Cotswold Line redoubling: 2008 - 2011

[whole diary]

[signalandtelegraph]

New crossing at Littleton & Badsey is, I believe, slated for completion during one of the weekend blockades at the start of October but not sure of scheduling for the other crossings.

Weekend of 2/3 October 

[willc]

Came back from Evesham the long way this afternoon to see what was going on along the line. Half-a-dozen new photos are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

At Littleton & Badsey level crossing the new equipment looks pretty much complete, with the exception of the barrier arms. Temporary traffic lights are protecting the crossing for the time being, with an Amey man in a van on hand to turn them red for traffic when a train is approaching.

I headed to Honeybourne via the half-barrier crossing just east of Littleton & Badsey at Clayfield and got out for a quick look at the arrangement here. It appears that new barriers may not be required here, as there is room for double track between the existing ones, albeit with a bit of slewing of the existing track probably being needed.

At Honeybourne things are all but ready for the bridge swap, with the new abutments in place and the new bridge deck delivered from Ireland sitting in the field below. The road past the site goes on towards Mickleton so I went to see how the embankment work was going. The shape of the embankment is now there, with topsoil being laid on part of the area that has been strengthened.

Other signs of work include a small ballast dump next to the bridge taking the Honeybourne-Mickleton road over the line, presumably ready for some track work on the embankment, which I think is taking place on Sunday, October 10. Pallets of cable troughs have been dropped alongside the line south of Chipping Campden and either side of Blockley level crossing

[IndustryInsider]

To add to Willc's observations from his B-road excursions, there's (finally) some actual digging and laying of cable troughs, from Moreton to Aston Magna and the Evesham area.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Network Rail press release:

RAIL WORK UNDO BEECHING^S CUTS IN 24 HOURS

An old railway bridge, which was reduced to a single track after spending cuts in the 1960s, will be replaced in 24 hours near Honeybourne. The brand new bridge will be wider and stronger, so that an extra track can be installed to cater for future growth.

The improvement work is part of Network Rail^s scheme to redouble the North Cotswold line, bringing performance and potential capacity benefits to services between Worcester and Oxford.

Measuring 9.3 metres wide, the new bridge is nearly twice the size than the old bridge. The old bridge was built in 1972 with room for only a single track after the railway on the Cotswold line was reduced as part of ^Beeching^s axe^, which resulted in the closure of around 9,000 miles of track and 4000 stations across Britain.

Mike Gallop, principal programme sponsor, Network Rail said: ^Britain relies on rail and investment is vital. Good rail links stimulate private sector investment and enable sustained productivity. The railway gives more than it takes and by investing in schemes like the North Cotswold, we are also investing in the future of Britain."

Martin Barnett, senior project manager, First Great Western said: "We will continue to work closely with Network Rail in delivering the North Cotswolds redoubling scheme and we look forward to providing customers with revised services on project completion."

In a bid to minimise disruption, the new bridge will be pre-cast and pre-assembled remotely before it is installed on-site on 2 October. This will significantly reduce the amount of time needed to access the railway to carry out the work.

A special crane - self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) - will be used to lift, remove and install the bridges. The SPMT, which will be steered remotely using a computerised system, is a platform vehicle with multi wheels and can carry up to 600t. This innovative technology has also been used to install the new air bridge at London Heathrow airport.

First Great Western will be providing coach replacement services between Moreton in Marsh and Worcester Shrub Hill on 2 - 3 October (Saturday and Sunday) and normal train timetable services will resume on 4 October (Monday) at 5am. Passengers are advised to check the time table with National Rail Enquiries or First Great Western before they start their journey.

[willc]

A trial lift of the new bridge was scheduled for yesterday morning but I don't know how it went.

[willc]

The planning applications for the footbridges at Charlbury and Honeybourne have been lodged with West Oxfordshire and Wychavon councils.

No link to the Charlbury paperwork yet on West Oxfordshire's website but pdfs of the Honeybourne paperwork are online here
http://81.171.139.151/WAM/showCaseThumbnail.do;jsessionid=E6648249EA3FD863200F925ABE72083D?action=thumbnails&appType=Planning&docid=720078&appid=1001&docType=Application%20Form

It cites the Act of Parliament authorising the Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (copy included) to tell the council it has very little say in the matter under permitted development laws. The design looks like a cousin of the Moreton-in-Marsh bridge, though with a rather different ramp and steps layout due to the site.

The supporting paperwork mentions the long-term possibility of acquiring land north of the line to build a big car park but says for the moment they will re-mark the existing one to squeeze in four or five more spaces. Shame all that land alongside the existing platform was flogged for houses...

A mountain of cable troughs has been delivered at Charlbury, probably for use south of the station towards the Cornbury Park bridge, as the troughing through the station itself and along the line towards Ascott was replaced last year.

[willc]

Had a run over to Worcestershire to see what was going on today. Certainly looking good in terms of removing the last major obstacle to redoubling and for beating the 24-hour target to replace the bridge at Honeybourne, with the new deck slid into place by the time I got there in late morning, although it still appeared to be resting on the transporter while final adjustments were made. All within 12 hours of the possession starting. The old single-track deck was standing on supports in the field. A chap from Honeybourne had been videoing the operation for much of the morning and told me it had taken about 10 minutes to move the new deck into position!

Just up the line near Mickleton a tamper was working on the track crossing the embankment, with a road-rail excavator picking up ballast from the small dump beside the bridge taking the Honeybourne-Mickleton road over the line.

The new barriers have been attached at Littleton & Badsey level crossing and a gang of Amey staff were fitting new fencing around the crossing area.

At Evesham they were tidying up the ballasting from the July possessions, with a road-rail excavator picking away at a ridge of stone between the tracks and loading it into a trailer for re-use, with a gang of men with shovels following it levelling things off, presumably before a tamper turns up later in the weekend.

The cable trough carpet bombing has continued, with stacks in evidence along the line from Clayfield level crossing to Honeybourne station.

Some pictures are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009

[53808]

Had a run over to Worcestershire to see what was going on today. Certainly looking good in terms of removing the last major obstacle to redoubling and for beating the 24-hour target to replace the bridge at Honeybourne, with the new deck slid into place by the time I got there in late morning, although it still appeared to be resting on the transporter while final adjustments were made. All within 12 hours of the possession starting.

The job is actually going very well based on reports earlier today, as evidenced by your superb photos.

Apart from Honeybourne bridge, the bridge at Common, east of Evesham, is being re-lined and the track re-laid over it, and there is also a major track slew taking place at Mickleton, which I presume is what you saw there. Less obvious is the S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) work going on towards the Moreton end of the possession.

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks, as ever, for your posts Will.  The bridge at Honeybourne certainly looks to be a bit of a beast - you can see how these schemes end up costing so much!

[willc]

Went to check on progress this afternoon. All seemed to be going well at Honeybourne, with the bridge standing on its own with the supports removed and much activity on top, which I assumed was track and signalling-related. At Mickleton the tamper and road-railers were still at work on the track. Not sure quite how major the slew was, as it doesn't look to be that different from its previous position.

Cable troughs are awaiting installation at Aston Magna, from just west of the bridge, while at Dorn new rails have been dropped through the cutting and for some distance either side.

Specially for 53808, I perched on the narrow verge beside the Fosse Way bridge north of Moreton station to take a photo of the new down starter signal the S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) teams have installed, at the same time as moving the up home signal protecting the station to its final position on a new signal post just visible round the curve. More new rail here too, dropped close to some left at the side of track after relaying work here last summer. Pictures at the usual place - link a couple of messages below.

[53808]

Specially for 53808, I perched on the narrow verge beside the Fosse Way bridge north of Moreton station to take a photo of the new down starter signal the S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) teams have installed, at the same time as moving the up home signal protecting the station to its final position on a new signal post just visible round the curve.

Thanks Will, excellent photos as usual.

The whole job was going very well when I last checked earlier this afternoon.

[willc]

Update on the destination of the old bridge from Honeybourne. It is not going to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway now but will still find a new home on a preserved line, in Shropshire, on the Telford Steam Railway,

[willc]

Cable troughs were being laid south of Charlbury station this morning and another large stack has arrived at Moreton-in-Marsh - awaiting movement up the line towards Dorn and Aston Magna?

[willc]

New troughs are also going in heading west from Charlbury extending the section relaid last year.

Cotswold/Evesham Journal story about last weekend's work here http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/local/evesham/8435220.New_bridge/

[ChrisB]

"David Northey, Network Rail spokesman, said: ^We begin [redoubling] at Charlbury [in December] working at roughly a mile a week, and expect to be at Evesham by April next year.^