Oxford Station - improvements, incidents and events (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

More concern for rail users are the following rail closure dates, mentioned in the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) press release in one of those limks you refer to -

29 July to 6 August 2023 – Track work and prep work for new platform – rail services impacted. Alternative travel arrangements and advice will be publicised in advance

and

August 2024 – Four-day rail closure for bridge replacement.

[ray951]

Yep, due to be demolished any day now

I notice today that they have started to demolish the Youth Hostel.

[ChrisB]

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have another drop-in session at West Oxford Community Centre (further down Botley Road on the right going away from the station) on Tuesday from 1 till 4pm

[ellendune]

*From Saturday 29 July until the early hours of Monday 7 August Network Rail will be working to upgrade the track just north of Oxford Station - installing new high speed crossovers. To the south of the station,  Osney Lane footbridge will be modified, moving one of the piers to make way for track layout changes. Work will also be carried out to adjust the coping stones on platforms inside the station.

[/quote]

Which of the piers are to be moved and where to?  None of them seem to be intruding far into operational railway land at the moment.

[paul7575]

*From Saturday 29 July until the early hours of Monday 7 August Network Rail will be working to upgrade the track just north of Oxford Station - installing new high speed crossovers. To the south of the station,  Osney Lane footbridge will be modified, moving one of the piers to make way for track layout changes. Work will also be carried out to adjust the coping stones on platforms inside the station.

Which of the piers are to be moved and where to?  None of them seem to be intruding far into operational railway land at the moment.

The new down through line (platform 5) alignment starts a short distance south of the footbridge, so the present three tracks under it become four. My money is on the western pier being moved a bit further west.  I’ve subsequently found that’s definitely the case, it’s specifically mentioned in the TWA order inspectors report. 

Not much detail that I can find yet, but the track change extent is shown at the bottom of this drawing:

https://sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blob.core.windows.net/twao-oxford-corridor-phase-2/Environmental%20Statement/Volume%203%20-%20Book%20of%20figures/Ch%2002%20-%20Figure%202.1%20-%20Scheme%20Layout%20and%20Location.pdf

But is this the best place to discuss it, or should the question be moved to the main Oxford station thread?

Paul

[Red Squirrel]

Above two posts split from Nuneham Bridge thread and merged here

[Mark A]

That deepened road bridge is going to need a reliable set of pumps for when the Isis tops her banks.

I think the dip under the existing bridge is drained by a pump and if that's always been the case it's a shame that exactly what was the pump provision in the early days of the line will be something lost to time.

Ah, a map, surveyed 1876, and next to the bridge, a 'Pump room'.

https://maps.nls.uk/view/231278895

The pump room persists on later 25" mapping, though it might have shrunk. Works to replace the Botley Road rail bridge will expose and remove elements of these early installations.

Ah, 'Tales of the unexpected' emerged during the first half of July....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-66133325

Now wondering what it is they're discovering. Not really much detail in that BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) item, which marks something different to the photos that appear elsewhere. For starters, if the dip beneath the bridge is below the water table, understandable to floor it out with an invert perhaps if only to ease the work if they drained it using something steam-driven.

Mark

[ray951]

Network Rail saying the Botley Road bridge will not reopen this winter.

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) said "This project is extremely complex and has been made even more challenging by the extent of the brick arch underneath the road. We’ve explored a number of options to deliver the works which included moving to working around the clock, but unfortunately with needing the infrastructure to be ready by the end of next year we have no choice but to keep the road closed until October 2024. "

https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/network-rail-announces-continuation-of-botley-road-closure-after-unique-challenges-delayed-the-work-this-summer

[ChrisB]

What's not at all clear is whether, having extended the work by over 6 months, there is need to work 24/7 beyond the original end date this year of end October. I can't believe that they've got *that* far behind.

[IndustryInsider]

I’d expect 24/7 working to cease as a result.

[ChrisB]

so would I, but zero mention of this. Surprisingly, as they really needed a softener for that news. The West Oxford traders are really suffering

[Rostock0]

Seems weird that they discovered new problems as they went along. I mean, it's all above ground and easily inspectable before starting, no?

-> actually I've just seen that the problem was that they discovered an arch underground......

[Mark A]

Seems weird that they discovered new problems as they went along. I mean, it's all above ground and easily inspectable before starting, no?

-> actually I've just seen that the problem was that they discovered an arch underground......

It's a lovely illustration of the value of record keeping for underground structures, and the ability of major components to fade from memory once they're removed from the day to day narrative. Given that the builders gave the dip beneath Botley rail bridge a brick invert presumably to hold back the groundwater, and the dip still originally needed a steam-powered pump to drain it, it's surprising in a way that the presence of the brick invert faded from memory to the extent that it had to be rediscovered.

Mark

[ellendune]

Given that the builders gave the dip beneath Botley rail bridge a brick invert presumably to hold back the groundwater, and the dip still originally needed a steam-powered pump to drain it, it's surprising in a way that the presence of the brick invert faded from memory to the extent that it had to be rediscovered.

Hindsight is the only perfect science.  So the present station opened in 1852 that's over 170 years ago, or over 5 generations. Do you think you are being optimistic about what people might be expected to be remembered if there are no records?

Believe me you can do all the desk studies, reviews of old records, site investigations you like and you will still find surprises when you dig underground. Remember in this case it is almost certain that they could not dig extensive trial holes to locate services - especially those that were not on records. Perhaps there was once an old drawing with this culvert on it or perhaps it was what we used to call 'sort out on site'  with no design drawing ever made.

I have seen drawings which told me detailed construction of a particular tunnelled culvert and even the date (to the day) each section was built, but these drawings are rare and if they did exist are usually lost or thrown away at some point in the past. I have also seen what were thought to be record drawings that did not say whether the proposal was ever built and some did not even identify where they were. 

A famous tunnelling engineer was once asked  what the ideal site investigation was for a tunnel - his replay was to construct a tunnel along the route of the proposed tunnel at twice the diameter!

[Noggin]

One of the best bits of professional advice I received was that if you see a flat piece of ground, ask yourself who flattened it, when and how - because it tends not to happen of its own accord and goodness knows what can lurk beneath.