As today is a shutdown Saturday and Ann was at her daughter's in Birmingham I did a road tour of the southern end of "our" route today.
I hoped it would be awash with orange, but not a speck at or near Salford Crescent, Frederick Street, Broughton Road or Cock Robin bridge. By this time I was getting pretty fed up.
Things started to look up at Park House Bridge where I met an Orangeman arriving from the Midlands to join a team putting wires in trackside troughing.
From Agecroft Road bridge I could see them, plus yellow on-track plant to the north, so I set off along the canal towards Clifton. The orange count soon rose sharply, with a de-veging crew at work picking logs from the trackside then a separate squad laying ballast the hard way from sacks carried on road railers. The tasks and body count now began to justify line closure.
Next stop Clifton station with its TTC straddling the platforms, no orange on show, but the de-veged view to the south is remarkable, with the Hilton in Manchester in plain sight, for example.
Back to the car then off to Dixon Fold, nowt there, of course, it looks pretty wire-ready, but I could see specks of orange near the M60, so off I set through Clifton Country Park in the sunshine. As I got near the new footbridge just north of the M60 I was amazed and delighted to see not only a full gang and not only a road-railer delivering bridge parts, but the three bridge support columns on the northbound side standing proud. I was amazed because I reported on Monday what I thought I had seen from a speeding train that there wasn't even a base curing there, how wrong I was! I'm delighted to embark on millinery mastication.
Now followed an hour and a half of fun in the sun. Not only were the southbound side columns erected before me and my camera, but I was given a cup of tea and explanations by the really pleasant and thoroughly professional men from Buckingham Group and Harrison Engineering (there may have been other firms there, who I didn't manage to identify by name, all credit to them, too.)
The plan is that a larger crane will arrive tonight and lift on the steps, then, last of all the crosspiece to form the bridge and knit it all together. By tomorrow morning there should be a new structure standing proud. It was planned to install it in early April, so it is ahead of schedule. It is estimated to be available for NR to sign off and open in about a month, the new trackside paths on the northbound side are still to be completed.
It is bridge MVE1/27B.
The shift finished, men and machines moved off; over to the night shift in a few hours time.
I was told that work on the Red Moss bridge is currently stopped, which fits with its appearance from the train window earlier in the week.
Photos later.
