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Rainbow Hill Junction and Worcester Triangle resignalling

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Of this route Newland East Signal Box is an oddity. it has 2 sets of points, 4 lower quadrants, 2 colour light distants and 2 disc shunting signals. I presume its just a block post these days, it used to have a P.A.D (pre assembly depot) but now just serves to keep the frequency of trains as much as it can be i guess.
 
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Gloster

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Of this route Newland East Signal Box is an oddity. it has 2 sets of points, 4 lower quadrants, 2 colour light distants and 2 disc shunting signals. I presume its just a block post these days, it used to have a P.A.D (pre assembly depot) but now just serves to keep the frequency of trains as much as it can be i guess.
Isn’t there a level-crossing as was well?
 

Techniquest

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Newland East's crossing could certainly be automated, and long overdue as well. I've had too many delays caused by that crossing in the past. You can sometimes tell where you are, with eyes closed, just from having to slow right down or stop for that infernal crossing...

Henwick could probably be automated too.
 

John Webb

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yes, it mans that too - but for all intents and purposes it could be automated. also, there are no current plans i have seen for resignalling from Henwick to Ledbury, so could the semaphores last to ERTMS implementation?

Newland East's crossing could certainly be automated, and long overdue as well. I've had too many delays caused by that crossing in the past. You can sometimes tell where you are, with eyes closed, just from having to slow right down or stop for that infernal crossing...

Henwick could probably be automated too.
Network Rail's 2010 plan had this area down for conversion in 2048! To go either to Saltley ROC or Rugby ROC if the former was to be merged with the latter. But the move to the ROCs is being reconsidered for various practical reasons - so who knows what (and when) anything will happen!
 

Techniquest

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2048! Good grief that's an awfully long time away! I'll be in my 60s by then, and probably not able to make the most of the new equipment's journey time improvements :lol:
 

LNW-GW Joint

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NR's plan at one time was to migrate the Worcester area into the West Midlands SCC when it was resignalled, also transferring it from Western to LNW Route.
The resignalling of the Midland main line from Birmingham has already seen Blackwell-Tewkesbury transferred to WMSSC, and the Worcester was to be a subsequent phase.
That would make the route from Hartlebury via Droitwich and Worcester to Norton/Abbotswood Jns part of the West Midlands setup, which would also include stretches of the Cotswold and Malvern routes to interfaces with Didcot/Cardiff ROCs.
However it's all in abeyance as priorities are (as always) elsewhere.
Same as Shrewsbury and the Marches route really.
It'll probably be ERTMS-time when NR finds it needs to resignal these areas.

Going back to pre-grouping, the area was not entirely a GWR fiefdom.
The Midland Railway had joint ownership with the GWR of Worcester Shrub Hill station, owned the Malvern-Tewkesbury line and had running powers over the Worcester and Malvern routes to reach its network beyond Hereford into South Wales.
 

Gloster

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Going back to pre-grouping, the area was not entirely a GWR fiefdom.
The Midland Railway had joint ownership with the GWR of Worcester Shrub Hill station, owned the Malvern-Tewkesbury line and had running powers over the Worcester and Malvern routes to reach its network beyond Hereford into South Wales.
In the 1910 Junction Diagram the GW and Midland joint ownership ran from 1 chain north of Tunnel Junction via the avoiding line to 43 chains south of Shrub Hill station. The Midland also had its own goods station half-way down a 14 chain loop on the west side of the line that started 20 chains south of Shrub Hill station.
 

Tom Quinne

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I know the above few posts have delved into the historical context, but does anybody know when:

1) When the resignalling project is going ahead i.e. pre or post HS2
2) Will trains towards Shrub Hill be able to use Platform 2 (the Foregate Street - Shrub Hill curve having double track)
3) Will trains from Droitwich be able to use Platform 1
4) Will Malvern Wells - Shelwick Junction (except both tunnels at Colwall and Ledbury) be redoubled as part of the project or next stage
5) Would it be worthwhile reinstating track along the ex Midland Tewkesbury line down to Henbury Road (near the showground) so as having somewhere for Great Malvern non London terminating trains to be sent out of the way?

Worcester area has / will be moving from Network Rail Western to London North Western region, this I hear will sadly accelerate Resignalling the scope of which I don’t know though.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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Worcester area has / will be moving from Network Rail Western to London North Western region, this I hear will sadly accelerate Resignalling the scope of which I don’t know though.
Do we know how far east/west this will extend?
I thought the WM area was planned to extend to Campden Tunnel on the Cotswold line (interface to Didcot ROC*) and to Shelwick Jn (interface to Cardiff ROC*) towards Hereford.

*After further resignalling in those areas.
 

The Planner

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Do we know how far east/west this will extend?
I thought the WM area was planned to extend to Campden Tunnel on the Cotswold line (interface to Didcot ROC*) and to Shelwick Jn (interface to Cardiff ROC*) towards Hereford.

*After further resignalling in those areas.
It goes as far as Pershore on the Cotswold line as part of the region change. Don't think it goes as far as Shelwick, will need to check.
 

a good off

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Network Rail's 2010 plan had this area down for conversion in 2048! To go either to Saltley ROC or Rugby ROC if the former was to be merged with the latter. But the move to the ROCs is being reconsidered for various practical reasons - so who knows what (and when) anything will happen!

Newland East acts to break the section up between Henwick and Malvern Wells. Quite often trains get checked down at Newland waiting for the train ahead to clear the section at Malvern Wells. The crossover at Newland is useful in emergencies too.
 
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