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paul7575
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« Reply #15 on: May 20, 2010, 18:19:21 » |
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Is this issue on the same stretch of line? Seems to be a bit of an irritation to Network Rail anyway... A ROW over a listed railway bridge which is derailing a ^70m track upgrade is "at the top of the in-tray" for the new government.
The Westbury Lane bridge (pictured in linked article) in Purley was set for demolition and a rebuild by Network Rail as part of its freight route upgrade from Southampton to the Midlands, aimed at taking up to half a million lorries off the road.
But West Berkshire Council listed the structure at the last minute. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) must now decide whether to overturn the listing in the national interest so the bridge can be heightened and the tracks widened.
Spokesman Toby Sargent said: "The work has all been done and it's now at the top of the in-tray for the new Culture Minister, whoever that may be, to say yes or no."
Network Rail's Russell Spink said: "It's our job to safeguard railway heritage, but our conservation consultants say this bridge is in no way unique. If the DCMS decides the listing needs to stay, that's when we face a potentially very expensive problem that could mean we've carried out millions of pounds worth of wasted work.
"Unfortunately some people feel that this old bridge is more important than getting half a million lorries off the road."
http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2010/05/13/46589-bridge-verdict-top-of-list-for-new-government/Paul |
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paul7575
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« Reply #17 on: May 21, 2010, 19:57:44 » |
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Ah thanks 'willc', I didn't find that at a quick scan through. Perhaps a mod could shove my post above into that thread for completeness?
Paul
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #18 on: May 21, 2010, 20:29:34 » |
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Thanks, Paul and willc: I've moved your posts into this topic, as requested, in the interests of continuity and clarity! Chris.  |
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William Huskisson MP▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.
"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.
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bleeder4
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« Reply #19 on: May 21, 2010, 20:32:33 » |
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Ah right, this would be why my journey from Evesham to Paddington tomorrow morning has a replacement bus between Oxford and Didcot. Entirely my fault I suppose for not keeping abreast of local engineering developments.
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John R
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« Reply #20 on: May 21, 2010, 21:25:01 » |
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Unlikely, as Pangbourne is between Didcot and Reading, which is most definitely not shut tomorrow.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #21 on: May 22, 2010, 19:04:06 » |
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There was an article in a Reading local that NR» have given up on this bridge & are going to drop the tracks instead....they can't wait any longer!
Means more closures / work apparently, that replacing the bridge...
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paul7575
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« Reply #23 on: August 14, 2010, 12:38:05 » |
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I wonder if the heritage lobby might sit down and discuss what Brunel would have done, if confronted with this problem.
I reckon being an engineer he'd have been well chuffed with the availabilty of pre stressed concrete and prefabricated sections. Oh and I think he'd be amazed at the availability of mobile cranes big enough to do the job without closing the railway for more than a couple of days...
Paul
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Electric train
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« Reply #24 on: August 14, 2010, 15:23:29 » |
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I wonder if the heritage lobby might sit down and discuss what Brunel would have done, if confronted with this problem. I think he would be there sitting in the driving seat of the 360 smashing the bridge to bits, he was an innovative engineer some would say he had scant regard for the environment and heritage he pushed his railway through |
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Starship just experienced what we call a rapid unscheduled disassembly, or a RUD, during ascent,”
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #25 on: August 15, 2010, 01:14:11 » |
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some would say he had scant regard for the environment and heritage he pushed his railway through
Indeed, has anyone seen the Time Team episode where they find the remains of a large Roman settlement and concluded that the major part of the remains of the structure was smashed to bits to build the GWML▸ ? Only a couple of miles away from the site of this bridge funnily enough! That certainly wouldn't happen today. |
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To view my GWML▸ Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/ |
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #26 on: August 15, 2010, 01:25:32 » |
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Thanks, IndustryInsider! For those who haven't seen that particular Time Team episode - it's available here: In 1838, navvies laying Brunel's Great Western Railway found two Roman floor mosaics, probably from a villa, at Lower Basildon, in Berkshire.
The mosaics were broken up and the site almost forgotten until recent aerial photographs revealed a series of crop marks in the fields by the railway.
Did Brunel's Great Western cut through a Roman villa? And what else might Time Team find in these fields?
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William Huskisson MP▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.
"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.
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willc
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« Reply #27 on: August 15, 2010, 14:35:50 » |
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Not sure whether there's any further appeal process or other ways for those against the demolition to delay it further. Not really. Could seek judicial review but English Heritage won't want to upset the Government, the district and parish councils won't have the money and a judge would chuck it out anyway as the correct procedures have been followed by the DCMS. I really think English Heritage needs to take a more realistic view of things. If they want an example of Brunel's skills and, er, Victorian brickwork, then it would be hard to do better than Maidenhead bridge, which is, of course, listed. And before anyone says what about any future electrification, there are already wires over listed viaducts at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Stockport, to name but three. West Berkshire's use of spot listing powers - without consulting Network Rail - in the Purley case was extremely dubious, since the procedure is meant to be used to save unusual structures at imminent risk, and was always likely to be overturned when challenged, given there are many more variations of this standard Brunel bridge design in daily use elsewhere. |
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paul7575
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« Reply #28 on: March 09, 2011, 21:09:26 » |
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I was reminded of this old thread about bridge re-building because I was on a XC▸ service on Monday that went under at least one brick arch bridge between Didcot and Reading which seemed to be in the middle of a major building site, with a temporary overbridge alongside it. I thought it was probably the one under discussion here? Then this week's Rail magazine reported that gauge clearance on the route between Southampton and the Midlands is finished, and trains are running with larger containers on normal wagons. So if the clearance work really is still ongoing, how can the W10 traffic be running already?  Paul |
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ChrisB
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« Reply #29 on: March 09, 2011, 21:15:28 » |
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Was it close to Reading? Work continues on its redeveloment. This includes a fly-under and assoviated works west of Reading.
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