Cotswold Line redoubling: 2008 - 2011

[whole diary]

[Don]

I gather that Camden tunnel has no track in it and that at the one end, the slabs in the tunnel floor have been removed and they are starting to lay new slabs lower down.

A new siding or a siding has been relayed at Moreton.

A ballast cleaner has been at work at Charlbury.

A tamper has been in use at Charlbury moving the track sideways onto the new ballast down there.

Some of the signals are being moved sideways because they are in the way of the new track.

I also had a chat to a couple of workers who were pulling cables for signalling and telephones under the road at Ascott.

[willc]

Really not sure about work on a siding at Moreton - they all looked much the same to me when I went past today and I can't think why you would need to renew or add one anyway - they're all lightly used and in decent shape. There have been track machines parked in the two close to the station most of the past week.

Took the scenic - though rather soggy - route back from Oxford tonight - and there is now double width ballast much of the way from Ascott to Charlbury, though from the three road overbridges I stopped at, there was no sign of track being moved so far, but temporary lighting and excavators along the way suggested there will be a pretty intensive work programme this coming week.

[devon_metro]

Hopefully loadings will improve once redoubling is complete. I travelled on the 1721 Paddington Wof on the final weekend from Reading and was suprised how few passengers there were! Had a table by Oxford!

[IndustryInsider]

Really not sure about work on a siding at Moreton - they all looked much the same to me when I went past today and I can't think why you would need to renew or add one anyway - they're all lightly used and in decent shape.

Just a guess, but I think the long siding furthest from the Signalbox has been out of use for several years, so perhaps that has been brought back into use, and that is what Don is referring to? I've certainly not seen anything stabled in there for over five years - in truth there's not been any need for it with the other two sidings by the station in a serviceable condition - but with the amount of track machinery in the area, perhaps it is now needed.

[willc]

Had a look this morning, all three sidings as they were before, timber sleepers and bullhead rail and the layer of rust on the long siding south of London Road showed no signs of being disturbed any time recently.

[Don]

North of charlbury 27th July.  One week before passenger trains run again! 
Could be an interesting ride.

[willc]

When I said intensive, I didn't know that was what they had in mind, as it certainly didn't look like that last night. There's a picture of a ballast train on Thursday on this stretch here http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamishfenton/3751991797/

[Oxman]

I was told that there would be some speed restrictions when the line to Moreton reopens next week - I can see why now!

Some up services have to depart a few minutes earlier than normal to make sure they hit Wolvercote right time.

[willc]

Went on a Network Rail press trip into Chipping Campden tunnel today but since I have to write it up for three different papers, don't have too much time to describe it here, but a great experience, especially to be walking somewhere I had passed through at speed on a train a couple of weeks back

Current state of play is the work is on schedule, so far they have removed all the old track and ballast and excavated down about another metre to the floor. The slabs Don described above are a short section where some ground movement in the 1960s distorted the brick lining. The concrete sections, with lots of reinforcing bars, are to keep this section stable.

At the moment they are putting in fresh ballast from the Mickleton end up the hill towards Chipping Campden and laying a new central drain through the tunnel - about half complete at lunchtime today - which will connect to new drains at the Campden end, where work was also going on to stabilise one of the cutting sides. One the drain is complete, then the next layer of ballast goes in, before the tracklaying starts.

The clearances will allow a 26m IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) coach to fit through without problems. You could probably just about squeeze a couple of broad gauge tracks through, though it looks like extra brick lining was added in places at some point since initial construction.

[John R]

The clearances will allow a 26m IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) coach to fit through without problems. You could probably just about squeeze a couple of broad gauge tracks through, though it looks like extra brick lining was added in places at some point since initial construction.

Did anyone ask whether the clearances would permit overhead line equipment?

[willc]

I did, but they weren't asked to design for that in the tunnel, so it might need slab track were that ever to happen. And hard to hazard a guess, as what we were walking on was probably a few feet below where the final level of the trackbed will be.

All other overhead structures going in, notably the station footbridges, will have electrification clearances designed in.

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks for that update, Will.

[willc]

Moreton tracklaying mystery solved, once I belatedly picked up last week's Cotswold Journal. The work was on the track just north of the station - picture taken from the station is on the Journal website here http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/4504621.Workers_begin___72_million_Cotswold_Line_modernisation/

I had a quick look over the bridge today - opposite side from the pavement, so not the safest spot - and oddly it looks like they have renewed it on the existing alignment, rather than over to the left in the new position for the down (towards Worcester) track. I have put a picture on the Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

I'll post some from Campden tunnel once my stories have appeared in print in te next few days.

[Nottage_Halt]

Lots of activity today at Littleton & Badsey LC^▸ (Level Crossing).  It was raining too hard to spend any time there watching, but quite a bit of demolition of fences etc seems to have happened, and I'm wondering if the prefab garage that acts as a relay room is going to be demolished?

Nick

[IndustryInsider]

I had a quick look over the bridge today - opposite side from the pavement, so not the safest spot - and oddly it looks like they have renewed it on the existing alignment, rather than over to the left in the new position for the down (towards Worcester) track. I have put a picture on the Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

I think there will be enough room to the right to lay the other track - once cable troughs and the signal have been removed. The left-hand side of the track has more ditches between the two overbridges where that track has been laid.