Cotswold Line redoubling: 2008 - 2011

[whole diary]

[Richard Fairhurst]

I am not sure who owns the land north of Broadway

Sustrans.

[CLPGMS]

Noted today that the two sets of points for the relocated junction for the Long Marston branch, on the new up line at Honeybourne, are in place.  The kit of parts for the points on the down line was alongside the track

[willc]

Some pictures taken yesterday afternoon at Honeybourne, including the new junction pointwork, are now online. Work on the platform is making quick progress, with the new front wall half-completed and back-filling and duct-laying already under way at the road bridge end. A new electrical supply cabinet is now in place next to the waiting shelter on the existing platform and Central Networks are laying a connection alongside the access road up to the Network Rail boundary to meet up with the ducts laid by Network Rail's contractors the other week. There are about a dozen signalposts in the sidings area awaiting installation along the line but no track laid at the sidings so far.

[IndustryInsider]

The final remaining TSR^▸ (Temporary Speed Restriction) (75mph on the Up from Ascott to just before Charlbury) has now been lifted, so all new stage one linespeeds now apply.

[willc]

Couple of pictures from Honeybourne have been posted on the village website showing the electric cable work and further progress on the platform this week, where the blocks to support the paving slabs along the platform edge are already being cemented into place and the ground level built up behind. See http://www.honeybourne.org.uk
Click on the pictures for larger versions.

[IndustryInsider]

The first new signal on the Moreton to Honeybourne section has now been installed.  Not the most exciting one as it's E2485, the Limit Of Shunt on the Up Line in the Down direction west of Honeybourne's new turnback junction.  But from small acorns...

[willc]

The site compound at Ascott-under-Wychwood has been cleared out but Network Rail appear to be hanging on to part of it for the moment. Part has been handed back to the farmer but the fence has been moved to enclose a small remaining area of hardcore.

[willc]

Lots has been going on at Honeybourne over the past week.

The new platform wall is complete and just awaiting the slabs for the front edge now. Piling work for the footbridge foundations is under way, along with work to strengthen and build up the road embankment alongside the station approach, where the ramps for the car park side of the bridge will be positioned.

Tracklaying in the sidings is in full swing, with the points in place and the two shorter sidings laid awaiting ballast. The longer one, nearest to the running lines, has yet to be started.

Pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

[ChrisB]

Hanborough line-side equipment failure this afternoon..,,

[Worcester_Passenger]

Hanborough line-side equipment failure this afternoon..,,

I'm rather surprised to learn that there's "lineside equipment" at Hanborough. I can understand there being kit at the station itself, but I wouldn't have thought that that would affect operations. Pardon my ignorance, but what does this equipment do?

[ChrisB]

Track circuit failure?

[willc]

When we have just been having a discussion about the appropriate placing of posts in particular threads, why on earth are people discussing an equipment fault on one of the single-line sections here?

[IanL]

Have been away in Edinburgh for the past week so the following may not be 'new' news.

The compound at Charlbury is emptying steadily, most of the portacabins have gone. Steps on platform 1 are still not in use though.

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

Apart from the eqquipment at Hanborough station itself and seems to be all related to the various aspects of the CIS^▸ (Customer Information System), there is a cabinet along side the track to the south east that has been there for as long as I can recall, but also some equipment to the north west close to the road bridge that is connected to solar electricty generating panels. There are are also items of kit between the rails that I assume are related to the track circuit equipment and perhaps it is this that has failed.

[willc]

Called in at Honeybourne on the way to Evesham this evening to check progress. The gabions next to the approach road are now filled with stone, edging slabs are being laid along the new platform - about a third done so far - the drilling rig is working its way along the platform and some of the steel sleepers are being moved, so looks like laying of track out towards the junction point may be under way soon. Few pictures at the usual place