Carstairs Overhead Line Equipment renewals and upgrade

[McRhu]

Is that new MkIIIb equipment amongst all the Series 1and 2?

 

[Edvid]

Definitely Mk3 of a sort; can't tell if it's b or d though.

 

[McRhu]

Definitely Mk3 of a sort; can't tell if it's b or d though.

From the location (between the Series 2 stuff) it's either survived the Carstairs OLE purge wars of recent months, or it's newly installed. I would dearly love to think that there's still a place for new BR MKIII installation in remodelling schemes.

 

[zwk500]

From the location (between the Series 2 stuff) it's either survived the Carstairs OLE purge wars of recent months, or it's newly installed. I would dearly love to think that there's still a place for new BR MKIII installation in remodelling schemes.

It looks to me like there's a few BR-era masts that have survived but been fitted with more modern fibreglass STCs. I could be very wrong.

 

[59CosG95]

It looks to me like there's a few BR-era masts that have survived but been fitted with more modern fibreglass STCs. I could be very wrong.

I don't think the platform lines have been touched yet for what it's worth.

 

[zwk500]

I don't think the platform lines have been touched yet for what it's worth.

I was looking specifically at photo #3 in Post #145 - which is taken from the Up platform line (or next to it). Some of the mast identification plates look like they've stood for a while (not sure exactly which iteration of the OLE they're from) but the STC equipment looks much closer to the Fibreglass horizontals from newer stuff. If you look to the left, the connecting line to the curve has a more typical STC and then immediately behind it a more modern version (to my very inexpert eyes).

 

[snowball]

Press release

Carstairs station to reopen following successful delivery of enhancement programme

Carstairs station is set to reopen to passengers on Tuesday May 30 following the successful completion of engineering work across the junction and at the station itself.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Carstairs station is set to reopen to passengers on Tuesday May 30 following the successful completion of engineering work across the junction and at the station itself.

During a 12-week phased closure, Network Rail has worked around the clock to deliver the extensive investment in the critical West Coast Main Line (WCML) junction which included remodelling and upgrading the platforms at the South Lanarkshire station.

As part of the work to remodel the junction, engineers have realigned the station platforms to work with the new track geometry and overhead wire layout. This included reshaping 65m at the south end of platform 1 to enable a more efficient connection from the station to the Edinburgh line.

Work also saw the removal of the platform edges and surfaces and the renewal of more than 300m of platform surface drainage. The lighting systems across the station were also upgraded before new platform copes, with integrated tactile edges, were added and the full 2,500 square metres of the platform was resurfaced.

 

[Roger B]

Deleted. Sincere apologies for any confusion caused by copying the wrong diagram.

 

[Frankton Junct]

A bit late to the party here - apologies, but ..... I'm trying to work out which routes are like for like replacement of life-expired tack / OHLE, and which are new alignments.

I've had a read-through this thread, and accessed the other Carstairs thread and down-loaded the track diagram referred to above (copied below).

View attachment 136074
Could anyone confirm that this does indeed represent the layout as actually installed and now in use, and if not, update this thread with the 'as installed' version, please?

From the above diagram, it seems to me that the distance from Midcalder Junction to Carstairs East has decreased from 16.28 to 15.66 (89.76 to 74.10 per diagram), implying that Carstairs East Jn has been relocated 42 chains East. And the lead from Carstairs Station Jn to Carstairs East Jn has been increased accordingly - can anyone

But I do have a number of questions:
1. Carstairs South Jn - Carstairs East Jn is now a longer curve, up from 31 to 44 chains (73 14. to 73.58). But have I used the correct mileage at Carstairs East (ie 73.58) or should I have used the 74.10 mileage, making this curve now 76 chains?
2. Is the mileage from Carstairs to Carstairs Station Jn now 12 chains - I think it was previously 20 chains, implying Carstairs Station Jn has also been slightly repositioned (assuming the mileage point in Carstairs station remains unchanged).
3. Has Carstairs South Jn also been repositioned? Interestingly Rail Miles is showing the distance beween Carstairs South Jn and Carlisle as 73.17, rather than 73.14 as shown on the diagram! Which, if either, is correct?
4. Is the route from Carstairs South Junction towards Ravenstruther also new formation?
5. Are the crossovers north of Carstairs station given a name (as the ones to the south of the station are), or is the next named junction north of Carstairs station Lanark Junction?
6. Presumeably the lead from Carstairs Station Jn to Carstairs East Jn has also been extended. I'm struggling to work out the new mileage from the diagram, but Rail Miles is showing distance from Carstairs to Carstairs East Jn as 41 chains. Is this correct?

Any / all help greatly appreciated, thank-you!

Look at image 1 in post #133.

 

[swt_passenger]

Could anyone confirm that this does indeed represent the layout as actually installed and now in use, and if not, update this thread with the 'as installed' version, please?

Well no it doesn’t. The significant change is that the up main no longer runs through the platform.

In addition to post #133 just mentioned, there’s also a pair of up to date drawings with the signals and line speeds in post #79. I believe your track maps extract (Dec 2021) is the pre-existing layout, and will be out of date now. Having said that the exact chainages don’t seem to have been posted anywhere I've seen so far. The public version of the sectional appendix page is still from 26 Mar 2022.

I don’t think introducing the trackmaps version at this stage of the project will help people reading the thread in future?

 

[Peter0124]

Will there be a platform bench anywhere outside the waiting room? Preferably on the south side of the station.

 

[jfollows]

I don’t think introducing the trackmaps version at this stage of the project will help people reading the thread in future?

Indeed.
I originally posted this in April 2022, in https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/could-carstairs-be-by-passed.225644/page-2#post-5598447, to try to help explain the existing layout and not to represent the new layout in any way, although the commentary in the thread was discussing the latter.
The layout shown has now been completely superseded following the recent work.
PS If people post extracts from earlier threads it's helpful to attribute them also when doing so. I guessed that I'd been the person posting this original diagram but then had to search the back-history in order to find out why and when I'd done it.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

I passed through southbound on Friday afternoon, hoping for the 110mph experience. Unfortunately there is a TSR over a bridge just before reaching the start of the new layout which meant although accelerating on full power on the new up alignment it fell well short of the new speed.

One point to reflect on which I don't think has been noted previously - apologies if I have missed it - with a major element of the works having been to increase speeds for non-stopping trains on the Edinburgh/Glasgow axis from 15mph to 40/60 mph using the new north side avoiding line, the May2023 timetable only has 5 passenger trains in the day - three westbound and 2 eastbound - to take advantage of this in place of the every two hours each way which would have been anticipated when the layout was being developed.

 

[Roger B]

I have deleted the content of my original post #158 my original post - sincere apologies for any confusion caused by copying the wrong diagram.

Many thanks to Frankton Junction (post #159), swt_passenger (post #160), and jfollows (post #161) for putting me right.

Interesting to note swt-passenger's comments that "the exact chainages don’t seem to have been posted anywhere I've seen so far" and "The public version of the sectional appendix page is still from 26 Mar 2022."

Is anyone able to post the definitive chainages for the new layout, please? Preferably these would included chainages between new / remodelled Carstairs Junctions, including to/from Carstairs station (where relevent) - and also chainages to/from Lanark Jn (thanks Mark!) to the north, Midcalder Jn to the east, and a pre-existing fixed-point (eg Lockerbie) to the south.

Many thanks

 

[Freightmaster]

...and also chainages to/from Larkhill Jn to the north...

Presumably you mean Lanark Junction?




MARK

 

[Scotrail88]

I know it’s a repetitive question but will the TSR be lifted anytime soon to enable WCML to achieve the new higher speeds.

Travelling next Tuesday and be keen to experience the difference.

 

[OB23Gone]

I know it’s a repetitive question but will the TSR be lifted anytime soon to enable WCML to achieve the new higher speeds.

Travelling next Tuesday and be keen to experience the difference.

Bombing through Yesterday. Blink and you will miss it. BIG DIFFERENCE

 

[AndrewE]

I agree... Carlisle to Edinburgh was a lot quicker through Carstairs last Friday...
A

 

[Cheshire Scot]

I agree... Carlisle to Edinburgh was a lot quicker through Carstairs last Friday...
A

The south to east curve has been for probably about 8 weeks but the main line much more recent.

 

[Chris Hamilton]

Could someone enlighten me on some theoretical movement possibilities?

If, say, a stopping train was sat on the Up Platform Line and couldn’t have been routed into the Down Platform because of a train there too, could a non stopping passenger train be routed through the Up Passenger Loop and through the Carstairs Chord rather than the Carstairs Curve? I know nothing is timetabled to overtake at Carstairs (especially with the laughable XC service between Glasgow and Edinburgh at the moment), but I’m just thinking of operational flexibility. I also guess the Up Passenger Loop could be used for a parallel entry/exit to the station (both loops were always historically available to passenger trains anyway, and some helpful old school signallers have even sent early running trains that way to help us carry out maintenance in the past).

When I was at Carstairs S&T, passenger trains were not allowed on to the Chord, but I see that it’s been fully relaid and realigned. In fact, the only thing I ever saw on it previously was machines out of Carstairs sidings.

I also assume that the spare Sleeper loco is now stabled overnight somewhere different? It always used to tick away merrily outside the bothy kitchen. Is it just sat in the new Down Passenger Loop or has a space been created for it on the Up Side (which would be more convenient and secure).

 

[nlogax]

Have finally experienced the new Carstairs south-to-east layout doing Glasgow to Edinburgh. *Smooth*, even onboard a Voyager. Well, you can't have everything..

 

[Railsigns]

If, say, a stopping train was sat on the Up Platform Line and couldn’t have been routed into the Down Platform because of a train there too, could a non stopping passenger train be routed through the Up Passenger Loop and through the Carstairs Chord rather than the Carstairs Curve?

Yes; that would be the preferred route for a non-stopping train because it's a faster route than going through one of the platforms.

I also assume that the spare Sleeper loco is now stabled overnight somewhere different?

A new siding has been installed for it, with a connection onto the Chord line.

 

[InOban]

Have finally experienced the new Carstairs south-to-east layout doing Glasgow to Edinburgh. *Smooth*, even onboard a Voyager. Well, you can't have everything..

Surely if you're going Glasgow to Edinburgh it's the West to East layout?

 

[nlogax]

Surely if you're going Glasgow to Edinburgh it's the West to East layout?

Southbound from Glasgow..right?

 

[zwk500]

Southbound from Glasgow..right?

the south side of the triangle is the one to/from Beattock and Carlisle. The south-to-east curve avoids Carstairs station.

 

[Railsigns]

Southbound from Glasgow..right?

"South-to-east" only fits if you're travelling northbound.

 

[nlogax]

Then I've definitely confused the conversation I'm talking about heading south then east, not from the south.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

"South-to-east" only fits if you're travelling northbound.

East to south for southbound maybe

 

[jfollows]

The public Sectional Appendix pages now cover the new layout, https://sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blo... 23/Scotland Sectional Appendix June 2023.pdf

 

[adrock1976]

The public Sectional Appendix pages now cover the new layout, https://sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blob.core.windows.net/sectional-appendix/Sectional Appendix full PDFs June 23/Scotland Sectional Appendix June 2023.pdf

Thinking about when the Edinburgh and Glasgow portions of the Sleeper couple uncouple, have I got the following right going by the updated Sectional Appendix?

1) The London bound Edinburgh portion uses the crossover from the Up Platform Line to the Chord and Up Pass Loop, then comes back to the Up Platform Line to couple to the portion that has arrived from Glasgow.

2) From London, the train can either uncouple into the Glasgow and Edinburgh portions in either the Up or Down Platform Line.

3) If the loco for the Edinburgh portion is waiting in the Up Pass Loop, does this mean that the train could only be routed onto the Up Platform Line, as that is the only line the crossover is able to access?