The down loop between miles platting and thorpes bridge is signalled for trains to go into and exit the loop in the down direction (towards newton heath)and also to enter the loop from the victoria and then reverse out of the loop back in the victoria direction, and has been since the 1990s
yes it was called newtown carriage sidings and was still being used into the 1980s
Kents Bank Cark and Dalton are obvious candidates for modifications because these stops have necessitated passengers alighting from the middle doors only from 185's . Not sure about 195's.
Oxenholme P3 is 142m according to the SA, so maybe just about ok for 2x195/1 (71.4m units). Windermere is 144m, but Kendal, Burneside and Staveley are 92, 92 and 71m respectively. Even with SDO, Staveley might need an extension unless passengers are required to travel in the front unit.
I think that would require a recast of the WCML timetable. The gaps between the Avantis are not long enough to allow two successive Northern paths between Lancaster and Carnforth, plus the extra dwell at at Lancaster for splitting/joining.
Is there any way a curve could be built from the start of the Bentham line back onto the WCML facing north to allow the Carnforth platforms to function as a loop? If this was done, a portion worked Barrow/Windermere could be split and joined there, with the added benefit of allowing the Windermere service to serve Carnforth.
Looks remarkably straightforward on the 1:25k OS map, except that its use southbound would require two crossings of the down WCML.
If it was a new structure could it be grade separated, crossing the down WCML on a flyover? This would perhaps be a better solution to any problem than WCML platforms at Carnforth.
Engineering-wise nothing is impossible, but good luck with the business case! And it would still need a timetable recast for the paths between Carnforth and Oxenholme.
Then you start getting into serious money.
They are getting 323's at some point when the 730's are commissioned although I believe plan is let some of the 319's go but perhaps they shouldn't. Reality is Castleford fix is a decade away minimum so boosting train lengths is the only way to provide sufficient capacity currently. Mind you if commuting doesn't recover there plenty of other trains going spare like the 379's or you would have to question whether GA will need all their 720's.
Looking at the old 6" maps on the National Library of Scotland www site tracks from the Beetham Line curve to the northbound WCML were in place at one time. There is still the issue of crossing the down line of course.
It seems that the original northbound curve connected directly to the Furness Railway west of Carnforth East Junction, with several tracks between it and the Furness and Midland Joint Railway, not allowing trains to access it from Carnforth station. Does a train from Windermere not have to cross the down line when leaving Oxenholme? If this had to be eliminated, the other options would be bidirectional running or a full length relief line on the west side from Carnforth to Oxenholme.
I wonder where that was? I get on /off at Ulverston and always end up on a 156 it's pre covid since I used one of the 195 services.
Sunday services on the Mid-Cheshire are borderline unusable and it really needs to be hourly. I'd wager there's a lot of pent up demand for better Sunday services.
Rebuild the station with longer platforms extending under the current concourse. That'd be my course of action and requires no works that could be potentially disruptive to flights.
By sharing the current line, which should be made to coincide with full electrification, but I digress.
"New trains" can be a euphemism for old units suitably "tarted up". Vivarail often used the phrase "new trains" in the early days of their rejigging of old LU units.
Yes, of course. Now the direct Furness to Beetham line tracks are no more they wouldn't be in the way. I'm unsure of any real gain you don't get from changes etc. at Lancaster.
Another difference is that many trains using the Chat Moss line are relatively local. Conversely, those via the CLC were longer-distance trains from Nottingham, Norwich, Leeds, York and soon Cleethorpes. So, in the absence of many dual-mode trains electrification would not have been so effective on the CLC.
Of course the Cleethorpes diagrams will be run by Nova 3 sets which will soon have the Class 68 Diesel locos replaced with the new bi-mode 93s. Services to York and beyond can be run by already bi-mode 802s. Norwich would probably be best run by a FLIRT from Norwich…
They won't necessarily be class 93s.
This could be down to the formation of the train. 2x150s just about fit but there has been a few substitutions recently seeing a 150+156 on the route which unfortunately doesn't fit. Long Train Short Platform rules for Northern come into play and it's middles doors only, being manually opened by the guard.
Yes although changes to the track layout at the south end of Oxenholme a few years ago made that particular operation much quicker so the down main line is blocked for less time.
