GSoP Post 15.1 - updated to reflect Salford Central developments
Manchester Victoria - Preston; State of Play, week beginning 13th August 2018.
Less than 5 masts still missing.
All mileages from Manchester Victoria. Bridge mileages are approximated where noted.
1. Man Vic Station (West End) - Man Vic West Jct - Deal Street Jct; 0m 0ch to 0m 32ch
Fully wired 2013-15. Platforms 1 & 2 at Man Vic have now been bedanglied.
2. Deal Street Jct - Salford Central (East End); 0m 32ch to 0m 59ch
Fully masted. Limit of electrification is currently at 0m 46ch; SPS is up along the unwired stretch.
3. Salford Central; 0m 59ch
Fully masted, most SPS (Small Part Steelwork e.g. dangly bits) up. No wires. One mast missing at western end.
4. Salford Central (West End) - Windsor Bridge South Jct; 0m 59ch to 1m 46ch
Two runs of Earth wire are up. Catenary & contact wires are now also up from west of Salford Central to Agecroft; details below.
5. Windsor Bridge South Jct - Windsor Bridge North Jct (inc. Salford Crescent); 1m 46ch to 1m 70ch
Windsor Bridge South Jct now wired (catenary/contact) from the Deal St direction on both the Up & Down Salford Lines; however, the Up Bolton line is fully wired through Salford Crescent, and terminated just north of Windsor Bridge North Jct. Earth wires (+ AT wires) are also in situ here.
All lines through Salford Crescent are wired with the exception of P1 (which is wireless).
Further wiring details:
Up Bolton is wired from Agecroft South Jn, to Windsor Bridge South Jn (via the avoiding line at Crescent), where the wires continue onto the Up Salford, ending just south of Salford Central.
The same length is wired on the Down Salford/Down Bolton, through P2 (Down platform) at Crescent.
In addition, the crossover from the Down Bolton to the Up/Dn Bolton (Crescent P1) is wired, but only this section - the wires do not continue to meet the Up Bolton.
The crossover between the Up and Down Salford at Windsor Bridge South Jn is also wired.
No wires between Windsor Bridge South Jn and the existing limit of electrification at Ordsall Lane, no wires on Platform 1 and nothing on the overrun towards Atherton.
Additionally, one wire run has been installed between Agecroft North Jn and a point roughly level with the north end of the Strangeways prison complex.
6. Windsor Bridge North Jct - Clifton (South End); 1m 70ch to 4m 57ch
Catenary & contact wires are up from west of Salford Central to Agecroft (by the bin terminal) over both lines.
Between Frederick Rd & Broughton Rd (2m 26ch) bridges, the Up side earth wire extends south from Broughton Rd as far as the line is visible.
Between Broughton Rd Bridge & Cockrobin Bridge, the Up side earth wire is up (for about 4 masts northwards, thru Pendleton Old).
North of Cockrobin Bridge, an Earth wire and an AT wire have gone up on the Down (northbound) side.
The missing bases in the walled stretch north of Agecroft Rd have now appeared & gained TTCs - woohoo! The problem was due to excessively sandy ground conditions in the area.
At Park House Rd Bridge, the first earth wire is now up on the Up side.
Lot of masts with SPS up on the southern approach to Clifton.
7. Clifton Station; 4m 57ch
2 boomed TTCs (with SPS); fully masted. No wires. Drainage manhole modules awaiting installation; temporary covers are over their future homes.
8. Clifton (North End) - Kearsley (South End); 4m 57ch to 7m 57ch
Brackets are fitted to the underside of the M60 overbridge. Bridge MVE1 27B (immediately NW of this) is fully erected, but unopened, and work the walkway is not yet finished.
Earth wires now up between Clifton & Kearsley; the Down side is continuous but it is unknown if the Up side is identically so.
Looking south from Kearsley, all masts that are up appear to be fully kitted out with SPS.
9. Kearsley Station; 7m 57ch
Fully masted. Earth wire (on the Up side) now runs south from Farnworth Tunnel (8m 25ch) through the station as far as the eye can see.
10. Kearsley (North End) - Farnworth (South End); 7m 57ch to 8m 31ch
Fully masted. Dangly bits almost all in place, but folded OOU at the tunnel end. Farnworth Tunnel has all its registration arms in place. Earth wire certainly in through the tunnel too.
11. Farnworth Station; 8m 31ch
Fully masted. Earth wire now in on the Down side through the station.
12. Farnworth (North End) - Moses Gate (South End); 8m 31ch to 9m 06ch
The pair of squat masts between Farnworth Station footbridge and Rawson St Bridge (approx. 8m 44ch) have now gained their boom.
The 2 bases each side of the "squat portal" have now gained TTCs; the southern one is certainly fully danglied.
Fully boomed and fully bedanglied TTCs up between Rawson St & the Balustraded Bridge (approx. 8m 56ch); this stretch now looks wire-ready.
The first of the two "Gravity Bases of the century" south of the Squeeze Belly Entry footbridge (approx. 8m 67ch) has gained a TTC. Of the two TTCs sandwiching the bridge, the southernmost one has gained dangly bits, while the bridge itself has had its parapet raiseed.
North of the Squeeze Belly Entry bridge, the earth wire resumes (on the Down side) from a portal boom, fitted with Tensorex drums.
13. Moses Gate Station; 9m 06ch
Fully masted, no wires.
14. Moses Gate (North End) - Bolton (South End); 9m 06ch to 10m 50ch
Weston St to Moses Gate looks almost ready for wiring.
Many bases, many masts, no wires. SPS and Tensorex drums appearing on some masts/cantilevers around Burnden Jct (10m 09ch).
All uprights appear to be up on both sides of Lever St footbridge; a multi-track portal is up immediately to the south of the bridge. To the north (on the east side), a TTC with reduced-height registration arms is up.
Stretching south from Bolton, long stretches of earth wire are now up. Another portal has been erected in 2 replacement bases.
Orlando St Bridge appears to be fully "stovepiped".
15. Bolton Station; 10m 50ch
All masts in the station area are now in place, bar the P2 "wicketkeeper".
The 1st TTC up over P1/2 has now been bedanglied; in total, P1/2 is covered by 4 TTCs and 3 STCs.
Platforms 98% open to public; the 2% not open is a fenced-off section of canopy support to the right of signal "MP9239". P2 buffers look finished. Canopies look complete.
Earth wires now in; the first one runs parallel to P3, from the southern end almost up to the road bridge at the northern end. A second one (parallel to P5) is up, and it extends south through Burnden as far as the eye can see.
Two sets of chalked "hieroglyphs" are etched into the bridge deck of Trinity St over P3/4; possible locations for stovepipes? Additionally, bolts & brackets are now drilled into the glazed brick retaining wall opposite P1.
16. Bolton (North End) - Lostock (South End); 10m 50ch to 13m 52ch
Newport St bridge has now had studs/brackets of some kind drilled in. The run of masts between Newport St & the NW end of P5 now have their earth wire affixed. Just east of Newport St Bridge, a TTC (unbedanglied) has now gone up on the southbound side.
Both of the wall-bracketed portals have now been erected, and both have now gained their dangly bits. The addition of these means that all masts are now up from Newport St to Beaumont Rd, Lostock.
Between Newport Street Bridge & Moor Lane (the Bullfield Tunnels area), the tunnels are bedanglied throughout, with Aerial Earth Wire (AEW) brackets up over both tracks' respective tunnels/bridges.
One of the masts immediately NW of Newport St has now gained twin booms (see photo A732m).
Gt. Moor St. bridge now has a stovepipe in on the Down side. The most recently cured base has had a mast & two dangly assemblies put up (see pic. A300k; between Great Moor St. & Dawes St. bridges).
Of the "3 amigos" (the three closest masts to Great Moor St. Bridge), 2 now have Tensorex Drums fitted and the other has its dangly bits cabled-tied down(see pic. A320k).
Cable ducting troughs laid between Black Horse St & New St on the Down side, in the cess.
The overrun along the line to Blackburn (as far as Bradshawgate Tunnel) looks nearly ready for SPS & wires.
Earth wire up on the Down side west of Moor St Tunnel.
Between Moor Lane & Lostock, Earth wires have already been strung.
Autotransformer wires now up between Lostock & Ladybridge (on both lines), but registration arms are still largely folded out of place.
South of Lostock, what was once a pair of portal uprights awaiting a boom has now been replaced by a pair of TTCs.
More masts around the switchgear box are sprouting dangly bits, switchgear kit etc.
A UTX has been installed in the "vee" in Lostock Jct, for buried service access.
Work currently going on with stacks of cable ducting on the Wigan Line - possibly from the substation?
All masts now up on the Wigan overlap.
17. Lostock Station; 13m 52ch
Switchgear box delivered 6th April '18.
All TTCs now in behind the Down platform; one of them is not like the others (additional bracing member).
Platform extension/resurfacing work still underway.
18. Lostock (North End) - Chorley (South End); 13m 52ch to 22m 20ch
Two more UTXs have been installed in the "vee" between the Preston & Wigan lines, to the north of Lostock station.
Immediately north of Lostock, the closest TTCs to the platforms have now sprouted part of their switchgear kit.
All C&C wires up from the "Golf Course" Footbridge (approx. 14m 04ch) to Bradshaw Fields Footbridge (north of Adlington).
A gap still remains over both lines between Bradshaw Fields Footbridge and the "Skew Bridge" (the A673/Chorley Rd).
All wires are then up from the Skew Bridge to Heath Charnock footbridge. The gap north of Heath Charnock goes over Yarrow Viaduct.
On Yarrow Viaduct, the portal at the south end is now complete, with both uprights having gained their boom and all necessary dangly bits. Still looks set to be a TTC at the north end.
Both lines fully wired from Yarrow Rd footbridge, through Chorley station to Stump Lane bridge; the wires on the Down continue to the River Chor aqueduct.
19. Chorley Station; 22m 20ch
C&C wires up on both lines through Chorley; the Earth wire is also in place. AT wires are as of yet uninstalled.
20. Chorley (North End) - Buckshaw Pkwy (South End); 22m 20ch to 24m 39ch
Many bases, some masts, 1 or 2 wires.
Down line (northbound) fully wired from Yarrow Rd footbridge, through Chorley station and past Stump Lane bridge to the River Chor aqueduct. The Up Line (southbound) is wired similarly, but only as far north as Stump Lane.
Roof brackets affixed in Chorley Tunnel (23m 20ch to 23m 25ch), and at least 6 dangly bits/SPS are up in the Flying Arches cutting. All bases on top of the retaining wall at the northern end now have portal booms affixed.
21. Buckshaw Parkway Station; 24m 39ch
Some bases in place, 2 TTCs up on the Down side, 1 TTC up on the Up side. The footbridge has now sprouted stovepipes. Up platform fully wired; extent either side unknown.
22. Buckshaw Pkwy (North End) - Euxton Jct; 24m 39ch to 25m 31ch
Almost fully masted; about half the wires up until halfway to Euxton, then fully wired the rest of the way.
Do let me know if I've missed anything!
