Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 13:15 29 Mar 2024
* Delays at Dover as millions begin Easter getaway
- Attempted murder charge after man stabbed on train
- KFC Nigeria sorry after disabled diner refused service
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
29th Mar (1913)
Foundation of National Union or Railwaymen (*)

Train RunningCancelled
12:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
12:52 Bedwyn to Newbury
13:15 Swindon to Westbury
13:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
13:21 Newbury to Bedwyn
13:48 Bedwyn to Newbury
14:12 Newbury to Bedwyn
14:19 Westbury to Swindon
14:57 Bedwyn to Newbury
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
15:22 Newbury to Bedwyn
15:28 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
15:50 Bedwyn to Newbury
15:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
16:15 Newbury to Bedwyn
16:23 Westbury to Swindon
16:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
17:36 Swindon to Westbury
18:37 Westbury to Swindon
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
21:16 Westbury to Swindon
22:30 Swindon to Westbury
Short Run
10:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
10:55 Paignton to London Paddington
12:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
13:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
13:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
13:55 Paignton to London Paddington
14:36 London Paddington to Paignton
15:42 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
16:35 London Paddington to Plymouth
16:50 Plymouth to London Paddington
17:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
18:03 London Paddington to Penzance
18:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:04 Paignton to London Paddington
20:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
21:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
Delayed
08:03 London Paddington to Penzance
08:15 Penzance to London Paddington
09:10 Penzance to London Paddington
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
10:20 Penzance to London Paddington
11:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
12:03 London Paddington to Penzance
12:15 Penzance to London Paddington
13:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
13:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
14:03 London Paddington to Penzance
14:15 Penzance to London Paddington
15:03 London Paddington to Penzance
15:15 Plymouth to London Paddington
16:03 London Paddington to Penzance
16:15 Penzance to London Paddington
etc
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 29, 2024, 13:20:56 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[153] 2024 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury...
[97] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[53] Travel for free on the m2 metrobus - Bristol - 4,5,6 April 202...
[41] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[38] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[37] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: 1 ... 63 64 [65] 66 67 ... 78
  Print  
Author Topic: Great Western Main Line electrification - ongoing discussion  (Read 283567 times)
Electric train
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4356


The future is 25000 Volts AC 750V DC has its place


View Profile
« Reply #960 on: April 28, 2020, 07:07:49 »

In electrification point of view the bridge is not an issue, from a public safety the 2 level crossing are, and should be abolished (closed).

So there is a perfect storm, attempts to closed the level crossing would meet a strong opposition from the village, as was the case when it changed to unmanned, and the locals don't want the bridge replaced, the "grade 2" listing and the link to IKB (Isambard Kingdom Brunel) are being used because the closure of the road while the bridge is being rebuilt would cause longer journey times by road
Logged

Starship just experienced what we call a rapid unscheduled disassembly, or a RUD, during ascent,”
Thatcham Crossing
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 793


View Profile
« Reply #961 on: April 28, 2020, 08:01:43 »

From what I saw on my brief visit, both of the crossings are on minor roads, and the roads between them go around a loop to the south of the railway
(this is clearly visible when looking at the village on google maps/earth).

The Stocks Lane crossing (the one closest to the bridge) does look superfluous as everything can be reached by driving around the loop (Mill St/Castle St) from the other one in probably no more than about a minute.

If we were in France and a high-speed line was coming through the above would already have been done.
Logged
Bmblbzzz
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4256


View Profile
« Reply #962 on: April 28, 2020, 08:41:08 »

On the Didcot side however there is the New A34 bridge (not that useful for local traffic), one at Milton Park and there are several in Didcot.  The diversion through Draycot would be about 6 miles.  There have been more inconvenient diversions. 
6 miles is a long way if not driving.
Logged

Waiting at Pilning for the midnight sleeper to Prague.
Reading General
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 410


View Profile
« Reply #963 on: April 28, 2020, 09:36:53 »

I'm sure during closure to rebuild they would have had a temporary footbridge like the one seen at Purley. Not that anyone would be walking, this is straight up road users not wishing to get up half an hour earlier for half a year.
Chaos is a word banded around so often as an excuse that it means nothing to me anymore.
Logged
stuving
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7156


View Profile
« Reply #964 on: April 28, 2020, 13:26:38 »

If we were in France and a high-speed line was coming through the above would already have been done.

As opposed to? If you mean building a high-speed line, I don't recall there being any level crossings on HS1 (High Speed line 1 - St Pancras to Channel Tunnel) or planned for HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)). On "classic" lines, the rules are the same here and there - AHB crossings only allowed up to 160 km/hr, and pressure to remove all crossings above that up to 200 or (in theory) 230 km/hr. Of course if you build lots of LGVs (Large Goods Vehicle), you don't need to push up line speeds on other lines except where there's no LGV. So there are very few SNCF (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) lines running at over 160 km/h, and the longest bit - to Bordeaux - probably isn't used at that speed now anyway.

Oddly, there are teaching materials about level crossings from SNCF, for both road users and S&T (Signalling and Telegraph) staff, that talk about stopping distances and strike-in points for 300 km/hr! Bizarre. 
Logged
Reading General
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 410


View Profile
« Reply #965 on: April 28, 2020, 15:45:01 »

Quick question, are the Steventon crossings the first at grade crossings on the GW (Great Western) main line going west from London? I have an old map with a footpath crossing at Basildon, just before Gatehampton Bridge but that had disappeared by the 60's from maps. 
Logged
eXPassenger
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 547


View Profile
« Reply #966 on: April 28, 2020, 16:01:33 »

What I do not understand is why the track cannot be lowered across the level crossing.  When I look at it on Streetview the road rises to the crossing on both sides.  Elsewhere track was lowered as part of the electrification work.
Logged
bobm
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 9810



View Profile
« Reply #967 on: April 28, 2020, 16:05:44 »

Quick question, are the Steventon crossings the first at grade crossings on the GW (Great Western) main line going west from London? I have an old map with a footpath crossing at Basildon, just before Gatehampton Bridge but that had disappeared by the 60's from maps. 

They are.  There were then at least three more between Didcot and Chippenham which were closed in the 1970s before you reach the first tunnel at Box.
Logged
stuving
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7156


View Profile
« Reply #968 on: April 28, 2020, 16:39:53 »

If we were in France and a high-speed line was coming through the above would already have been done.

... On "classic" lines, the rules are the same here and there -

Having said that, SNCF (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways) are doing rather better at closing crossings overall, not just for the fastest lines. Mind you, they do still have a lot more - some 15,000. One aspect of that is being more willing to build bridges, which are often cheaper than could be done here. A recent example of this is at St-Médard-sur-Ille, north of Rennes, which you may remember features twice in my hall of fameshame for collisions with super-heavy vehicles. Despite having widened, realigned, and reprofiled the road (which involved demolishing the station building) since the fatal accident in 2011, it's now being closed. At the station there's a subway (€4M), and the road gets a bypass and viaduct (€8M). And that's a viaduct 240 m long!
Logged
didcotdean
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1424


View Profile
« Reply #969 on: April 28, 2020, 16:44:41 »

If only the former station yard hadn't been sold off for the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses to be built there, right up to the bridge as there would have been plenty of room for manoeuvre then …
Logged
Incider
Transport Scholar
Full Member
******
Posts: 98


View Profile
« Reply #970 on: April 28, 2020, 22:59:07 »

Sometimes I really do dispair with this country.  We have a significant main line which is going to be subject to an enforced speed restriction for the next 50 years and beyond.  There is going to be uneccessary brake wear

There shouldn’t be any brake wear, at those speeds the friction brakes shouldn’t be applying.  Not that that’s any reason to celebrate, it really is ridiculous a bridge can cause so much hassle.
Logged
IndustryInsider
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 10096


View Profile
« Reply #971 on: April 28, 2020, 23:11:26 »

There shouldn’t be any brake wear, at those speeds the friction brakes shouldn’t be applying.

In my experience, the friction brake always seems to apply for the first couple of seconds of any brake application until the dynamic brake then usually blends in.
Logged

To view my GWML (Great Western Main Line) Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/
Thatcham Crossing
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 793


View Profile
« Reply #972 on: April 29, 2020, 08:27:41 »

Quote
As opposed to? If you mean building a high-speed line, I don't recall there being any level crossings on HS1 (High Speed line 1 - St Pancras to Channel Tunnel) or planned for HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)). On "classic" lines, the rules are the same here and there - AHB crossings only allowed up to 160 km/hr, and pressure to remove all crossings above that up to 200 or (in theory) 230 km/hr.

I made the quote I did about France due to something that happened there to me and my family about 5/6 years ago.

We were driving on a rural road, towing the caravan, and following satnav (who's data may have been 1-2 years old, but no more than that). Came unexpectedly to an earth mound across the road, and beyond it an (electrified) railway line. It was obviously previously the site of a crossing (satnav showed it as such). Not sure if it was a high speed line, or not, but think it was single track (no trains passed while we were there). Nowhere to reverse/turn, so had to un-hitch, spin, re-hitch and then head off to find an alternative route. It was a baking hot day, and to say family tempers were frayed would be putting it mildly!

Couldn't help recalling that incident as I drove around Steventon a few months ago.
Logged
ray951
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 461


View Profile
« Reply #973 on: April 29, 2020, 09:36:42 »

Quick question, are the Steventon crossings the first at grade crossings on the GW (Great Western) main line going west from London? I have an old map with a footpath crossing at Basildon, just before Gatehampton Bridge but that had disappeared by the 60's from maps. 

They are.  There were then at least three more between Didcot and Chippenham which were closed in the 1970s before you reach the first tunnel at Box.
I am going to be pedantic here but if we consider Oxford as being on the GW main line going west from London then Appleford LC (Level Crossing) is at 54 miles and 48 chains whilst Steventon is at 56 miles and 32 chains (I don't have the exact distance for the LC's but they are slightly west of Steventon). Also if I want to be even more pedantic then Midgham LC on the B&H (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) is at 49 miles and 52 chains.

If you consider foot or farm crossings then would the first level crossing west of London on the GW main line be at Calcot Mill? I assume there are none on the 125mph main line between Paddington, Reading and Didcot.
Logged
onthecushions
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 977


View Profile
« Reply #974 on: April 29, 2020, 10:00:43 »


In my experience, the friction brake always seems to apply for the first couple of seconds of any brake application until the dynamic brake then usually blends in.


Wouldn't the driving technique be to shut off power and coast, a distance before the start of the high contact wire gradient and merely maintain 110mph through the c30ch restriction?

OTC
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: 1 ... 63 64 [65] 66 67 ... 78
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page