Wokingham's present from Network Rail - a new siding

[whole diary]

[stuving]

The building next to the box at Wokingham is the relay room.   Apparently earlier this week the work caused a leak in the roof and various electrical components were doused in water.

It looks a lot of scaffolding if the work is just to relay the roofing felt. Which would be a bit ironic, of course.

After a very serious incident 2 years ago where a technician received electrical burns in a traction power substation, the flash over was caused by water ingress into the build' a survey of all operational buildings containing operational electrical were surveyed.   A plan is being worked through to repair building roofs in a number of types / age of buildings its been decided to remove to old roofing and renew it with a modern system.

I saw these joists had been fitted by Sunday, and did wonder if they were for a roof or floor. You can't really see how deep they are, and in any case a roof probably has to be strong enough for a couple of dozen teenagers to climb on it and jump up and down.

While it would seem odd for the new recontrolled signals to need a lot of heavy kit, the junction will need several point motors and it takes more than a supply of digits to make them dance. So there may be a need for more space somewhere, unless the whole removal/replacement is done in one operation.

I found that the latest (June 2019 - presumably also the last) Wessex Route Strategic Plan has dates for major disruptive works for all CP6^▸ (Control Period 6 - The five year period between 2019 and 2024), i.e. out to 2023/24. This lists two 9-day blockades for Wokingham Feltham Re-signalling Commissioning and Wokingham S&C^▸ (Settle and Carlisle ) - both for the Winter Half-term (eh?).

[stuving]

Geoffrey Osborne were given a framework contract for "One-team Wessex", a multi-functionak framework for infrastructure projects, running from 2014-1018. But that wasn't as an independent prime contractor; they set up a design and project management office jointly with NR^» (Network Rail - home page) at Waterloo. I never saw anyone labelled as "Osborne", so it may be that the subcontracting process was kept with NR.

What I did see, at the end of 2018, was a huddle of small vans (too small for a PW^▸ (Permanent Way) crew plus tools) by our level crossing, with a bigger Network Rail (NR) one. There was a bunch of figures in shiny new HiVis on the track near the junction, looking at it. The vans were liveried Cleshar, SERC, and Ganymede - all contractors who do work in the track, though not on the same scale.

The only reason I could think of for all three to be there was some kind of on-site bidders' conference; the modern style is that any answer to one has to be copied to all so they might as well all look and ask together. No secrets! But what work was planned? This was after the last bent points got straightened, and during 2019 I saw Cleshar vehicles only a couple of times, and yes for work on that junction.

Osborne were given a new framework contract in December 2018, announced together with Murphy & Sons and BAM Nuttall (for Anglia and South Eastern). These are for CP6^▸ (Control Period 6 - The five year period between 2019 and 2024), and the announcement was for Southern region, though how Anglia fits into that is a mystery. Presumably the work planned within the routes will stay that way and to start with only top management will change.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[Electric train]

Osborne were given a new framework contract in December 2018, announced together with Murphy & Sons and BAM Nuttall (for Anglia and South Eastern). These are for CP6^▸ (Control Period 6 - The five year period between 2019 and 2024), and the announcement was for Southern region, though how Anglia fits into that is a mystery. Presumably the work planned within the routes will stay that way and to start with only top management will change.

That was how Infrastructure Projects was structured prior to the Putting Passengers First reorg. IP was structured into their own regions in 2012, supposedly it was more efficient! but had no accountability to the Routes who funded the projects

IP is now called Capital Delivery who are now part of the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Regions and are part of the Region Managing Director structure so better accountability.

Most building maintenance work is carried out by Works Delivery which tend to carryout smaller cost projects such as heavy maintenance where as CD^▸ (Capital Delivery) carry out the multi million ? projects.  Works Delivery do such projects as sidings renewals as well 

[stuving]

Excuse my eyeballs, but I can't make out sufficient detail, are those sleepers suitable for third rail?

Well, the concrete castings are - they have the fixing holes for chairs - but there are none with chairs fitted. I'd have thought that these days they'd have to be factory fitted - you can't just clip them down using those holes can you? I can't make out any maker's name, but they do have a number - 5894 - on one end. Oddly, they have all been laid with that number on the same (east) side but the chair fixing holes are a random mixture of that side and the other. I can't imagine how they get manufactured that way.

All the moulds on the production line will all be orientated in the same direction, if i remember correctly there are 10 sleepers per mould.  Sleepers tend to come pre clipped, for third rail there will be 4 holes on each side to anchor the pot, these holes are onl6 12mm dia and may be plugged to prevent unused ones filling with water and potential freeze cracking the sleeper end

Here's a full resolution clip from that photo, so you can see what I mean.

[paul7575]

I thought on the latest third rail sleepers the holes actually contained threaded inserts?  Will have to look at some more closely...

Paul

[Electric train]

I thought on the latest third rail sleepers the holes actually contained threaded inserts?  Will have to look at some more closely...

Paul

Concrete screws are used now, they do not require and insert, a steel bolt that screw that threads direct into concrete driven in with an impact wrench set to the right torque.

Well, the concrete castings are - they have the fixing holes for chairs - but there are none with chairs fitted. I'd have thought that these days they'd have to be factory fitted - you can't just clip them down using those holes can you? ared unfit for DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) habitation and longer is better. Unless it is foreseen that there will be multiple failures of 769s, even of just one engine, so they have to be pulled out of service ...

If the pots were factory fitted they would not survive the delivery and placement process, also modern plastic pots are in 2 bits, the top half sits inside the lower half, there is are stepped adjustments in the mouldings so shimming is no (mostly) longer required

[stuving]

You have rail! It was delivered quietly, with no possession, early on Sunday morning. I didn't even hear all those fishplate joints being done up! Next step, presumably, is a visit from a tiny tamper - one is due on 13th. So maybe it is a Christmas present after all.

But no progress on the new shed roof.

[stuving]

There has been some progress on the siding, done overnight with no big possessions needed. First we had ballast tipped on top and conductor rail left at the side, then a tamp, and finally the insulators and third rail were fitted. You'll see that it's still isolated - very safely indeed (I can't even see the bit of rail for that gap).

[stuving]

Up at The Signallers' Shed, even more progress - it's finished.

Most activity since mid-December has been between the shed and the siding. I thought this would be preparation for the resignalling (and recontrol of the points), but there's no sign of any new grey or yellow boxes (just some less hidden by the undergrowth). But now it's becoming clearer what they have been building: it's a Yellow Brick Road plastic walking route to the siding. I guess that's what the rules say these days.

[IndustryInsider]

Good to see the 3rd rail extend all the way to the end - plenty of room for a 10-car unit.

[stuving]

Work on and around the siding has continued for the last two months. For one week there was a team of twenty working, but mostly it's been about five. And all that work has, as far as its visible outcome, been on the yellow walking route and what it leads to. I've always expected some preparation for resignalling to be included, but if so it's not visible.

Part of the route is laid on a concrete base (as in the previous photos), but further on it spans an existing cable duct and presumably keeps that accessible. It's not all yellow, and not finished yet, but it will have lights. And, at the end, you can see that there will be two mini-platforms. No doubt they will have steps at the end ... and those yellow railings at the back?  Taller lights? And ... a name? Perhaps not.

From the limited evidence in the picture, it looks like a longer platform nearby and a shorter one down at the end. That would give access to the cabs at both ends of a single unit, and the far cab of a second unit coupled to it, but not to the other cab of that unit. There's no sign of a third platform for that, though.

[IndustryInsider]

From the limited evidence in the picture, it looks like a longer platform nearby and a shorter one down at the end. That would give access to the cabs at both ends of a single unit, and the far cab of a second unit coupled to it, but not to the other cab of that unit. There's no sign of a third platform for that, though.

You only really need a platform in the middle as the two cabs at each end of a 2x5 car train can be reached by walking through the train, so I'm not sure why the far platform is being constructed?  Not that there's too many 5-car sets being constructed as part of the Class 701 build anyway, so the majority of trains will be formed of the 10-car sets where a driver wouldn't need to leave the train to change ends.

[stuving]

I've always expected some preparation for resignalling to be included, but if so it's not visible.

Network Rail now have a web page about the Feltham and Wokingham resignalling. This gives the following commissioning schedule:

From 2021 onwards, we are set to commission new signalling in the following areas on the following dates:

    Phase one: Strawberry Hill and Twickenham – Easter 2021
    Phase two: Virginia Water and Ascot – Easter 2022*
    Phase three: Windsor and Staines – August 2023
    Phase four: Feltham and Kew Bridge – August 2023
    Phase five: Wokingham – March 2024

*To be confirmed

So Wokingham - where the points are mechanical, though the signals aren't - is to be done last. The first date I saw for its completion (implying the closure of the signal box) was 2017, though the whole programme had already been delayed before that was set. Still, that's quite quick compared to some bits of work ...

[stuving]

More, slow, progress, with this siding but still many bits to complete. And you do wonder if this new super-high build standard is really called for.

Those platforms are indeed one long and one short. I presume the requirement is to park a train and leave it to be recrewed later, so the requirement is to walk through and check the whole train (unless it arrived ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock)). However, I'm still not sure how that matches what they've built.

The latest new bits are all those lights. Most of the path is done, assuming those black and yellow covers are for underground ducts only and gravel is OK for the rest. And no doubt, this being The Railway, that colour choice means something. Quite a bit has been done to tidy up the earth slope beyond the path, with boarding which I guess is a permanent retaining wall. Surprisingly, the raised cable ducting has been kept at the same height but moved from in front to behind the supports!

And you can just see that the third rail has been fitted with guard boards. That does seem a bit of an odd thing to do if it is for safety of the crews of trains using the siding. But is there another reason? Like not allowing a shorting bar to be used in the siding? Or perhaps because the running lines right next door don't form part of a third-rail railway at all?

[Electric train]

More, slow, progress, with this siding but still many bits to complete. And you do wonder if this new super-high build standard is really called for.

Those platforms are indeed one long and one short. I presume the requirement is to park a train and leave it to be recrewed later, so the requirement is to walk through and check the whole train (unless it arrived ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock)). However, I'm still not sure how that matches what they've built.

The latest new bits are all those lights. Most of the path is done, assuming those black and yellow covers are for underground ducts only and gravel is OK for the rest. And no doubt, this being The Railway, that colour choice means something. Quite a bit has been done to tidy up the earth slope beyond the path, with boarding which I guess is a permanent retaining wall. Surprisingly, the raised cable ducting has been kept at the same height but moved from in front to behind the supports!

And you can just see that the third rail has been fitted with guard boards. That does seem a bit of an odd thing to do if it is for safety of the crews of trains using the siding. But is there another reason? Like not allowing a shorting bar to be used in the siding? Or perhaps because the running lines right next door don't form part of a third-rail railway at all?

Its an ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) requirement for guard boarding to be fitted in stabling sidings.  The platforms are to reduce the slips trips and falls for the train crew to access and egress the train, there will be a walkway and I suspect there will be lighting as well