Reading Platform 4

[whole diary]

[paul7575]

I've always thought that one problem with the whole line setup between Reading and Paddington is the ordering of the up and downs (i.e. "up, down, up, down") that cause trains coming in the opposite direction to be slowed or stopped to allow a crossing.  Was re-ordering the lines to "down, down, up, up" viable at any stage? or has it been the case that such a big change - moving signals and what to do at a station like Burnham - has meant that it never was (or will be) on the cards.

Would require investment at other stations, as some stations between Paddington and Reading don't have platforms on the main lines.

Railway textbooks always seems to consider that having lines paired by direction is the best practice for long distances of four track if regular junctions to both sides occur, but paired by use (as per the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line)) is best at your major terminus stations such as Paddington, to reduce conflicting crossovers as trains arrive and depart.  If you compare the GW^▸ (Great Western) with the LSWR^▸ (London South Western Railway) lines from Waterloo to Basingstoke, you'll see the flyover at Durnford Rd, (between Wimbledon and Earlsfield) rearranges the main lines before the final run into Clapham Jn and Waterloo. On the country side of Wimbledon, except for Woking Junction and Basingstoke you have flyovers or diveunders at most of the branches, and then eventually the four track becomes two pairs at Worting Junction west of Basingstoke, and the Southampton and Salisbury routes are sorted without conflicts by Battledown flyover. 

It wasn't built this way of course, the change to 'paired by use' was a 1930s improvement IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly) - but think of all the disruption to do something similar to the GW now...

By the way, adding to the comments upthread about Woking, an interesting solution is used for the terminating stoppers, which use a bay platform on the London end of the centre island, so the trains cross from down slow to down fast to platform 3 on arrival, and then cross the up fast to the up slow on subsequent departure. So although there are slow to fast 'weaves', ie they are in the same direction, this is somewhat safer than crossing against trains moving at speed in the opposite direction.

Paul

[G.Uard]

It could be worse

As constructed, Reading station was a typical Brunel designed single-sided intermediate station, with separate up and down platforms situated to the south of the through tracks and arranged so that all up trains calling at Reading conflicted with the route of all down through trains.

In 1898, following the death of Broad Gauge, which gave the additional room needed; the single sided station was replaced by a conventional design with 'up', 'down' and 'relief' platforms linked by a pedestrian subway.

[onthecushions]

Re-ordering the lines/roads to down/down/up/up is now probably inappropriate for the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line). This is because of its TENS (Trans-European Express Network Service) grading which by EU^» (European Union - about) law requires it to be upgraded towards LGV^▸ (Large Goods Vehicle) standards. This is a universe away from the South Western Main Line with its weaving, fast, semi-fast and stopping emu's. It means more segregation of our Main (fast) lines with new signalling, track and maintenance for seriously high speed. The Relief (slow) lines must therefore survive on their own, with more passing loops and increasingly, 4-track sections, to allow for all the mixed traffic not allowed on the Main line.

The UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Government must now obtain Europe's permission, independently certified, for its TENS rail "upgrades". I hope the EU turns down the IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.)/Hitachi proposal and insists on performance equal to TGV^▸ (Train a Grande Vitesse)/ICE - the French and German  standards for C21 InterCity travel.

Still waiting for "platform allocation", at signal R28,

OTC

[eightf48544]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies.

I hadn't realised that the relief lines were added at a later date - thought it had been 4 from the beginning!

I've always thought that one problem with the whole line setup between Reading and Paddington is the ordering of the up and downs (i.e. "up, down, up, down") that cause trains coming in the opposite direction to be slowed or stopped to allow a crossing.  Was re-ordering the lines to "down, down, up, up" viable at any stage? or has it been the case that such a big change - moving signals and what to do at a station like Burnham - has meant that it never was (or will be) on the cards.

Cheers,

Boppy.

The four tracking between Paddington and Didcot was quite a complicated progamme completed in the 1880s. The Main complication being that as originally designed Reading and Slough were single sided staions similar to Cambridge today where Down trains were served by the West end and Up trains the East end, crosing in the middle. Later the two broad gauge lines  were changed to mixed gauge. The Relief lines were only standard from the start and were mostly built on the North side although it got complicated through Twyford where they were on the South side hence the curved paltforms on the main line. So new platforms were required to serve both the Up main and relief lines at Slough and Reading. It;s also why the RElief line platforms at Langley and Taplow were heavily curved until the platforms were rebuilt. A friend of mine is researching the sequence of the doubling,  it's complicated but the net result is that today the 4 lines are paired by use.

We have found out that the current 4 track station of 1884 at Taplow is in fact the second station on the site. A new 2 track (MIXED) station was built on what are now the mainline platforms in around 1872. When the original Maidenhead station on the A4 East of the river bridge was closed When the four tracking the up side buildding was demolised and the current building on platfrom 4 constructed to serve the up Relief.

When the LSWR^▸ (London South Western Railway) and LNER^» (London North Eastern Railway - about) 4 tracked out of Waterloo and Liverpool Street the lines are paired by use which makes the termini easier to operate, most suburban services out of Waterloo use platforms 1 -4 whilst at Liverpool Street the Shenfield stopping service use the high numbered platforms. However both built flyovers  at Wimbledon and  Ilford to give 4 lines paired by direction further out. Also the LSWR/ Sothern built flyovers/unders at most junctions between Waterloo and Woking. Unfortunately the money ran out and Woking remains a bottle neck.

The ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) is paired by direction but is a mixture of double and 4 track. If you go through Potters Bar Down trains use the new tunnels whilst the Up trains use the original tunnels.

Both the Midland and WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) are paired by use the Midland originally to Kettering and WCML to Roade and the junction to Northamprton.

It's an interesting operating conumdrum. Pairing by use is probably best for the approach to terminal stations where stopping trains can use platforms to one side and main line trains the other as at Paddington. Whilst pairing by direction is easier to operate out on the main line so you can put fast trains down the middle and switch them to the parrallel line to serve the station and possibly let the following fast past. This was the way one of the last mainlines built in this country the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and GW^▸ (Great Western)/GC^» (Great Central Railway - link to heritage line) joint from Old Oak Common to Anyho through High Wycombe was designed. Whilst mainly double track there were 11 places where fast trains could overtake stoppers. There were also flying junctions where the independant GC and GW lines branched. In fact you still go over the flyover at Ashendon on an Up train to Marylebone although the junctions long since gone. It's some of those loops Chiltern wants to put back.

If there were ever to a flyover at Woking then the LSWR mainline from Waterloo to Worting Junction could probably count as the almost perfect mixed use railway.



 

[mjones]

There's a lot of new cable ducting being placed next to the tracks at the eastern end of the station, including the Waterloo tracks to 4a/4b. It also looks like some clearance work has taken place around the currently disused dive-under and the disused sidings adjacent to the Waterloo lines. Is any of this preparatory work for the station re-build and eventual re-opening of the dive-under?