Blackpool - Manchester Electrification

[LDECRexile]

For each concrete base that is poured, is concrete additionally poured into 5 tiny moulds for compressive testing purposes?
Is every one tested on every pour?

I don't know the answer to your question, but to give an idea of scale, the testing cubes, from my layman's impression and memory, had sides of about 6 to 8 inches.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

For each concrete base that is poured, is concrete additionally poured into 5 tiny moulds for compressive testing purposes?
Is every one tested on every pour?

Every batch of concrete would be my guess but not necessarily every pour. Industry standard is 2 inch cubes in the USA and 50 mm cubes everywhere else - the molds should be brass. In addition as Dave points out sometimes larger samples are also poured if for example the engineer wants slant-shear bond strength tested also.

For intrinsic concrete strengths for published results etc then 150 mm cubes are used. As was pointed out this minimizes the effect of large aggregates.

 

[42626]

In addition as Dave points out sometimes lager samples are also poured...

So I'm guessing Stella Artois produces a stronger mix that Carling or XXXX. (Sorry, couldn't resist )

 

[John Boy]

Pictures of the masts at P2 Salford Crescent, Yippee indeed!!

 

[John Boy]

Forgot to mention, Bolts and some steel work in the glazed brickwork retaining wall on P1 at Bolton

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Pictures of the masts at P2 Salford Crescent, Yippee indeed!!

Those are an excellent set of photos John Boy. Progress indeed and also answers the question Dave and I posed about the unusual bespoke brackets fitted under the footbridge.

 

[reg]

Bolton-more masts up in the Newport St area and some wall mounted brackets (with danglies) in the Bullfield area.Pics later

 

[LDECRexile]

Forgot to mention, Bolts and some steel work in the glazed brickwork retaining wall on P1 at Bolton

Yo! This knocks off my point "The location of the base and mast-to-be somewhere near the same bridge over Platform 1 track remains a puzzle." in Post #7522 and earlier. Splendid.

 

[LDECRexile]

Pictures of the masts at P2 Salford Crescent, Yippee indeed!!

Close study of your fine shots also shows an earth wire. In one bound SCP2 goes from zero to hero!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Close study of your fine shots also shows an earth wire. In one bound SCP2 goes from zero to hero!

In fact if I were a betting man I would put money on the fact they could do a wiring run in the next 5 weeks, it would run from Ordsall Lane Jct to the Atherton line over run. That would make Salford Crescent effectively live unless there is going to be a neutral section in the vicinity.

 

[LDECRexile]

I've wanged John Boy's very welcome shots onto his album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157669031974018

and onto the Combined Volume here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157661069863633

Thank you John Boy.

I confess to being green with envy, It will be Saturday at the earliest before I can get out and about, and maybe not then. Still, with the calibre of contributions we get from people like Reg, Wrinkley and John Boy, among others, we're keeping abreast of events.

 

[LDECRexile]

In fact if I were a betting man I would put money on the fact they could do a wiring run in the next 5 weeks, it would run from Ordsall Lane Jct to the Atherton line over run. That would make Salford Crescent effectively live unless there is going to be a neutral section in the vicinity.

I hope you are right, but the missing biggy is the whopping gravity pad base whose rebar cage has been standing opposite Platform 1 for a while. Does anyone know if it has been poured?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I hope you are right, but the missing biggy is the whopping gravity pad base whose rebar cage has been standing opposite Platform 1 for a while. Does anyone know if it has been poured?

Hmmm - so let’s say it gets shuttered and poured by this weekend that would make it mid July before mast and endanglied so wired by end of July more likely in that case.

 

[LDECRexile]

If any of our intrepid photographers goes to Salford Crescent in the near future could you please record progress or lack of with the immediately above and also go to the south end of the station, beyond the lift, and record what has been attached to what. For ages it has looked as if a short mast was being installed under the road bridge, the likes of which I've never seen before.

 

[furnessvale]

Every batch of concrete would be my guess but not necessarily every pour. Industry standard is 2 inch cubes in the USA and 50 mm cubes everywhere else - the molds should be brass. In addition as Dave points out sometimes larger samples are also poured if for example the engineer wants slant-shear bond strength tested also.

2" cubes! What happened to the 6" cubes of my youth?

I am not doubting you for a second, but how does a 2" cube take account of the aggregate content of a single cube when using larger aggregate?

 

[LDECRexile]

As promised, Reg's photos have promptly arrived.

I've added them to his album here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157671732263863

and to the Combined Volume here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157661069863633

Thank you Reg; encouraging stuff, especially with all the fertiliser hitting the fan at the moment.

 

[Chrisyd]

I hope you are right, but the missing biggy is the whopping gravity pad base whose rebar cage has been standing opposite Platform 1 for a while. Does anyone know if it has been poured?

I am 99% certain I was sat opposite this, this morning, and it was poured! I was sat further back on the train than usual, so couldn't decide if this was genuinely new, or if I was just looking at it for the first time.

Addendum: Just been past again and certain it is in, unfortunately did not have chance to grab a photo!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

2" cubes! What happened to the 6" cubes of my youth?

I am not doubting you for a second, but how does a 2" cube take account of the aggregate content of a single cube when using larger aggregate?

The problem with 6 inch cubes is they are huge and require an absolutely huge cube compressor to crush them and cure them in a curing cabinet. Incidentally you also generate more heat from cure which in itself skews the results. That adds enormously to lab costs and machine costs. If you look again at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/albums/72157669789788098 you will see they are 50mm cubes. You are absolutely correct if you have huge aggregates you will get discrepancies in a 2 inch/50mm cube so from time to time larger pours are done to keep yourself honest. Slant shear bond strengths are always done with larger pours.

To get published results for papers and research for intrinsic concrete strength 150 mm ( approx 6 inch cubes are indeed used)

 

[Ploughman]

Just as an aside on concrete cubes.
On the Drax branch near Selby, I think it was the old Camblesforth station.
The resident there did cube testing, well I think he did because of the amount of walls he has built out of left over cubes.

 

[LDECRexile]

Good News

I'm hearing from various sources that Lostock to Wigan electrification is ON.

Nowt in writing, but said by people with no reason to fib.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Good News
I'm hearing from various sources that Lostock to Wigan electrification is ON.

Nowt in writing, but said by people with no reason to fib.

Outstanding and total common sense. It is a quick win for politicians too imho. Btw it should, again in my opinion, have its own thread. I nominate you Dave to start it. If you prefer not to, I will.

 

[LDECRexile]

Just as an aside on concrete cubes.
On the Drax branch near Selby, I think it was the old Camblesforth station.
The resident there did cube testing, well I think he did because of the amount of walls he has built out of left over cubes.

Nice story; was the station at Camblesthorpe called Carlton Towers, of have I got my wires (lines) crossed?

 

[LDECRexile]

Outstanding and total common sense. It is a quick win for politicians too imho. Btw it should, again in my opinion, have its own thread. I nominate you Dave to start it. If you prefer not to, I will.

I agree, will you kick it off please?

 

[PDG1949]

Good News

I'm hearing from various sources that Lostock to Wigan electrification is ON.

Nowt in writing, but said by people with no reason to fib.

Oh hap-pie day !

 

[Silverdale]

Every batch of concrete would be my guess but not necessarily every pour. Industry standard is 2 inch cubes in the USA and 50 mm cubes everywhere else - the molds should be brass. In addition as Dave points out sometimes larger samples are also poured if for example the engineer wants slant-shear bond strength tested also.

My recollection is that cubes were 150mm and that a set of three was prepared from each batch of fresh concrete. It would be quite difficult to fill and tamp a cube as small as 50mm with fresh concrete and obtain a representative sample given the size of aggregate in most mixes.

When we took samples of cured concrete, it was usually by means of coring and in that case the samples were of smaller dimensions.

Edit: The photos linked to in #7550 seem to show the standard 150mm cubes.

 

[Ploughman]

This has been issued on the Rail Engineer website.
https://www.railengineer.uk/2018/06/04/getting-electrification-right/

Seems to be well worth a look.

Getting electrification right

• 4th June 2018
• David Shirres BSc CEng MIMechE DEM

 

[Ploughman]

Nice story; was the station at Camblesthorpe called Carlton Towers, of have I got my wires (lines) crossed?

Could be.
The old station is just North of Carlton village.

By the way it was not just walls he built but roadways all paved in cubes.
We used to use his yard to get track access.

 

[SodTheDrummer]

This has been issued on the Rail Engineer website.
https://www.railengineer.uk/2018/06/04/getting-electrification-right/

Seems to be well worth a look.

Getting electrification right

• 4th June 2018
• David Shirres BSc CEng MIMechE DEM

Excellent article, thanks for posting. Mr Grayling should take note. Although I doubt he will...

 

[edwin_m]

Excellent article, thanks for posting. Mr Grayling should take note. Although I doubt he will...

The beacon of hope is Scotland. The article demonstrates that things are still going largely right there, with nothing much different from England except that one goverment has a sensible rolling programme and a small but technically competent team to act as an informed client. The other, er, doesn't.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Excellent article, thanks for posting. Mr Grayling should take note. Although I doubt he will...

A great report and I will reference it directly in the master electric pinned thread.