Cotswold Line redoubling: 2008 - 2011

[whole diary]

[willc]

Some pictures of the track renewal work at Evesham and Aston Magna today online at http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

At Evesham they are simply replacing the loop lines through the station at this stage, retaining the existing loop points for another year's life, but isolating the sidings. The waste ballast from the trackbed here will require some pretty heavy-duty treatment - very badly contaminated with oil.

At Aston Magna the curve itself and the approach from the Moreton-in-Marsh direction are being renewed. The track towards Moreton is also being moved over a bit to the edge of the trackbed to make more room for the second track through the disused bridge abutment at the old brickworks site. Remains to be seen if one or both of the abutments will be demolished to ease clearances further.

Edit: Having been past Aston Magna after dark the area lit up for work actually extends further towards Blockley than I thought, with some of the straight beyond the curve also being renewed.

[IndustryInsider]

Good to see the possession being used to see two areas of extensive work going on at the same time.  So often, large possessions are wasted with work only going on in a small fraction of the area that's closed.  There may well also be work going on near the Poden Farm crossing east of Honeybourne as there were lots of lighting poles and fixings in place during the week which aren't usually dropped on site until work is imminent as they might get nicked if left there for too long!

Oh, and as an aside, I've heard a couple of people spreading rumours that the proposed 8-car length new platform at Charlbury may well be reduced to a 5-car length to reduce costs.  Anybody heard that officially?

[willc]

Popped up to Aston Magna again this morning to see what was going on and found a tamper hard at work, so this section should be ready to take trains by now. Pictures at the usual place - see above for link.

Don't know about Honeybourne, though they are meant to be working near Mickleton next Sunday.

Planning applications have yet to go in to West Oxfordshire Council for the work at Charlbury and Ascott-under-Wychwood stations though I presume they can't be too far off, so all will probably become clear then.

[gwr2006]

Oh, and as an aside, I've heard a couple of people spreading rumours that the proposed 8-car length new platform at Charlbury may well be reduced to a 5-car length to reduce costs.  Anybody heard that officially?

Yes, the length of the new platform at Charlbury (and that at Honeybourne) will be 5-car length but there will be passive provision made for an extension to it at a later date.  However, some of the cost saving is being reinvested to allow the extension of the existing platform at Ascott-under-Wychwood to allow 3-car Turbo trains to call in both directions (as the new up platform will be built to 3-car length).  The platforrms will also be offset so an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) power car can sit in the up platform without straddling the level crossing.

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks, gwr2006.  A sensible decision in my opinion (especially at Honeybourne), perhaps a couple of thousand of those saved quids should be lobbed in the direction of Shipton's 'up' platform too so both of the 'Wychwood' stations can handle 3-cars in both directions? 

Thanks also to Willc for the continued photo updates on the engineering side of things - hopefully you'll be out and about with your camera throughout the main phase of the redoubling work?

[willc]

Not sure it was the intention at Honeybourne to go to eight cars, as the structure of the old island platform has always been in pretty decent shape. Needs pointing of the brickwork, and new edges at the top, plus a new surface and waiting shelter to give you what looks likely to be a five to six-car platform without too much effort plus there is a quite appreciable gradient change, from level to 1 in 126, and start of a curve, just off the platform at the Evesham end which would have made it an awkward job to build an extension, plus creating a possible blindspot right at the back of the train for guards checking HST^▸ (High Speed Train) doors are closed, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/3855466603/sizes/l/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/3800906618/sizes/l/

John Boynton says in his 2002 book that the existing platform at Honeybourne was only truncated ahead of the reopening in 1981 after an overloaded lorry backed on to the platform during preparatory work, causing a bulge in the platform side, which led to the removal of the Evesham end. There is a picture of the station area in 1976 here http://www.flickr.com/photos/loose_grip_99/2581487820/

[IndustryInsider]

Not sure it was the intention at Honeybourne to go to eight cars, as the structure of the old island platform has always been in pretty decent shape. Needs pointing of the brickwork, and new edges at the top, plus a new surface and waiting shelter to give you what looks likely to be a five to six-car platform without too much effort...

Judging from the current 2+7 and 2+8 stopping car markers off the end of the current platform, the island platform is even longer than that - probably around 7-car length, though of course costs could be kept down by only renovating part of it to give the 5-car length suggested.

[willc]

However, that picture was taken at the outer limit of a zoom lens, so the distances are distorted somewhat.

Audie Murphy's The Stratford-on-Avon to Cheltenham Railway puts the island platform's length at 500ft, that is 152m, so you could get six-and-a-bit 23m coaches on there, suitably refurbished, and it would seem a bit silly not to repair the full length since the structure's already there.

[Adrian the Rock]

Not sure it was the intention at Honeybourne to go to eight cars, as the structure of the old island platform has always been in pretty decent shape. Needs pointing of the brickwork, and new edges at the top, plus a new surface and waiting shelter to give you what looks likely to be a five to six-car platform without too much effort plus there is a quite appreciable gradient change, from level to 1 in 126, and start of a curve, just off the platform at the Evesham end which would have made it an awkward job to build an extension, plus creating a possible blindspot right at the back of the train for guards checking HST^▸ (High Speed Train) doors are closed, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/3855466603/sizes/l/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/3800906618/sizes/l/

Judging from the current 2+7 and 2+8 stopping car markers off the end of the current platform, the island platform is even longer than that - probably around 7-car length, though of course costs could be kept down by only renovating part of it to give the 5-car length suggested.

Here's a photo I took a couple of weeks back, from the road overbridge:

[stebbo]

I started this post way back when (and I'm amazed to see how long it's gone on) on the question of whether the original credit crunch would cause the work to be shelved.

I'm now beginning to worry whether the new government cutbacks might cause problems, although (a) the works are pretty well underway, and (b) isn't Charlbury the station that serves a certain MP^▸ (Member of Parliament)'s constituency?

Personally I'd be hacked off if things were delayed any more as I've gone back to using the Cotswold line rather than the Cheltenham line. Oh and, selfishly, it's nice to get the 0645 from Evesham realising that I'm getting the 0525 from my previous home.

Any views or news on likely Government thinking?

[ChrisB]

CP4^▸ (Control Period 4 - the five year period between 2009 and 2014) expenditure is allocated & guaranteed, I understand - it'll be CP5^▸ (Control Period 5 - the five year period between 2014 and 2019) that won't see much going on, I reckon.

[willc]

Network Rail are busy sorting out various contracts at the moment, including one for ^1m with Birse, agreed in the middle of last month, for the bridge work in the Vale of Evesham in October and to strengthen part of the embankment near Mickleton ahead of tracklaying. See http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/press/view/15-06-2010/birse-rail-awarded-civils-works-contract-for-redoubling-of-the-cotswold-line

Birse has also signed a contract to build the new footbridge at Honeybourne station and tenders for tracklaying, signalling and telecoms are being assessed.

[willc]

A concrete foundation has been put in at Moreton-in-Marsh this week behind the signalbox on part of the old Shipston branch exchange sidings area. From its position and the amount of cable ducts laid around it, I'm guessing it's signalling related. I'll try to take a picture at the weekend so the experts out there can do some photo-interpretation of its purpose.

Speaking of detective work, I am now looking into the possibility of producing a book about the redoubling project, to appear once the work is completed next year.

While I am taking lots of photos as work goes along and am aware of sources for pictures of the route from the 1980s onwards, so far I have failed to track down any photographs of the singling being carried out in the early 1970s or even anything by way of written material that goes into much detail.

The CLPG^» (Cotswold Line Promotion Group - about) have kindly carried an appeal from me in the new issue of Cotswold and Malvern Line News and have come up with the suggestion that an illustrated article, entitled Singling a Main Line, appeared in a railway magazine (title unknown) at the time.

If anyone remembers this article, or (I should be so lucky) has the magazine tucked away in the attic, knows the whereabouts of any photographs of demolition work out on the line in the 1970s, or has any personal recollections from that time, please send me a message.

[IndustryInsider]

I can't help with the research I'm afraid, but the book is an excellent idea.

[Btline]

The book on the project would be fascinating and I would be interested in purchasing a copy.

Regrettably, I have nothing to offer to help.