The London and South Western and Metropolitan District Railways’ Widening Between Acton Lane and Galena Road.” by ERICALEXANDER OGILTIE

Proceedings.] 031LVIE OX L.S.W. AXD M.D. RAILWAYS’ WIDENING. 143

21 January, 1913. ROBERTELLIOTT-COOPER, President, in the Chair.

(Paper No. 4045.) The London and South Western and Metropolitan District Railways’ Widening between Acton Lane and Galena Road.” By ERICALEXANDER OGILTIE. BEFORE1877 the Metropolitan District Railway Company’s western terminus was HammersmithStation, but in that year the line was extended to form a junctionwith the London andSouth Western Railway Company’s Kensington and Richmond line at Studland Street, and running-powers to Richmond were obtained from that company. Two years later a further extension, from Turnham Green Junction to Ealing, was opened for Metropolitan District Railway traffic. In 1905 the Metropolitan District system was electrified, which step, whilst it enabled the company to quicken its service to andfrom the western suburbs, had the effect of taxing to its utmost capacity the portion of line between Studland Street Junction and Turnham Green Junction; for, besides the London and South Western and Metropolitan District traffic, this section was also used by the Great Western Railway Company’s trainsand the Midland Railway Company’s coal-trains. It being found impossible to increase the train-service under the conditions then existing, a scheme, which forms the subject of this Paper, was prepared in 1909 for the widening and rearrangement of the lines between Acton Lane and Galena Road, and the assent of Parliament was obtained in 1910. Fig. 1, Plate 3, shows the position of the widening in relation to the railway systems of West London, and Figs. 2 the arrangement of the lines of the two companies before the works were undertaken.

Downloaded by [ University College London] on [21/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 144 OGILVIE ON L. AND S.W. AND M.D. RAILWAYS’[Minutes of It willbe seen from Figs. 2 that, besides widening the lines between Studland Street and Turnham Green, it was necessary to provide for the crossing of the two companies’ lines at different levels-if complete separation of their traffics was to be attained and the signal-delays inseparable from a crossing on the level were to be avoided. It was found that the best point for a crossing was west of Turnham Green Junction, as the South Westernlines were there on a falling gradient, while those of the Metropolitan District were practically level ; and that, by slightly raising the latter lines, sufficient headway for a crossing would be obtained. Fig. 3, Plate 3, shows the scheme as prepared and carried out. Owing to the property on the north side of the line at Goldhawk Road being much more valuable than that on the south side, it was found that considerable saving would be effected by carrying outthe whole of the widening on the south side at this point, although it had the disadvantage of introducing reverse curvature. All curves of 30 chains or less radius are eased by means of transi- tion-curves, the method adopted being that described to The Institution in 1909 by Mr. W. H. Shortt,l Assoc.M. Inst. C.E. A minimum distance of 10 feet is provided between the tracks of the two companies where possible. It will be seen thatthe platforms at Turnham Green and Ravenscourt Park stations have been converted to the island type, and that a new station (Stamford Brook) is provided -at Goldhawk Road for the Metropolitan District Railway’s traftic ; also that all the tracks between Turnham Green Station and Acton Lane are altered in alignment,with the exception of the old South Western Railway down Richmond line between Fisher’s Lane Bridge and Acton Lane, which becomes the new Metropolitan District Railway down Richmond line. The Metropolitan District lines toand from Ealing cross the London and South Western lines at a point about 400 yards west of Turnham Green Station,and the MetropolitanDistrict down line to Richmond leaves the down Ealing line immediately west of Turnham Green Station, falling by gradients of 1 in 97 and 1 in 124 to Acton Lane, where a junction is made with the London and South Western down Richmond line.Provision is thus made for a standby forMetropolitan District Richmond trains, should a London and South Western trainfor Richmond be leaving Turnham Green Station about the same time.The Metropolitan District up Richmond line leaves the London and South Western up line

* Yiuutes of Proceediugs Inst. C.E., vol. clxxvi, p. 97.

Downloaded by [ University College London] on [21/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. ~roceedings.1 WIDENING FROM ACTON LANE TO GALENA ROAD. 145 at Acton Lane, and passes underthe Ealing lines by gradients rising 1 in 50 and 1 in 77, until it reaches the up Ealing track at Fisher’s Lane Bridge, where a trailing connection is made. In carrying out alterations to existing works and lines where there is a frequent train-service, one of the problems which requires careful consideration is that of maintaining the service without interruption ; and usually the quickest and safest method is temporary diversion of the tracks. In this case there was a daily service of more than 400 trains, and nineteen temporary diversions were necessary before the new lay-out could be brought into use. The time available for carrying out these diversions and for unload- ing the girders for the new bridges was very limited, as the period when trains were not running was only 55 hours (between 1.30 a.m. and 7 a.m.) on Sundays, and considerably less on week-days. The Author therefore proposes to describe some of the diversions. In order to construct the new bridge over the London and South Western tracks and form the new embanked approaches between Turnham Green Stationand Fisher’s Lane Bridge, the double junction and signal-cabin at Turnham Green were transferred temporarily to apoint adjoining Fisher’s Lane Bridge, andthe Metropolitan District tracks to and from Ealing were diverted up a temporaryincline of 1 in 45, to join the sued Ealingtracks. This also enabled the arch bridge over Fisher’s Lane to be raised, together with the regraded embankment adjoining. While these bridges, and theadjoining earthworkswhere possible, were in progress, the construction of the single-line viaduct on the south side of Turnham Green Station, together with retaining-walls Nos. 1 and 3 and the embankments retained by them, was pushed forward ; and the south platform was extended temporarily on to the new viaduct, to permit of the diversion of the whole of the up and down traffic to the south platform. By this means, possession was obtained of the old north platform, which wasof timber and had to be entirely reconstructed. Whilethis platform was under reconstruction, the widened embankment on the northside of the line between Turnham Green Terrace and the North and South Western Junction Railway was also being formed, and the building of the north span of the bridge over Turnham Green Terrace, together with retaining-wall No. 2, was pushed on with. This was necessary, as the next step was to divert the up trackfrom the north side of the south platform to the north side of thenorth platform, thus removing the remaining track on thecentre span, or old bridge, over Turnham Green Terrace. This bridge had to be reconstructed so as to give a span [THE INST. C.E. VOL. exc11.1 L

of 50 feet instead of 35 feet ; and, the whole of the widening being on the west side, the new abutment was built behind the old one before thetracks over the bridge were removed, so thatthere should be no delay in fixing the new girders when thetracks were removed. AS soon as the diversion already mentioned had been made, the superstructure of the old bridge, which consisted of three main girders, with cross girders andflat floor-plates, was removed by the following process :-The floor-plates, which were closely riveted to the cross girders, were cut through by means of the oxy-acetylene gas-jet, and the cross girders were cut through close to the main girders and lowered directly on to lorries in the roadway beneath. This method proved to beeconomical and expeditious. Themain girders were removed, and the new girders were placed in position, by a steam- crane standing on the diverted tracks. On the completion of this bridge the down track was diverted to thesouth side of thenorth platform, thusdiverting the whole of the traffic on tothis platform, and giving possession of the south platform, which had to be reconstructed. Simultaneously, the widening of the viaduct between the North andSouth Western Junction Railway and Galena Road was in progress ; here two diversions were necessary, owing to the reconstruction of existing bridges. The first was the diversion of the tracks on to the completed elliptic arch bridge over The Avenue, Ravenscourt Park,to allow of the old girder bridge over The Avenue being converted intoan elliptic arch-this being considered a favourable opportunity for renewing the bridge. The secondwas the diversion of the up and down tracks on tothe widened portions of the viaduct at Ravenscourt Park Station, to alloy of new outsidegirders being fixed tothe old centrespan of the bridge over Studland Street; it was also necessary to alter the skew of the girders of this bridge to suit the new lay-out of the tracks. This diversion entailed the removal of the old double junction, and the laying of temporarypoints and crossings; also the moving of the old signal-cabin about 18 inches northward, to give the standard clearance from the new track. This was done by supporting it on a timber frame and jacking it over, the point- rodding, electric gear, etc., being altered to suit the new position. Besides these diversions a large number of temporary diversions were necessitated by the alterations to the high- and low-tension electric cables, which in most cases had to be entirely relaid to suit the new tracks. In widening the existing brick viaduct between the North and

Downloaded by [ University College London] on [21/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Proceedings.] WIDENING FROM ACTON LANE TO GALENA ROAD. 147 South Western Junction Railway and Galena Road, which is about 53 chains in length, the same span and rise of arah were adopted, there being one hundred 20-foot and fifteen 18-foot segmental arches with a rise of 7 feet, and six arches of smaller span ; also three elliptic archbridges of 40 feet span and six steelgirder bridges. The old viaduct was built in lime mortar, but the new work is of London stock bricks, in 440-1 cement mortar, the arches being of four rings in 3-to-1 cement mortar (Figs. 4, Plate 3), and the abutments of the bridges of 7-to-1 Portland cement concrete faced with brickwork in cement mortar. The facework, which is dovetailed to give a key into the concrete backing, is shown in detail in Figs. 4 : it was built in &foot lifts and allowed to set for 24 hours before the concrete backing was deposited. In laying the bricks to form the dovetails, slightly larger joints were made at the back of the 18-inch work, and thewhole was left as rough as possible, to form a good key. The abutments facing public roads are faced with brindle bricks for a height of 3 feet above pavement-level and with white glazed bricks above. The spandrel-backing to the arches is of brickwork for a height of 4 feet above springing-level, the remainder being of 10-to-l cement concrete laid with a fall to the catch-pits, which are in the 6-foot way in the case of the new double-track viaduct, and at theside on the single-line viaduct. The outlet-pipes from the catch-pits are 4-inch diameter earthenware pipes, built in to the centre of the piers and brought out at footing-level, from which point they are connected with the main drainage. Refuges inthe parapets are provided for the permanent-way staff at intervals of about 70 feet. A standard of 4 feet was adopted for the minimum extension to the old viaduct. The rock asphalt on the arches is 1 inch thick. The dry filling on the arches is of ashes to formation-level, above which is laid 8 inches of broken brick, etc., the ballast for the tracks being of broken slag. In this length of viaduct there are also three elliptic arches of a square span of 40 feet, the rise ranging from 11 feet 6 inches to 12 feet 9 inches. The bridge over The Avenue, Ravenscourt Park, Figs. 5, Plate 3, has a rise of 11 feet 6 inches, the arch consisting of six rings of Staffordshire brindle bricks in 340-1 cement mortar, header courses being inserted where possible. The abutmentsare of 7-60-1 cement concrete, faced with brickwork in cement, as in the abutments of the steel girder bridges, the spandrel filling being of 7-to-1 cement concrete. On removing the centering, which was left for 3 weeks before being struck, there was no settlement to record. On completion of the new bridge the tracks were diverted over it, L2

Downloaded by [ University College London] on [21/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 148 OGILVIE ON L. AND S.W. AND M.D. RAILWAYS’ [Minutea of and the abutments of the old girder bridge were cut away to allow of the arch being turned, thus forming a continuous arch bridge. The same centering, with slight alterations to suit the difference in rise, wasused in the construction of theother two bridges, the soEts of which are glazed with white tiles. The new tracks of the South Western Railway are carried over the North and South Western Junction Railway Company’s goods- yard by a double-line steel bridge with spans of 72 feet and 76 feet and a centrepier of Staffordshirebrindle brickwork in440-1 cement mortar, the six main girders being of the hog-back, through platetype, with cross girders of 24-inch by 73-inch by 100-lb. British Standard rolled steel joists, spaced 8 feet apart, and rail- bearers of 15-inch by 6-inch by 59-lb. steel joistcr, the flat floor being of &-inch plates, to which the 12-inch by 6-inch timber waybeams are attached(Fig. 6). Cast-iron bearing-plates of the type shown in Figs. 7 are provided, the load on the centre pier being distributed by means of grillage. The girders were brought to the goods-yard at the site of the bridge on railway-trucks and raised into position by means of a 60-foot steel derrick, the lifting-gear of which was attached to two tank locomotives. The other steel bridges in this viaduct are single-line bridges, with the exception of the bridge over Ravenscourt Park Road, and are of thethrough plate-girdertype, with pressed-steel trough flooring (Fig. 8), on which the timber waybeams rest. The drainage of the floor (see Figs. 9) is provided for by means of &inch holes, drilled atthe end of each trough, and immediately over a pressed-steel gutterattached to the inner edge of the bottom flange-plates, the camber of the girders giving the necessary fall to the abutments, whence the water is carried away by fall-pipes. The flooring at the end of the bridges terminates with a flat plate to which a Z iron is attached for the purpose of draining the water into a cemented and asphalted channel on the abutment, thechannel being led to a catch-pit(Figs. 9). Thishas the advantage of preventing the water from finding its way down the glazedface of the abutments. In order to take the new Metropolitan Districtup Richmond track through the existingembankment at Chiswick Park, a fly- under arch bridge had to be constructed (Figs. 10). The new arch is 133 feet 43 inches long, with a square span of 14 feet 4 inches, the abutments being 6 feet thick and built of brickwork in cement. The first step towards the construction of this bridge was the provision of support for the Ealing tracks while the foundations were being excavated. Although the trenches for theabutments

Downloaded by [ University College London] on [21/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. Proceedings.] WIDENING FROM ACTON LANE TO GALENA ROAD. 149 were only 7 feet wide, the span under the rails, due to the skew, was 21 feet. Pitch-pine timbers, 12 inches by 12 inches by 20 feet, were therefore placed 12 feet apart, squarewith the trench, and resting onhalf-sleepers: upon these, and in the direction of the tracks, two 12-inch by 12-inch by 40-foot timbers were placed, the sleepers of the track being secured to them (Figs. 11). The trenches for the abutments were then excavated, leaving a dumpling 12 feet 4 inches in width between. Afterwards, the abutments were built to their fullheight, as well as thespandrel-backing, which was toothed in a vertical line just clear of the back of the skewback (Figs. 11). Piers of brindle brickwork were then built on the backing, as abearing for two 18-inch by 7-inch rolled steel joists, bolted together, which were placed between the 20-foot timbers previously referred to, and carried the 40-foot timbers and the tracks over the centre opening. The dumpling was then excavated to a sufficient depth to allow of the centering being placed on it. The arch having been turned, the remainder of the spandrel-backing was filled in with concrete, and the whole asphalted ; it was then an easy matter to remove the joists and timbering, and fill in with ballast. The wing-walls were built in trench, and were of 740-1 cement concrete with brick facework. Theraising of the embankment at Fisher's Lane archbridge necessitated the raising of the parapets and wing-walls, andthe steelbridge over the same road,required some alteration to the superstructure, a new span being required for the additional track. The double-line bridge carrying the Metropolitan District tracks over the South Western tracks, west of Turnham Green Station, is on a skew of 19'. Various types of bridges having been considered, it was decided to have a pressed-steel trough floor, placed square to theabutments, for the superstructure, resting on concrete abutments, and a brindle brick centre pier, the tracks being carried on timber waybeams bearingon thetrough flooring. Owing tothe South Western tracksbeing on an embankment about 10 feet above the old ground-surface, the foundations had to be carried down to 14 feet below rail-level: the trench wasfilled with 8-to-1 cement concrete to within 2 feet 6 inches of rail-level, and the abutments and wing-walls are of 7-to-1 cement concrete with brick facework. On completion of the abutments and pier the tracks were diverted through the bridge, in order that the eastern embanked approach might be formed. Three retaining-walls were required: the largest, which was on the south side of the railway, facing Acton Green, was 796 feet in

Downloaded by [ University College London] on [21/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 150 OGILVIE ON L. ANDS.W. AND N.D. RAILWAYS’ [Minutes of length, the maximum height above ground being 19 feet 6 inches. This wall is of 7-to-1 cement concrete and the maximum section and method of construction are shown inFig. 12. On account of the wall facing the public common, it was not possible to strut theshuttering from thefront. Short lengths of strap-iron were therefore embedded inthe concrete atthe base, to which the battered profiles were attached, &-inchdiameter tie-bolts being inserted through the back and front profiles to hold them in place. The tie-bolts were wrapped with paper, which enabled them to be withdrawn when the concrete had set. Special concrete-soap was used on the shuttering to ensure a smooth face. The whole of the cement used in these walls, as well as on other pRrts of the works, had to comply withthe requirements of theBritish Standard specification. The platforms at Turnham Green and Ravenscourt Park stations were entirelyrebuilt, and atthe latter station they had to be reconstructed whilst the public were using them. This necessitated a considerable amount of temporary work inthe way of stairs, waiting-rooms, etc. The platforms and roofs were of the same type for the three stations: it will therefore only be necessary to describe one platform. Stamford Brook Station platform is 400 feet long, with a maximum width of 25 feet, and is constructed, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, of concrete and steel joists. Pairs of rolled steel joists, 20 inches by 73 inches by 89 lbs., with cast-iron separator plates, bear on the walls of the new and widened viaduct ; they are spaced 23 feet apart, and form a base for the columns of the roof. Rolled steel compound joists connect the bases of these columns and form a centre support for 5-inch by 3-inch joists spaced 3 feet apart, the ends of which bear on the viaduct-walls. Fromthese joists shuttering was suspended and 9 inches of 6-to-1 cement concrete was laid to falls. The coping consists of 3-inch fine concrete slabs, 2 feet 6 inches wide, andthe surface of the platform is finished with ‘‘ Roadamant ” asphalt paving 1 inch thick. Access to the platform is afforded by a steel staircase, 8 feet 6 inches wide, leading from the booking-hall, which is on the south side of the viaduct and at street-level. The steel roof, which is of the lattice type, has braced columns spaced 23 feet apart, with a centre lattice girder, 2 feet 6 inches deep, carrying the principals, which are spaced 11 feet 6 inches apart, the covering consisting of sheet zinc and glass. The platform-buildingsat this stationconsist of a general waiting- room, stationmaster’s office, and porters’ room, all of which are

built of 4$-inchpumice concrete slabs, with a flat roof of plaster slabs resting on tee-bars. In the case of Turnham Green Station north platform, which is on an embankment, the joists carrying the platform and roof rest on concrete piers carried down below the original ground-surface. Access to both platforms atthis station is afforded by concrete staircases leading from a new subway under the tracks, and glazed with white tiles. Extensive alterations have also been made to the booking-hall. At Ravenscourt Park new station-buildings have been constructed at street-level. The construction of the works wascommenced on the 1st Sep- tember, 1910, the maximum number ofmen employed, exclusive of the permanent-way, signalling, and electric-cable departments, being 802, andthe completed scheme, exclusive of thestation- buildings, was brought into use on the 3rd December, 1911, i.e., 15 months from the date of commencing. Between 1.30 a.m. and 7 a.m.on the 3rd December, theinterval available for the con- version of the old system to the new, there was alarge amount of linking-up of tracksand other work to be done, andcareful preparationshad to be made to ensure there being no hitchin bringing the newscheme into use. The whole of the permanent WRY and signallingfor the new track had, of course, been completed where possible, but the following work remained to be done besides the linking-up. Several hundred yards of filling had to be deposited at the top of the temporary incline leading from the temporaryjunction at Fisher’s Lane, which had been in use during the whole of the time the works had been in hand : this was done by drawing train-loads of ashes on to the site as soon as the last Ealing train had passed. At Studland Street Junction theold signal-cabin had to be removed and the temporary points and crossings taken out to allow of the linking-up of the four tracks at thispoint. The whole of this work was completed within the time available, so thatthe first train was able to pass over the new track to schedule time. Since the completion of the scheme the Metropolitan District Railway Company have been able to increase the number of trains to and from the western suburbs by more than 40 per cent. Thegeneral scheme was prepared by Mr. A. R. Cooper, M. Inst. C.E., Engineer to the Metropolitan District Railway, and the work was carried out departmentally by the London and South Western Railway, under Mr. J. W. Jacomb-Hood, M. Inst. C.E.,

Chief Engineer, and under the immediate supervision of Mr. Harley H. Dalrymple-Hay, M. Inst. C.E., the Author being the Resident Engineer on the work. The Author is indebted to Mr. Jacomb-Hood for kind permission to furnish the drawings illustrating the Paper.

The Paper is accompanied by four sheets of tracings, from which Plate 3 has been prepared.

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