Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[paul7575]

Thinking about it, wasn't the signal at the country end of P10 (TR.240) taken out when the platform was rebuilt and not replaced? In which case using P10 for an XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) reverser implies that the new signal (T.1715) is now in place, and is being used "because it's there".

P10 country end was TR242 at Easter 2013.   That was the signal that was in situ while the advance work on the foundations at the west end of P10 was built around it,  but hasn't it been replaced by T1713 at the end of the platform by now?   According to the 2013 brief (as TR242) it had the same theatre box indications as those on P11, i.e. M for down Main and W for down Westbury.

T1715 is the P11 down direction signal, I'd thought in my earlier reply that you referring to how moves from P11 were indicated.

(For completeness TR240 is the down direction P8 starter, protecting the temporary down loop to down main crossover.)

Paul     

[stuving]

P10 country end was TR242 at Easter 2013.   That was the signal that was in situ while the advance work on the foundations at the west end of P10 was built around it,  but hasn't it been replaced by T1713 at the end of the platform by now?   According to the 2013 brief (as TR242) it had the same theatre box indications as those on P11, i.e. M for down Main and W for down Westbury.

Of course it was; my (late night) misreading. I meant that TR.242 was there in 2013, and now should be replaced by T.1713, but in between there may have been no signal at that end of P10. The September 2014 sectional appendix shows P10 as "up only".

[ellendune]

I had a look in passing this morning.  Looking at the attached extract from the plans posted previously by II http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=6405.msg163179#msg163179.

As far as I can tell, the points marked with the green circles have been in place for a little while.  The two points marked with the red circles were installed this weekend (though the one joining to the new down main is not complete.  Much of the connecting trackwork was installed this weekend.

The red point nearest Westbury is not connected to the Up Westbury yet (as the existing line from P9 to Up Westbury is currently connected to it) and of course the festival line and the new main is not connected (as the same line from P9 is in the way). 

Otherwise much of this side is nearly complete.  This will give a good start to the Christmas works. 

[stuving]

So what did happen just after midday?

The steam engines came through P7 bang on time (12:10 departure) - not only unusual, but they had made up 12 minutes from Hanwell.
The Newbury train did not leave from P8, but nipped into P7 immediately afterwards from its lurking position on the Spur Line (dep 12:15 only 2L).
The XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) Bournemouth-Manchester did use P11, leaving on time at 12:10
The other two trains swapped over, so the up Cheltenham went from P10 at 12:13 (3L) and the XC Newcastle-Southampton from P9 on time at 12:16.
Nothing used P8 at that time.
The same is now programmed (give or take the odd steam train) tomorrow.

It does look as if the moves originally set up out of P8 and P10 are both impossible this week. Reaching the Down Westbury will become possible from P8 after Christmas, via track that doesn't exist now, but that end of P10 will not lead to anywhere until Easter. The Up Main is not bidirectional, and the route that will eventually be signalled is onto the feeder line.

[paul7575]

Took a couple of shots with the zoom lens, managed to find a couple of positions on the transfer deck that allowed me to see past the various overhead gantries and such like.

Showing the two sets of points marked with a red circle in ellendune's photo posted yesterday evening.  Both pictures clearly show the temporary 'up Westbury' running right through the worksite...

Hope this is of some interest.

Paul

[ellendune]

Thank you confirms what I thought I saw briefly from a moving train. 

[paul7575]

I've now tried to crop a reasonably sized and adequately defined photo that shows the full Westbury Line Junction area, that doesn't result in a silly file size.

The three lines entering or leaving the shot on the left are (top to bottom) the P1/P2 approach, the down Westbury line from P7, and the up Westbury line (and Festival line) to/from P8.  The various crossovers should be self explanatory, and on the right hand side the newly laid sleepers below the OHLE gantry are aligned with P9 and the future down main.

Just cutoff on the RH side is the platform starter signal for P10, fully bagged up - hence confirming there are no usable routes (as discussed by stuving above).

As in earlier photos, that gantry doesn't half spoil the shot! 

Paul

[ellendune]

Thanks - so it shouldn't take much work to get the down main connected up.  The Up main might is much more work however. 

[TonyK]

It looks like a roller coaster, although I appreciate that the focus of the camera makes the angles more intense. The incline is much less than it looks.

[JayMac]

Telephoto does accentuate the gradient of the flyover. I looked at the photo and thought, V1 launch tracks. 

[eightf48544]

Official Name is Reading Viaduct.

Statistics.

The whole structure is approximately 1850 yards in length stretching from 36m 22c to 37m 26c.  Im 4 chains so shorter than Doncaster North Chord by 66 chains.
The gradient at the east end (station) is 1 in 93 to 36m 49c from where it becomes 1 in 730 rising to 36m 75c then falls at 1 in 85 to the west end of the viaduct.

Awaiting information of length and gradient of the Festival Line

[paul7575]

Awaiting information of length and gradient of the Festival Line

The gradients were in SandTEngineer's post #2074, but shown from west to east with metric distances, so do we assume they've built what was originally declared?   

Reversing those figures for comparison with the above they become:

1 in 93 rising for 25ch/506m (which you'd expect to be the same as the mains of course)
1 in 73 falling for 19ch/384m (after passing over Feeder line underpass box)
1 in 209 falling for 9ch/177m (while passing under the Main Flyover)

from: http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=6405.msg138536#msg138536

[lbraine]

Passed through Reading this AM.

Focus was very much on P8 in terms of activity. The line from P8 had been lifted just after the points to connect to the down main. The 'Kink' has been removed.

As I looked at this a small army of workmen arrived on P8 with sand, cement and platform edging - presumably to remove the temporary railings from the country end of P8 and put proper edging in place.

This suggests that P8 will be out of use until after Xmas - as I'm sure I remember someone here saying that the platform edging could not be laid because of the clearance needed for the temporay points connecting P8 to the down main ?

Perhaps these temporary points may disappear when over the weekend.

Lastly, and to my surprise, I was able to see that double track on the new Westbury curve viaduct line dive under (does this have a proper name ?) is laid and ballested all the way to where the tunnel under the line to the old depot is. About 150 yards of track will have this under the viaduct ready to be connect to the reliefs.

A couple of photos from my phone attached

[Red Squirrel]

Were you leaning out of the left side of a passing blimp, by any chance? 

[Oxonhutch]

I noticed on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) that Reading - Berwyn services were diverting via Tilehust (reversing in P. 3) and the Reading West Curve.  I decided that a track bash was in order using the old season ticket. Track has indeed been laid on the Feeder Lines and is being joined up at the Oxford Road Junction end.

Some piccies hopefully ...