because of a clerical error in a Network Rail design office.

Whether The Downs is known idiomatically as Clifton Downs or not, we can be fairly clear that Clifton Down station was named after Clifton Down. Were the station to be renamed Clifton Downs, that would be neither a correction nor an error, but simply an acceptance that the idiom had become mainstream. It's a bit unlikely though, as it's not very near The Downs. How about Bahnhof Zoo?

[SandTEngineer]

I was just looking back through this topic and suddenly realised that we started talking about this project just over 5 years ago.  Isn't it just typical of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to take so long to deliver such an important infrastructure project?  Never mind, it will all change after April 2019 when we will change to being a dynamic, thrusting, progressive independent nation (whoops, exposing my political colours a little bit there )......

[Bmblbzzz]

I'm a bit surprised to find so much talk about the name of Clifton Down station. Some of you must have too much free time! I was really thinking that people very rarely refer to either Clifton Down or Durdham Down in speech (you do see the distinction made in print), but "the Downs".

How about Bahnhof Zoo?

Animal Garden. 

[metalrail]

I was just looking back through this topic and suddenly realised that we started talking about this project just over 5 years ago.  Isn't it just typical of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to take so long to deliver such an important infrastructure project? 

What about the electrification? That was announced well ahead of the Four Tracking project, and even the main 'core' of it isn't finished to Cardiff yet, let alone all the 'deferrals', one of which was Filton Bank and would have made perfect sense to work on at the same time as the four tracking / signalling upgrade over the past couple of years...  at the very least the piling work to get the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") posts in, so the lineside neighbours don't have to go through another bout of noisy works!

[Red Squirrel]

I was just looking back through this topic and suddenly realised that we started talking about this project just over 5 years ago.  Isn't it just typical of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to take so long to deliver such an important infrastructure project? 

Took 8 years to complete the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) from London to Bristol, didn't it?

Still I'll tell you what: Filton Bank is turning into a bloody lovely bit o' railway!

[grahame]

I'm a bit surprised to find so much talk about the name of Clifton Down station.

Well now ... if it were called "Whiteladies Road" Station, we would be having gender discussions and the rest!