Chiltern Evergreen 3 project - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[John R]

About 10 years ago there used to be two trains departing New St every hour at exactly the same time for Scotland. Moreover, some hours  the train for Glasgow would be the east coast routing, and the one for Edinburgh up the west coast. The day I caught one they were going from adjacent platforms too.

I dread to think how many people caught the wrong service each day.

[PhilWakely]

Platform 4 you mean.  And yes, it joins Exeter St. Davids in being the only GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) stations where London trains will depart in opposite directions from the same station.

Very tenuous I know, but Reading, during the Paddington blockade, would have qualified............ with GWR trains from the Westcountry reversing and heading for Waterloo via Basingstoke, whilst SWT^▸ (South West Trains) continued to run services to Waterloo via Wokingham.

[grahame]

About 10 years ago there used to be two trains departing New St every hour at exactly the same time for Scotland. ...

I dread to think how many people caught the wrong service each day.

Talking "Scotland" ... try multiple trains leaving from Motherwell for Glasgow Central at the same time - fast ones and slow ones, with (when I was there) the only way to know which to catch being to ask. Kinda important when headed for an ongoing connection that only one made!

[IndustryInsider]

An update to my pictures shown on page 35 with the situation as it was earlier today.  All looking good for the December launch with just a bit of tidying up work to do, a bit of ballasting, and some signals to install:

Looking south from First Turn bridge, Wolvercote.  Ballasting still needs to be done on the 'Down Bletchley', but everything else looking pretty much complete:




Two views north from the same bridge, showing Wolvercote Tunnel.  Again, a few final bits of work to do to the track, but otherwise not far from complete:






Here's the northern tunnel portal, with workers busily finishing off an access staircase.  You can clearly see the track lowering required for electrification in the future (along with freight clearances) as the previous single track was roughly level with the concrete cable troughs you can see disappearing into the tunnel:




Two shots of the view looking north from the tunnel portal, with the second clearly showing the new Down Bletchley to Up Bletchley crossover.  I believe this crossover was repositioned from the original plans to try to appease the locals:






Finally, this is looking south from Oxford Parkway station, with temporary stop blocks still in place:




Some more pictures, taken by Cliff Jones, a few days ago can be viewed here:  http://cliffjones.zenfolio.com/p323911479

[bobm]

Thanks for the update II.

I can see why they called it Evergreen! 

PS Hopefully they might sort out the graffiti on the bridge before December.   

[TonyK]

A cheeky one, but how about Termple Meads once IEPs^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) start running via Bath and Parkway?

They wouldn't be 'departing (from the platforms) in two different directions', would they?

Paul

At the risk of making the Pedants' thread, one goes east, the other north.

[ChrisB]

Looking south from First Turn bridge, Wolvercote.  Ballasting still needs to be done on the 'Down Bletchley',

that's the right hand track....looking south

Two shots of the view looking north from the tunnel portal, with the second clearly showing the new Down Bletchley to Up Bletchley crossover.

[only showing the second in this quote]

This time looking north, but you are still referring to right track to left track crossover - I believe you mean Up Bletchley to Down Bletchley (I think)

See attached for NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s track diagram

[paul7575]

A cheeky one, but how about Termple Meads once IEPs^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) start running via Bath and Parkway?

They wouldn't be 'departing (from the platforms) in two different directions', would they?

Paul

At the risk of making the Pedants' thread, one goes east, the other north.

They still depart from any particular platform end past the same signal.   We are talking here about up and down with respect to the same platform(s)...

Paul

[IndustryInsider]

Two shots of the view looking north from the tunnel portal, with the second clearly showing the new Down Bletchley to Up Bletchley crossover.

This time looking north, but you are still referring to right track to left track crossover - I believe you mean Up Bletchley to Down Bletchley (I think)

Yes, it could easily be described as that as well.  That's the trouble with bi-directionally signalled areas as I think moves will be possible in both directions over that crossover.

[ChrisB]

N ot 'as well' as NR^» (Network Rail - home page) decrees the up & down descriptions and as I have shown, you are right in the top example but confused in the second....see the attached map for the right descriptions

[IndustryInsider]

N ot 'as well' as NR^» (Network Rail - home page) decrees the up & down descriptions and as I have shown, you are right in the top example but confused in the second....see the attached map for the right descriptions

It is 'as well' in that a train leaving Oxford Parkway's down platform towards Oxford and using that crossover will be travelling from the Down Bletchley to the Up Bletchley - though I am assuming that move will be possible?  It would seem silly if it isn't.  Therefore it could be described as either - even if my choice is not NR's official description (which is not shown on the map you attached).

[ChrisB]

That map is clearly marked which line is which - as you look towards Oxford, Up is on the left (the top line on the map) & the bottom of the two is marked Down Bletchley - which would be on the right looking south towards Oxford.

Chiltern will revert to the traditional 'drive on the left' once Oxford is open, so will use the Up Bletchley to Oxford, crossing over to the Up Relief once approaching Oxford & thuus into Platform 1 or 2.

Leaving platform 1 or 2, seems as though they will again use the bi-directional Up relief to reach Oxford North Junction & thus across onto the Down Bletchley to reach OXP on the 'right' platform (the one on the left looking towards BIT)

As EWR doesn't go towards London, I guess NR^» (Network Rail - home page) had to choose which would be which.

[IndustryInsider]

Chiltern will revert to the traditional 'drive on the left' once Oxford is open, so will use the Up Bletchley to Oxford, crossing over to the Up Relief once approaching Oxford & thuus into Platform 1 or 2.

According to the map, initially (until Phase 1 is complete), they'll actually also cross over to the 'down Bletchley' for a short while before joining the 'up Jericho bi-di' not the 'up relief'.

Leaving platform 1 or 2, seems as though they will again use the bi-directional Up relief to reach Oxford North Junction & thus across onto the Down Bletchley to reach OXP on the 'right' platform (the one on the left looking towards BIT)

Again, according to the map, they'll use the 'up Jericho bi-di' not the 'up relief' before the vast majority will take the route you describe - though I don't think there would be anything stopping them using either sets of crossovers once they get onto the 'down Bletchley', so they could cross over to the 'up Bletchley' and proceed to the other platform at Oxford Parkway.

Difficult to make descriptions unambiguous when you have bi-directional signalling, isn't it!  Ironically, the crossover we've been discussing probably won't be used very much anyway!

[ChrisB]

\Errr....phase 1 should be complete before December 12....according to NR^» (Network Rail - home page).

[IndustryInsider]

That's Phase 0, Chris.  Phase 1 work has barely started.