Manchester - Liverpool Electrification

[LDECRexile]

The wire is still there it just ends not far along number 6.

Phew!

Thank you

 

[Dixie]

Beautiful morning out there, so I popped into Huyton to see what is going on.

All wires are now up through the junction onto the Wigan branch and most of the tensioners are connected. There remains a couple of tensioners still to connect and some of the registration arms are in place without being connected to the adjacent wire, but only on the inbound Wigan-Liverpool line. I was informed that these will be sorted today.

Hoards of orangemen are gathered in the footpath alongside the line opposite the bus station where they are about to lop the sides of all the lineside trees including the dozens of leylandii along the rear of the Orchards care home. Apparently they are on a 12 hour shift with instructions that it must all be sorted today.

Hopefully I will get time to pass by later today and will give a further update.

 

[DJH1971]

Beautiful morning out there, so I popped into Huyton to see what is going on.

All wires are now up through the junction onto the Wigan branch and most of the tensioners are connected. There remains a couple of tensioners still to connect and some of the registration arms are in place without being connected to the adjacent wire, but only on the inbound Wigan-Liverpool line. I was informed that these will be sorted today.

Hoards of orangemen are gathered in the footpath alongside the line opposite the bus station where they are about to lop the sides of all the lineside trees including the dozens of leylandii along the rear of the Orchards care home. Apparently they are on a 12 hour shift with instructions that it must all be sorted today.

Hopefully I will get time to pass by later today and will give a further update.

Good to hear.


I have heard stories that the Huyton to Wigan line won't be ready until about July or August.

 

[Dixie]

I have heard stories that the Huyton to Wigan line won't be ready until about July or August.

Personally, I think that that line will be ready as soon as there are EMUs available to use on it, so probably by the timetable change in May.

 

[LDECRexile]

I spent much of the day flitting between Roby Jct, Roby and Huyton, with a late trip to St Helens Junction, Sankey Viaduct and Carr M|ill Viaduct on my way home.

Arrived first at Roby Jct to find nowt visibly happening at all. I was gobsmacked. However after a few minutes forlornly walking across the Public Open Space north of the tracks I started to feel, more than hear, lots of machinery under power.

Much soon became clear as orange started to sprout around the Buckingham site, then one by one at least thirteen road-railers and their crews railed up, mounted up and set off. Two went westwards and the rest eastwards, disappearing out of sight through Huyton Station. This took about an hour.

I moved to Blacklow Brow to find a veritable Lodge of Orangemen crowding the end near the railway. I made for the footpath and was told with impeccable manners that the footpath would be closed for the day while they 'scythed the trees so they are clear of the electric wires.' The front man then asked, unasked, if I knew the way without using the path. This Orange Battalion were tree surgeons and their theatre nurses.

I went under the public subway and photographed from the north side than drove to the other end of the footpath which was unattended.

A pair of road-railers and their crews were busy just by the eastern end of the path, so I set up shop. After a while a security man asked me if all was OK, when I convinced him I was on the side of the angels he was a pleasant as everyone else.

I was able to spend a good hour, maybe nearer two, near the Mickey Mouse Position with action before me on the tracks, action to my right towards the Vee of the junction and action to my left along the south side trees.

My bladder dictated a move, the facilities at Huyton Bus station are to be commended. The car park also offers a different vantage point.

A quick look along Hey Road then back to Roby Junction, where this time there was Orange a-plenty.

Then off home via St Helens Junction, which was deserted, not a car in the car park (except mine) and not a cherrypicker in the Balfour Beatty worksite, which looked locked up.

No-one was working near Collins Green, not a soul at Sankey Viaduct, but two buzzards soared overhead majestically.

Finally, to CMV, just as deserted as SHJ and Sankey Viaduct, quite eery.

There appears to be a full set of six wires over CMV, but all are attached to the two masts by temporary webbing and pulley fixings.

The day's champagne moment was a five minute conversation with an Orangeman whose every utterance, demeanour and respect from this fellows said 'this chap knows his wires.'

He said the main thrust of today's activity is to prepare for testing tomorrow night, which I took to mean Monday night. In particular all insulators have to be in position. I asked him what 'testing' meant and he said 'switching it on'. He added that testing with a unit with a pantograph is due next weekend.

Photos later.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

-- edited down -There appears to be a full set of six wires over CMV, but all are attached to the two masts by temporary webbing and pulley fixings.

The day's champagne moment was a five minute conversation with an Orangeman whose every utterance, demeanour and respect from this fellows said 'this chap knows his wires.'

He said the main thrust of today's activity is to prepare for testing tomorrow night, which I took to mean Monday night. In particular all insulators have to be in position. I asked him what 'testing' meant and he said 'switching it on'. He added that testing with a unit with a pantograph is due next weekend.

Photos later.

On balance- I think mainly good news.

 

[Class 170101]

He added that testing with a unit with a pantograph is due next weekend.

Nothing obvious in RTT as yet for next Sunday.

 

[Dixie]

... He added that testing with a unit with a pantograph is due next weekend.

Oh no I'm out of the country for a week from early next Saturday and was hoping to watch some testing! Someone will have to video it for me

 

[DJH1971]

Oh no I'm out of the country for a week from early next Saturday and was hoping to watch some testing! Someone will have to video it for me

Does anyone know if the testing will involve a 319 for just part of the route, or for the whole way between Manchester to Liverpool?

 

[deltic08]

Does anyone know if the testing will involve a 319 for just part of the route, or for the whole way between Manchester to Liverpool?

Could just be registration by MENTOR or the Mark 3 version.

 

[Whistler40145]

Now that Network Rail no longer has the ex-Class 86 Mobile Load Bank locomotives, what now does this operation?

 

[PDG1949]

Now that Network Rail no longer has the ex-Class 86 Mobile Load Bank locomotives, what now does this operation?

If I seem to remember correctly from the N-le-W to Mcr tests last year, wasn't it two full Pendolino 390 sets in opposite directions at the same time ?

 

[Whistler40145]

Yes, I remember reading about it.

 

[LDECRexile]

I've added yesterday's photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/16545094131/in/album-72157648494725811/

I'll complete the captions tonight.

 

[driver_m]

If I seem to remember correctly from the N-le-W to Mcr tests last year, wasn't it two full Pendolino 390 sets in opposite directions at the same time ?

Something will probably run to ensure the wires are safely upbefore the two pendos. Wasnt it mentor and then a 92 or something on the Eccles section? The 390s were run to try and see if they could overload the systems by drawing large amounts of power simultaneously.

 

[Class377/5]

News now that some completed parts are going to require redoing delaying things further.

 

[DJH1971]

News now that some completed parts are going to require redoing delaying things further.

Wonder which parts they are, and if so, I take it the scheduled testing is now off?

Nothern Rail must really losing patience now.

 

[AM9]

News now that some completed parts are going to require redoing delaying things further.

I can imagine that the job of final inspection before test energising is a bit of a nightmare. Apart from earth straps, there are all those temporary straps e.g. the purple ones.
Does anybody know how the lines are tested? Surely they don't put the full 25Kv on straight away. I had always thought that a Low Voltage test, say 115v or 230v ac would be good enough to get impedance measurements that would reveal gross faults apart from clearances and tensions.

 

[DJH1971]

It would also be mean TPE would have to wait a bit longer for the 156's they're sub-hiring from Northern.

 

[8J]

If these delays happen to be substantial then the only way around it is more line closures...

 

[martynbristow]

If these delays happen to be substantial then the only way around it is more line closures...

It depends on the nature of the problem. The delay has been with the ground works and bases hasn't it?
The wires appear to have got up quite swiftly from my perspective but i maybe wrong.

 

[DJH1971]

If these delays happen to be substantial then the only way around it is more line closures...

No doubt Northern rail is banging on the drum a bit more now.

 

[Wavertreelad]

I've added yesterday's photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127646831@N03/16545094131/in/album-72157648494725811/

I'll complete the captions tonight.

Excellent pictures again, much appreciated.

It's so interesting to see the difference between this project and the 60's electrification project. I can still remember those old flat roofed coaches with hoards of men standing on the roof as they struggled to put the wires up around Edge Hill, including the Gridiron. Just wish I had taken some photo's!

 

[Dixie]

I had a look at Huyton and Roby this afternoon and everything looked pretty much finished. All the wires were up through the junction. Even the major droppers had been installed at the key switching locations and where wires trail in and out to tensioners. All the tensioners were connected correctly, neutral sections have been installed and even the improperly installed registration arms have been corrected. There were no signs of temporary fixings.

The only thing I could find that wasn't finished was the droppers as they go under the road bridge next to the compound at Roby, which were still pulled together using a copper wire wrapped around both the contact wire and the catenary wire. Can't believe they've been overlooked, but you never know. Would make a mess of any passing pantograph though.

Also the auto-transformer wires are still missing. Not sure whether these are to added later though?

Has anyone else got to the other key locations?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Excellent pictures again, much appreciated.

It's so interesting to see the difference between this project and the 60's electrification project. I can still remember those old flat roofed coaches with hoards of men standing on the roof as they struggled to put the wires up around Edge Hill, including the Gridiron. Just wish I had taken some photo's!

Yes my back garden overlooked the WCML north of Preston and I remember Weaver Junction -Glasgow being electrified in 1973/4 using those sorts of wiring trains.

 

[Class 170101]

Something will probably run to ensure the wires are safely upbefore the two pendos. Wasnt it mentor and then a 92 or something on the Eccles section? The 390s were run to try and see if they could overload the systems by drawing large amounts of power simultaneously.

I believe the Class 92 never actually ran and Mentor was only seen running Pan Down.

 

[LDECRexile]

Paul Gaskell and I did a triangular railtour today, Lime St-Broad Green-Roby-Wigan NW-Piccadilly-Victoria-Lime St.

1. Roby:
1.1 the lifts are working! They were given the green light this morning and by chance I was one of the first to use them 'for real' (if an enthusiast trying 'em out is 'for real'!) Took lots of action shots, may inflict some on you all.
1.2 Orangemen working on the seals at the base of the shelter over the Platform 2/3 steps, which have leaked.
2. Lots of trees felled all along the route from Wavertree Tech Park to Wigan and Earlestown to Huyton.
3. Springs Branch Junction looks a lot more on-the-way. We could only see one mastless base and that may be for a 'guy rope'. No wires actually bridge the gap between the WCML and the Wigan Branch, but the gap is close.
4. Man Vic:
4.1 is tramless whilst the double (now partially triple) tracks are reinstated, eg down Shudehill. The show should be back on the road after Wednesday.
4.2 Attachments have started to appear on the portals near the eastern end of the through platforms
4.3 a mast and several slab bases have appeared east of the road bridge off the eastern end of the station.
4.4 there are now several down 'pipes' attached to the latticework above the tracks running between Platforms 3 and 4.
4.5 More wiring work is going on just off the western side of the western end footbridge, including putting up a shield to stop the sort of activity Graham and Paul have playfully indulged in for the camera, ie trying to reach or touch wires near the south side steps up to the western end footbridge. If we have had even the slightest influence on this I'll be pleased, but I have no delusions of even this minor grandeur.
4.6 Clear evidence seen of a 'Height and Stagger Gauge' being used in the station area. Please see yesterday's additions to the Combined Version.

Overall a good impression. If the rumoured need to redo bits is serious that will be a blow. In the working world I used to inhabit there should never be surprises at the end.

Very welcome photos received from Dixie, Paul and one other person newly contributing. As tomorrow is Grandad day I fear it may even be Weds before these contributions and today's photos appear.

Will the test take place tonight????
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I've added photos of 1. a Height and Stagger Gauge and 2. bog standard fixings used in non-standard settings to series 3186.

Now I'm off Grandadding. Will others possibly tonight, otherwise tomorrow.

 

[Des Iroman]

I believe the Class 92 never actually ran and Mentor was only seen running Pan Down.

The initial plan for Eccles section testing was Mentor followed by 92 and 390. However following issues found on initial inspections causing abandonment of that plan, the NR press release confirms that the 1st test train to actually take power was 350401, ECS overnight both ways, just a few days before the stakeholder special!!

 

[LDECRexile]

I have been sent the following message, sent late on Tuesday 17th Feb:

'I noticed that there seem to be registration arms attached to the drop posts for almost the length of platforms 5 & 6 at Manchester Vic now, I didn't notice them yesterday (Monday) so I assume they were positioned last night.'

Warm thanks to the sender whose info credentials are impeccable.

Dave
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
In a separate message the same person included this paragraph:

'[T]he coping stones at Manchester Victoria on the through platforms are being adjusted (each stone removed, cut and replaced) in overnight possessions / line blockages, they seem to allow about 2" more clearance through the platforms, I would assume that this is for clearance of either the 319s or 350s.'

Warm thanks for this, too.

 

[DJH1971]

Well, according to Northern Rail's Public Information Board at St Helens Junction this morning, it is stating that they will soon be running electric services between Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Airport.

Whilst I'm at it, I also noticed this morning an impromptu wooden guard erected at the footbridge (near St Anne's Primary School) to protect against the wires.

I know I touched on the subject a while back, but would have thought they would put up 'danger Overhead Live Wires ' signs.