Section Activities

A round up of recent activities in our Sections

AS PUBLISHED IN The Journal April 2016 Volume 134 Part 2

V.1.0 1 of 39 Sections

BIRMINGHAM

CROYDON AND BRIGHTON

DARLINGTON & NORTH EAST

EDINBURGH Our online events calendar holds all GLASGOW of our Section meetings.

IRISH

LANCASTER, BARROW & CARLISLE You’ll also fi nd full contact details on LONDON our website.

MANCHESTER & LIVERPOOL

MILTON KEYNES

NORTH WALES

NOTTINGHAM & DERBY

SOUTH & WEST WALES

THAMES VALLEY

WESSEX

WEST OF ENGLAND

WEST YORKSHIRE

YORK

V.1.0 2 of 39 Here is a roundup of some of our Sections’ activities.

ASHFORD SECTION No meetings currently planned. Please keep an eye on the website for information as it becomes available.

BIRMINGHAM SECTION

December 2015

Annual Section Quiz and Social evening

On December 10th 2015 Birmingham Section hosted its annual quiz and social evening. Bob Langford, Section Chairman, hosted 8 rounds of general knowledge which was thoroughly enjoyable for all. The night’s winning team was formed of Andy Thornton, Brian Evans, Colin Ainsworth and Simon Roseveare. Congratulations to them.

January 2016

Welding advanced Rail Steels, Ian Banton and Howard Smith, Thermit Welding Section Chairman Paul King introduced the speakers and asked them to present their talk. Howard commenced the talk by describing the make-up of rail steels and how this presents unique challenges to welders.

Howard discussed the perlitic micro‐structure of rail and elements which are included in small quantities only a few parts per million and why chemically these are included. Howard continued to discuss why in the mid 70s rail production had changed from ingots to a concast methodology and why this had effectively eradicated defects such as tache ovals. These defects formed due to tiny impurities in the steel such as hydrogen which the new process could eradicate. Moving on the talk discussed different ways steel can be changed in its chemical properties to provide different characteristics from the normal 260 grade. Examples included Bainitic steel, mill heat treated, mill head hardened and HP. Each type had its own speci c advantages and disadvantages speci cally that the harder rails can help reduce the onset of Rolling Contact Fatigue but also need a different style of rail management to traditional 260 grade.

Ian started his section of the talk by discussing how the well‐known Thermit welding technique has evolved since its rst introduction. From the rst processes, the failure rates have been driven down dramatically both through better processes and better equipment such as the latest single use Thermit Crucible. He also discussed how the latest computerised equipment tted to the welding kit measured each stage of the weld checking that the steel was at the correct pre‐ heat temperature and other key points delivering the information to Thermit remotely straight from site. Ian explained how Thermit’s versatility was one of its greatest strengths both in its ability to weld different rail sections together and in its portability and ease of use for a two man team and small van. Ian touched on how the latest

Thermit equipment for rail maintenance could be used to repair squat or wheel burn defects by cutting them out and re-building the head of the rail with material that was equally as hard as the original steel.

11 February 2016

An Introduction to Friction Modifcation

Joint Section Chairman Bob Langford introduced the speaker, Dr Chris Hardwick of LBFoster Ltd. Chris began his talk by explaining that the wheel/ rail interface can appear deceptively simple, but is in fact a complex mixture of many interacting phenomena, which are affected by a multitude of variables, many of which are uncontrollable” and that Friction Management is the practice of attempting to deliberately control some of these parameters...Chris explained – with some excellent pictures and diagrams – the nature of the wheel/rail contact and the many purposes of this contact – carrying the vehicle load, providing driving and braking forces and steering the wheel on curved track. He then outlined the impacts that this has – anging noise, wheel squeal, RCF, squats corrugations and other rail wear/ fatigue issues.

We were then introduced to the concept that, in addition to the wheel and the rail, there is a ‘third body’ which sits between them – made up of iron oxides, sands, we paste, leaves, etc and it is this third body which determines wheel/rail friction. Chris went on to explain why there is a need to control friction and how this can be achieved by introducing a ‘friction modi er’ at the interface between wheel and rail whilst taking steps to ensure that adhesion is

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not reduced to levels which cause problems for traction or braking. He demonstrated, with short videos, the reduction in ange noise by application of a friction modi er and went on to explain how, similarly, a friction modi er can help reduce the angle of attack that the wheel makes with the rail on tighter radius curves.

The presentation concluded with a detailed case study of a set of switches at Nuneaton Cemetery Junction. The switches were located on a canted curve with a line speed of 40mph and traf c consisted of a mixture of Class 170 multiple units and loaded freight trains. In the period 2004 to 2012, the high rail half-switch had had to be replaced every 15 – 18 months due to side wear and cracking. LBFoster carried out a review of the issues and developed a proposal to install automatic Keltrack © applicators on the approach to the switch. The results have been very encouraging with a period of over two years before the rst weld repair was required. Chris explained that this generated signi cant bene ts not only in terms of reduced cost of repairs/ replacement but reduced train delays, less inspection and fewer man-hours on track.

BRISTOL AND WEST OF ENGLAND SECTION No meetings currently planned. Please keep an eye on the website for information as it becomes available.

CROYDON AND BRIGHTON SECTION

14 January 2016

Following the Formal notices by the Section Secretary Martin Cresswell, Mike Curthoys the Section Chairman opened the meeting to four young Engineers to present their papers on recent developments in the Permanent Way field. Senaya Kerawala presented her paper on the interfaces required between structures and alignment when planning a new railway. These had been used recently to develop schemes for both high speed and heavy haul railways. The paper also identified where changes in the vertical and horizontal alignment can reduce costs by removing tunnels and shortening bridges but this may result in steeper gradients and curvature which may decrease speed or increase power consumption. Alignment may have an effect on climate resilience e.g. susceptibility to flooding and additional structures require more of the earth’s resources to construct.

Difficulties may be encountered at later stages when land has to be purchased at an early stage and additional areas are subsequently required e.g. for maintenance.

James Lineton outlined his experiences of the Network Rail Star Track two year training programme. This included a large portion of permanent way work. He commenced at Network Rail’s Westwood and Walsall facilities and moved on to 23 weeks at Sheffield Hallam University in each of the years, with onsite work between. The site work included placements with Network Rail’s maintenance team at Clapham Junction, Mott Macdonald’s design office and subsequently Network Rail’s Track Renewals Project Team. He can see that wet beds spotted during his time with the track maintenance team adjacent to a renewals site shows the importance of considering drainage when scoping a renewals job otherwise a renewal can easily lead to additional unforeseen costs.

Tom Mitchell followed with his paper on his four months’ experience on the challenges of gauging when introducing new rolling stock to a line. Gauging has many factors and even nominally smaller trains may have different suspension characteristics which give a different swept envelope and different bogie lengths and centres may give different end and centre throws. These differences may have effects on bridges, platforms and other structures along the route. Abi Onabanjo concluded the evening with her paper on Track Alignment and BIM (Building Information Modelling). The team has used the BRT (Bentley Rail Track) computer alignment software to produce a railway alignment for a new underground line. This line is required to fit the tunnel below the current and proposed buildings and their underground piles etc. along the route.

Abi explained how a BIM model of the track had been developed within the tunnel. Currently a large number of points are used to define a rail at each location along the route to aid processing and data handling Abi explained how this had reduced dramatically and the logic used, since a rail can be represented by two gauge corners, 2 ends and centre of foot and the centre of head. This reduced size object can then be used to extrude a swept envelope of the vehicle or its gauge to assist other teams and ensure that space proofing and clash detection can be effectively carried out for the new tunnel.

Following a very interesting time of questions on each of the papers where one telling observation in particular was made that BIM should now stand for Better Information Modelling, Tim Kendell proposed a vote of thanks for four excellent and well presented papers. V.1.0 4 of 39 Section meetings.

11 February 2016

Following the Formal notices by the Section Secretary Martin Cresswell, Mike Curthoys the Section Chairman introduced Geoff Kennedy – Professional Head of Permanent Way Atkins and Roger Squance – Technical Director Structures Atkins to give their paper Box Tunnel – Bath, Track lower challenges for Electrification.

Geoff commenced the presentation with a brief over view of the Great Western Electrification Project. The Project requires the Electrification of 900 kilometres of track from Maidenhead to Swansea and Bristol including branches to Oxford, Newbury and Basingstoke. The Box Tunnel to Bath Track Lowering part of the Project took place during a Blockade in the summer of 2015. It commenced with works in Box Tunnel. Box Tunnel has lining at the London end and in other parts of the tunnel with the rest being unlined rock. A digital survey was undertaken in the design stage and the required structure and electrification clearance requirements were superimposed on this survey. The six foot was reduced from 2300 mm, a relic from when the track was changed from Brunel’s Broad Gauge to a standard 1970 mm. A check was made on the aerodynamics of trains passing at 125mph within the structure with the reduced six foot and it was found that it would not cause difficulties. However, alterations had to be made to the six-foot drain and to a subway used to remove stone from an adjacent Quarry to accommodate the sleeper ends. The Electrical clearances were then examined and it was found that by using a conductor beam throughout the tunnel adequate clearance could be obtained with only one small section of lining requiring cutting back. The clearances were achieved by iteration on the form of the contact beam stagger which was used to avoid tight points.

Roger then described the filling in of the Subway which crossed under the tracks within the tunnel to enable the track to be lowered and the six foot reduced. This work also reduced the ongoing costs to the Structures Maintenance Engineer.

On completion of the Works in Box Tunnel activities moved to the renewal of Bathampton Junction. The layout of the Junction had to be altered to provide Electrification clearances under the original Brunel Over Bridges Hampton Mill and Candy’s Farm which could not be altered as they were Listed Structures. The opportunity was taken to replace the layout with NR 56v split bearer S & C. The long bearers were split in two places to assist in replacing individual parts of the double junction. All the track work for the double junction was delivered to site on tilting rail wagons as there is no road access to the site.

The final section of the blockage was for track lowering of typically 350mm through the Sydney Gardens cutting leading into Bath. This required an 1100mm excavation in front of a retaining wall which had a canal behind the top. Calculations showed that the excavation would reduce the factor of safety on the wall to around one. The Structures Engineer monitored the wall throughout the dig with electronic monitoring. The drainage throughout this section was replaced to alleviate the historic tendency for this section of track to flood and allow the sleeper ends to be lowered in the six foot as they would have clashed with the top of the original coffin drains. Tim Kendall proposed a vote of thanks for a very interesting and informative paper to which all those present responded warmly.

10 March 2016

Following the Formal notices by the Section Secretary Martin Cresswell, Mike Curthoys the Section Chairman introduced Carl Garrud, Managing Director, Rhomberg Sersa UK Ltd. to give a presentation on the latest developments in Slab Track construction.

Carl commenced his presentation by reminding the audience that the Japanese first start developing slab track systems in 1965 for their High Speed rail network. He then described developments in various countries using various systems classified under various abbreviations IVES, PORR, V-TRAS. The current system is to be used in the works in Queens Street Tunnel in Glasgow to provide sufficient clearance for the Edinburgh- Glasgow electrification project. The current system uses precast 5-ton concrete ladder beam slab sections which are laid on a prepared base which can be concrete or asphalt. The slabs are then position with jacks within the slab to a one mm tolerance for line and level and grouted into position. The specification and mixing of the grout is of particular importance to ensure it flows under the slab to eliminate voids and adheres to the slab to avoid cold joints. The grout has to take account of temperature and moisture conditions on site which may vary from hour to hour and therefore conditions must be monitored closely on site throughout the works. However, with this close supervision and monitoring Rhomberg Sersa UK Ltd. are able to offer a 50 year guarantee for their work.

Steve Nuttall proposed a vote of thanks for a very interesting and informative paper to which all those present responded warmly.

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DARLINGTON & NORTH EAST SECTION For future meetings, please visit the website for the most up to date information.

EDINBURGH SECTION

14 January 2016

AGM & Quiz Night

Meeting commenced with the AGM and the following members were voted as offi cers of the Edinburgh section:

Chairman = Andrew Blakeley Proposed: A Walker Seconded: J Edwards Vice Chairman = Russell Kimber Proposed: A Walker Seconded: J McCormick Secretary = Robert Gardiner Proposed: M Taylor Seconded: F Prentice

2016 Section meetings and section structure was then discussed.

The evening then moved onto the annual quiz with 4 teams competing for the Syd Smith golden Pandrol trophy. Quiz master Kenny Weir provided several rounds of subjects including a very challenging “guess the celebrity photo” along with a good mix of general knowledge. A repeat question on the Great Train robbery from last year’s still managed to catch out a couple of teams! After the fi nal count, the winning “Fife Flyers” team of Gordon McRae, Allan Smith & Chris Mackie proudly accepted the trophy from Kenny, whilst the “Auld Yins” team of Alex Walker, John Edwards & Bob Gardiner accepted the 2016 PWI wooden spoon.

A vote of thanks was given by section Chairman Russell Kimber to Kenny for yet another entertaining quiz.

4 February 2016

Martin commenced the presentation by giving a background onto the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS) which was founded in 1961 and moved to Bo’ness in 1979, following the original passenger routes closure in 1956. The line extended its regular operational use to Manuel, providing a 5 mile serviceable railway operation. The hub of the railway itself is the visitor museum and a number of train maintenance sheds, which allow ongoing upkeep and restoration.

Martin advised us of his academic civil engineering PHD background, currently with Edinburgh University. Having developed an Interest in P-Way Infrastructure and drainage, he has been able to share his own knowledge as a V.1.0 6 of 39 Section meetings.

professional engineer whilst expanding others and putting theory into practice. Martin was also able to provide a contribution to the 2014 guidance note on Civil engineering.

Although a heritage railway, there is a surprisingly large amount of flat bottom track on the route which has been cascaded from the main lines. As the track is predominantly laid on ash, there are many conditional faults as well as issues with installation that require intervention.

As well as the track and drainage systems, there are a number of structures on the route that require maintenance, including viaducts and footbridges. Earthworks slopes are significant in terms of both scale and angle which again require assessment and ongoing inspection. The NR prioritisation matrix was deemed not applicable so a Heritage Railway version was produced then risk ranked on a spreadsheet. To make all this happen, small gangs of volunteers assist by helping out at weekends etc, but they are always in need of further support. The railway continues to encourage volunteers from both local catchments and corporate development which inspires teamwork and even practical engineering experience.

A vote of thanks was given by section chairman Russell Kimber to Martin, for a very locally interesting presentation, which was warmly seconded by all present.

3 March 2016

Dougy opened the evening by giving a brief background to his railway career starting in 1984 in Scotland, progressing to Yorkshire in 2004 and currently Programme Mgr in Doncaster. It was a surprise to some of the audience that the High Output Delivery concept has been operational since 2004 when the UK Rail industry opted for it. It has come a long way since then, with over 1200 direct staff spread over 5 depots and 2 central offices, following Network Rail’s move to bring HO in house in March 2015. The impact on sustainability on primary routes such as the GWR has been notably significant with other similar routes in place to follow.

Dougy then explained to the audience the principle of the High Output Ballast Cleaning System (BCS) which replaces the ballast and the Track Renewal System (TRS) which relays the rail and sleepers. Both systems are sophisticated in their own right and continually being challenged to work more efficiently in ever reducing access. Due to the criticality of time, the processes around the machine, such as taking possession are also continually subject to review, to work in a Lean and simplified manner. This indeed has even led to changes in the Rule Book which is no mean feat. With the kit being worked hard, safety is a key priority and one of the current challenges is management of dust. As well as now using RILA train mounted survey techniques to reduce surveyor track access needs. One of the biggest risks to the large workforce is actually driving to / from site. Due to this, fatigue management is taken very seriously. Big challenges with performance are part of the day job, with critical hand backs on key routes nearly every morning of the week. The hunger for higher speed hand back continues with 100mph TRS and 125mph BCS midweek the next challenge.

Moving into the future, it is proposed that Tampers and Trains will be operated and maintained by NR. The new BCS5 machine is due to be commissioned 2016 and will be able to work on 3rd rail track systems.

Dougy finished the night with some quotes on the system which included a simple but effective one from one of the UK’s original High Output pioneers who said simply “Repetition, Repetition, and Repetition”.

A vote of thanks was given by section chairman Russell Kimber to Dougy for an excellent and informative presentation and seconded by all of those present.

GLASGOW SECTION

16 December 2015

Fellow Jim Watson of Watson Railway Engineering in Falkirk delivered his paper entitled “Swindon to Kemble Redoubling”.

The project involved re-instating the 12 mile single line section of route between Swindon and Kemble as a double track railway. The project was completed during CP4 with works commencing on site in December 2012 and substantial completion achieved in August 2014 and during this period worked as twice as Contractors Engineering Manager for the Colas Rail / Morgan Sindall JV. In 2012 Jim guided the project through Early Contractor Involvement

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and transition from GRIP 4 to GRIP 5 and towards the early stages of GRIP 6 delivery. In 2014 he agreed to “help out for a couple of months” and was CEM again through the GRIP 5 close out process and throughout GRIP 6 delivery phase.

The line has substantial history; it was part of original London to South Wales Main Line built as a broad gauge railway in 1840 before being converted to standard gauge around 1870. The route has always enjoyed being regarded as having Strategic significance despite being reduced in parts to a single line 1968 which created capacity issues. However, with significant growth in passenger numbers (both on local services and on the 2-hourly Cheltenham to Paddington HST) increased demand eventually forced a rethink. The reinstatement of a 2-track railway creates an additional capacity of 4tph in each direction and allows the line to be used as a GWEP diversionary route – and this is considered “essential” since Kemble has one of the highest ratios of 1st to standard class customers in the UK! Reinstating a second track on what was Brunel’s 7’01/4” (2140 mm) gauge infrastructure over 12 miles would appear to be a fairly straightforward matter but Jim highlighted some of the engineering issues to be overcome including:

1) Migration of track inwards and upwards post singling 2) Earthworks complying with Eurocodes 3) Position ofignalling Equipment (Cable routes and Signals) 4) 22 Level Crossings (AHB, MG, UWC, 15 FP and 2 bridleways) 5) Environmental constraints (Newts, badgers, Geological SSSI) 6) Signalling delivered by a separate programme / project delivery team 7) Quality of original topo survey and GI and 8) Knowledge of existing assets

Add to all that, the National Supply Chain’s inability to react to changes, planning to over-commit the wagon fleet and a lack of customer focus – spiced up with a few hostile neighbours, poor access to the railway, scope drift and the RAMs “latent opinion -eering” – and the challenges become somewhat daunting! The finally tally - delivered at GRIP 5 in a series of track blockades by a Colas Rail / Morgan Sindall JV - included some pretty impressive numbers:

1. 28 km of new or renewed track 2. 3.7 km of existing track slewed and retained 3. 2 * single leads recovered 4. A new NR56 CvS13 facing crossover at Kemble r 5. 2 new NR60 G33.5 high-speed crossovers at Loco Yard Junction

Jim’s “Lessons Learned” insight covered Earthworks, Drainage, Level Crossings and of course Permanent Way! Plain line track detail was “nothing really novel or special” being generally CEN60 E2 rails on G44 sleepers and coated rail through Kemble tunnel. Rails were delivered to site in 18228 mm lengths and welded using mobile Flashbutt welding machinery.

The interest shown in the presentation was evident in the lively Q and A session which followed Jim’s presentation with parallels being drawn between the scope of the Swindon to Kemble project and the on-going Aberdeen to Inverness route re-doubling.

Russell Kimber gave the vote of thanks on behalf of all present and the meeting closed.

20 January 2016

Stephen Bradley CEng MICE, Senior Asset Protection Engineer with Network Rail in Glasgow delivered his paper entitled “M8 Railway Underbridge - Design & Construction”.

Stephen began by providing an overview of the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project and the interfaces with each of the 5 separate electrified lines impacted by the road network alterations. The project will upgrade the core of Scotland’s motorway network and boost Scotland’s economy by improving connections between the commercial centres of Glasgow and Edinburgh bringing less congestion and safer, quicker journeys.

The topic of Stephen’s paper, the design and construction of Underbridge S105 (Braehead) was one of 4 sites on the Rutherglen to Coatbridge Branch line and was required to allow the new M8 Motorway alignment to pass below the railway. The site of the works was very close to the existing railway bridge spanning the former A8 Edinburgh to Glasgow dual carriageway known as the Cutty Sark Bridge.

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The structure was designed to Eurocodes and Network Rail standards with capacity for rail OLE and the existing track alignment maintained as far as possible. The structure alignment was future proofed to accommodate future line speed increases and consisted of 3 spans of 45 m, 46 m and 36 m (the smaller allowing a cycle path and future M73 sliproad) with a headroom of 5700mm minimum on all spans. The bridge was designed as a continuous steel box girder -“loosely” based on Network Rails standard box girder bridge details but with certain differences. These included having a continuous steel / composite concrete deck slab simply supported between the main girders, reinforced concrete upstands as ballast retention walls and a Safe Cess walkway inside the box girder.

The main bridge supports comprised 8 * 2 m diameter piles (each with a minimum 6 m rock socket); abutments and wing walls were formed by 600 mm diameter contiguous piles with insitu concrete facing topped with a reinforced concrete capping beam. Mass concrete backfill was used to backfill the abutment walls with precast concrete units as the ballast retention slab and to provide safe access from the cess to the box girder ends.

Bridge installation works took place during summer 2015 and the construction programme was largely dictated by already agreed track access dates. De-vegetation and extension of the existing embankment to form a piling platform together with other civil engineering preparatory works were undertaken in advance of the main piling works in April. The massive 2 metre diameter piles, c. 20 m in length and reinforced by a double layer of 50 mm diameter bars were located in the track support zone with only 2 metres from the nearest rail. The eight main piles - and the smaller diameter abutment piled walls - were installed during a series of 4 *54 Hour weekend possessions and this work was subject to track and OLE monitoring to ensure that the integrity and safety of the track and OLE was not compromised.

On the east side of the site, construction commenced on the bridge superstructure in April and the reinforced deck slab was cast towards the end of June. However, programme deadlines and critical path activities needed to be continually revised against work progress during June and early July to ensure that the planned slide wouldn’t be delayed.

The 16 track blockade, planned to coincide with “Glasgow Fair” holiday began on 11 July 2015 with rail strip-out of cabling and OLE wires and track removal completed in 20 hours versus the 26 hours planned. 4 days of intense Civil Engineering work followed which included excavating the top of existing embankment and the area behind the abutments, trimming piles and construct the capping beams and pour mass concrete backfill.

On 17 July, the 2000 tonne bridge was successfully slid just over 52 metres westwards under the guidance of specialist heavy lift contractor Mammoet using SPMT (Self-Propelled Modular Transporters). The SPMT method was adopted to overcome potential ground instability and minimise movements within the existing railway embankment; installation was much quicker than other methods and hence less risk of possession overrun. The slide went according to plan and the “Three Point Control” system used by Mammoet allowed high accuracy of directional control (+/- 15 mm in final position).

The final phase of the installation works saw new shallow depth sleepers installed on both tracks (and including the section over the existing Cutty Sark Bridge) with four new sets of Adjustment Switches allowing for installation of CWR and structural movement. Follow-up civil engineering works to excavate below the new structure and prepare the road carriage ways is continuing but the finishing works required at track level (walkways, security fencing, embankment profiling) is now complete.

Stephen’s presentation was followed by an in-depth Q and A session which demonstrated his close association with all aspects of this complex design and construction project.

Russell Kimber gave the vote of thanks on behalf of all present and the meeting closed.

17th February 2016. The second meeting of the Glasgow Section, in the 2016 Season was held in the WSP Officwes, 110 Queen Street, Glasgow.

Tom Wilson welcomed members and introduced our speaker for the evening Nick Van Den Hurk, the Managing Director of Fugra Raildata BV, Utrecht, Netherlands, who gave his presentation Track Survey Using RILA and Railmap. To set the scene Nick advised that the RILA and Railmap are new systems to the UK for Track Survey. They have however been in use extensively in Europe and in particular the Netherlands. In the UK Network Rail trialled the system on the Settle and Carlisle lines from Carnforth to Carlisle. They have now let a contract with Fugra to work alongside the High Output Track Renewals Project. The work involves capturing data from both plain line and S&C sites. Network Rail now has data for 3500 Km of track. The data collected can be used to compare before and after

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situations at a site and can also be used to load on Tampers working at sites. As well as providing wider areas of data if required.

Ideally RILA should be mounted on a train, using the buffers or coupling of the train to securely mount the equipment. It will usually be mounted on the rear of the train to avoid any damage. Recording can be accomplished up to 80kph, but it has been used in the Netherlands at up to 160 kph. The data collected Track Data is digitally recorded and also relates to location by GPS. There is therefore a need for a power supply, either from the train or from a generator to run the equipment. The data files collected are then transferred back to base for the relevant reports to be produced for the customer. Data size is only available at base due to the size of the recorded files. The data recorded will also produce horizontal and vertical alignment of S&C. It can also produce the chord SD data for both plain line and S&C which can be directly read by the On Track Machines on site. The system also collects data on gauge, flange width, switch blade wear and cant, as well as how the train rides through any turnout.

To make best use of the equipment it should regularly be used to record on passenger trains, not just on Engineering trains, on lines where there is no recording currently carried out. The equipment can also be mounted on helicopters to do track survey from the air. The equipment also can be used for 360 degree reality of track areas and sites.

Tom Wilson gave a Vote of Thanks to Nick and the meeting closed.

17 February 2016

Tom Wilson welcomed members and introduced our speaker for the evening Nick Van Den Hurk, the Managing Director of Fugra Raildata BV, Utrecht, Netherlands, who gave his presentation Track Survey Using RILA and Railmap. To set the scene Nick advised that the RILA and Railmap are new systems to the UK for Track Survey. They have however been in use extensively in Europe and in particular the Netherlands. In the UK Network Rail trialled the system on the Settle and Carlisle lines from Carnforth to Carlisle. They have now let a contract with Fugra to work alongside the High Output Track Renewals Project. The work involves capturing data from both plain line and S&C sites. Network Rail now has data for 3500 Km of track. The data collected can be used to compare before and after situations at a site and can also be used to load on Tampers working at sites. As well as providing wider areas of data if required.

Ideally RILA should be mounted on a train, using the buffers or coupling of the train to securely mount the equipment. It will usually be mounted on the rear of the train to avoid any damage. Recording can be accomplished up to 80kph, but it has been used in the Netherlands at up to 160 kph. The data collected Track Data is digitally recorded and also relates to location by GPS. There is therefore a need for a power supply, either from the train or from a generator to run the equipment. The data files collected are then transferred back to base for the relevant reports to be produced for the customer. Data size is only available at base due to the size of the recorded files. The data recorded will also produce horizontal and vertical alignment of S&C. It can also produce the chord SD data for both plain line and S&C which can be directly read by the On Track Machines on site. The system also collects data on gauge, flange width, switch blade wear and cant, as well as how the train rides through any turnout.

To make best use of the equipment it should regularly be used to record on passenger trains, not just on Engineering trains, on lines where there is no recording currently carried out. The equipment can also be mounted on helicopters to do track survey from the air. The equipment also can be used for 360 degree reality of track areas and sites.

Tom Wilson gave a Vote of Thanks to Nick and the meeting closed.

IRISH SECTION

14 October 2015

Possession Management, Brian Fitzpatrick, Iarnrod Eireann

Brian’s paper discussed a new system currently being developed by Iarnrod Eireann to improve the safety of possessions. It is a computer based system comprising a database of standard possessions. Planners log onto the system and input information such as work location and access points. The system then provides the most appropriate possession from the standard. Possession information contained on the database includes protecting signals and location of possession limit marker boards. The system outputs a possession plan with relevant information including protecting signals and contact details for controlling signal box, possession times, PICOP name

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and details of worksites and contact details for engineering supervisors. The system also checks for conflicts in possession work and informs planners so that they can take necessary action.

It is intended that this system will replace the traditional publication of possessions in the Weekly Operating Notice. Computer terminals will be installed in each signal box that will show the signalman details of possessions to be taken in that section. Information will be tailored to each signal box so that they can only see relevant information.

The system is currently undergoing safety validation and trials in Waterford. Subject to successful results, it will be introduced throughout the Iarnrod Eireann Network.

22 October 2015

Northern Ireland Railways – Past, Present and Future, Mal McGreevy, General Manager – Rail Services (retired), Translink Northern Ireland Railways

Mal McGreevy was General Manager of Rail Services for Northern Ireland Railways from 2004 until his recent retirement. Mal presented his paper covering the recent history of Northern Ireland Railways from 2000 until the present day and looked at possible future developments.

Mal described how the railway in Northern Ireland was in a fairly poor state in the late nineties with old unreliable rolling stock and poor infrastructure. He explained how it has grown from carrying 6 million a passengers in 2000 to 14 million in 2014. A significant point in history was a report by AD Little in 2000 which found that NIR was operating safely but needed improvement and specifically made 120 recommendations and proposed expenditure of £180M.

In 2005, NIR introduced 23No new 3 cars set at a cost of £63M. In 2012, an additional 20No 3 car sets were introduced at a cost of £105M. This allowed all of the old rolling stock to be removed from service and greatly improved reliability and punctuality of train services.

Of particular note is the success of the Derry - Londonderry Line. In 2000, the line was considered for closure but since that time, passenger numbers have grown from 450k to 2.5M and it is now the most profitable line in Northern Ireland. Mal also discussed the Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin. This service was introduced in 1947 and had dedicated trains brought into service in 1987. These trains are now more than half way through their design life and preparations need to be made now for their replacement by 2025. Important decisions have to be made on the type of train that will provide a suitable service up to 2050.

The main point of Mal’s paper was to look at a vision for the future. Key issues raised were electrification of the network starting with the cross border route and the requirement of a vision to start the process now so the Enterprise trains are replaced with electric trains. NIR also need to buy another batch of trains to boost capacity. Mal described how the main station in Belfast is already over its design capacity and passenger journeys are expected to double. A major project is proposed to redevelop the land around Great Victoria Street station to provide a transport hub and specifically increase the number of platforms from four to nine.

While carrying 14M passengers in 2014/15, NIR has set a target of carrying 20M passenger by 2020. Infrastructure and rolling stock capacity improvements are required in order to achieve this target and the Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development has produced a consultation document entitled “Future Railway Investment”. This document sets out the strategy for development of the railway and funding required to achieve it. It is an integral part in the process of convincing government to allocate the money required to allow the railway to achieve its potential for Northern Ireland.

The paper was warmly received and generated considerable debate.

4 December 2015

Nick West welcomed all present to both the Sections AGM and Winter meeting. It was very well attended as usually with both retired members and current staff present. Tara McCadden stepped down as Section Secretary after a number of years of service. History of the Drogheda Viaduct, Eamonn Greene, Former Structural Engineer, Iarnrod Eireann

Eamonn Greene started work in CIE as an apprentice draughtsman, working his way up to Structural Engineer until his retirement in 1995. Since this date he has been self-employed a structural engineer.

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Eamonn gave a history of the building of the original Boyne Viaduct by the Drogheda and Belfast Junction Railway (c.1855) and of the engineers involved in its construction. The paper also included the re-construction of the bridge by the GNR in the early 1920’s, where some of girders under the track were renewed.

Stephen Bateson (current Principle Engineer Structures – Irish Rail), then gave a brief overview of the renewal works which took place in the 1990’s which included the replacement of some of the girders, installed in the 1920’s, with Box Beam sections and pre-cast walk-ways.

The presentation was concluded with an overview of the 2015 Drogheda Viaduct Refurbishment project which included the renewal of the bridge bearings, structural repair works as well as waterproofing of the deck. The complete structure has now been re-painted and with the co-operation of the local authority the bridge is now illuminated at night.

All the papers were warmly received and generated a considerable lively debate.

LANCASTER, BARROW & CARLISLE SECTION

15 December 2015

First Ascents in the Cordillera Vilcanota Mountains of Southern Peru - Derrol Taylor

For the Christmas social meeting Derrol, a section member, gave a highly detailed presentation on his recent four week trekking expedition to the Cordillera Vilcanota mountain range. This featured a significant number of dramatic landscape photographs and also a display of climbing equipment used, which gave additional context to the proceedings. The party encountered (and were assisted by) Indians speaking the Quecha language, and climbed the previously unscaled Yayamari and Nevado mountain peaks. The group also made a separate trip to the former Inca settlement of Machu Picchu before starting the main trek, travelling by train on the railway from Cuzco via Ollantaytambo to the nearest station of Aguas Calientes.

The Royal Station Hotel provided an ample buffet for this event, which was much appreciated. The end of the presentation was followed by questions and discussion, and finally John Parker gave a vote of thanks to the speaker.

12 January 2016

Farnworth Tunnel Electrification Works - Rhiannon Price - Network Rail

John Parker introduced the speaker and thanked her for replacing Stephen Townley, the scheduled speaker, at short notice.

The re-boring of Farnworth Tunnel forms a major component of the civil engineering works in the Farnworth area which have been necessary in order to carry out overhead electrification of the railway between Manchester and Preston, the other works including the reconstruction of one mile of track on a new alignment and the consequent reconstruction of Farnworth and Moses Gate stations. The existing layout at Farnworth consisted of two 295 yard (270m) tunnels, each carrying a single track, neither of which could accommodate the clearances necessary in order to install the wiring for overhead electrification. The up (eastbound) tunnel bore was completed in 1838, when it accommodated two tracks, but subsequently these were singled in order to permit the passage of wide (Pullman car) rolling stock in both directions; the down (westbound) bore was constructed in 1880. The feasibility of opening out the separate tunnels was one of several options examined as an alternative to re-boring, but the solution of a dual track bore was the one finally adopted. This required a continuous possession for an initially planned period of 20 weeks, starting work on site in April 2015.

he first phase of the project, which was carried out during weekend possessions starting in February 2015, involved strengthening the down bore through the application of a 200mm sprayed concrete lining. The lining process was complicated by the fact that longitudinal cracks and bulging were present in a short section between, compromising the gauging of the tunnel with sprayed lining in place. The solution adopted was to install ten steel arches over a twelve metre section of the deformity, to which wire mesh was fixed and the concrete lining applied in order to achieve the required clearance. On completion of the first phase all train services were diverted via the down bore through bi-directional working, allowing the up bore to be taken out of use to facilitate the re-boring works.

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The up tunnel bore required enabling works before the second phase, comprising the tunnel re-boring process, could begin. As part of this the tunnel lining was probed and grouted, and 7,500 cubic metres of concrete was pumped into the tunnel (including cross passages connecting to the down bore) in order to stabilise the structure and create better conditions for the tunnelling process. The tunnelling machine, named Fillie, featured a fully mechanised, open faced excavation shield with 12m of supporting machinery, and installed 1,900 concrete ring sections to form the tunnel lining from end to end as it progressed. The re-boring process was launched from the east end in early August at a slower rate of progress (one ring section per day) than anticipated and continued until 14th August, when running sand was observed entering the tunnel from above and the crown deformed: this was countered by plugging with resin. Two weeks after this a major incident occurred when 100 tonnes of running sand fell onto the working face at ring section number 31, which had to be removed by manual digging. This triggered an alert in the down tunnel and caused train services to be suspended for a short period.

A typical surface settlement of 100mm due to the works was predicted, but this was exceeded in practice by values of between 150mm and 300mm. Particular care needed to be taken in tunnelling under the A666 road, where an increased trial borehole and monitoring regime was adopted after the collapse and a maximum deformation of 191mm was registered. A uniform tunnelling speed was adopted to allow sequential lane closures as work progressed, and resurfacing works were carried out as necessary by Bolton Council at night. Beyond the A666 the concrete ring sections could be installed at the rate of up to six per day, and the breakthrough at the north end occurred after midday (at 1231) on 25th October on a perfect alignment.

The incidents detailed above caused the overall project to be delayed from a planned reopening on 5th October to the actual date of 14th December, when train services began to use the new dual track tunnel bore and the former down bore was taken out of use for rail traffic, although it will be retained as an access route. The cost of the tunnelling works was £20.8 million.

The presentation was followed by questions and discussion, after which John Parker gave a vote of thanks to the speaker. Members were also informed of the death of Mr. Bob Matthews, a colleague from British Rail days, and a minute’s silence was held in his memory.

9 February 2016

The Railways of Brazil - Jol Bates – PWI President

John Parker introduced the speaker, the current President of the Permanent Way Institution, who has personal knowledge and experience of working in Brazil through his position at the Mott MacDonald consultancy. The colonisation of Brazil, a substantial country thirty two times the size of the UK, began circa 1500 with the arrival of the Portuguese, and independence was declared in due course in 1822. Between 1890 and 1930 four million immigrants arrived from Europe and Japan, which was accompanied by significant agricultural and industrial development within the economy, and today (2013) it has a population of 201 million. There has been a consistent trend over time towards a ‘boom to bust’ economy, however, with a history of government projects which benefit particular regions to the advantage of their elected officials also.

The present-day position in the economy is that production and consumption are a long way apart, with uneven wealth distribution and population migration to cities as agriculture becomes more efficient and urbanisation grows with industrial employment. There are significant potential sources of freight traffic in the form of agricultural crops and minerals, but the existing freight railways do not form a network, and a Freight Plan has been produced with a view to correcting this situation.

The Ferro Norte-Sul (North – South Railway) project involves the construction of a continuous railway between the North Atlantic Ocean at Belém and the South Atlantic Ocean at Rio Grande, which is to be operated as a number of private concessions, and soya, which is produced massively as a crop both for cash and as an investment, is projected to be a key freight traffic for the line. The Nova Transnordestina project involves both the upgrading of existing mileage of the Transnordestina network, which is located in the north east of the country, and construction of new mileage to link the inland location of Eliseu Martins with the ports of Pecem and Suape via two separate branches served from a junction at Salguiero. The railway includes sections of dual 5 feet 3 inch (1.6m) and metre gauge tracks and features well engineered cuttings. Iron ore traffic is projected to be a key traffic for this line.

The legacy of UK practice and design can be seen in the railway infrastructure of Brazil. In 1867 the São Paulo Railway was opened for coffee export: Sir James Brunlees, a former President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, was the engineer, and the resident engineer was Daniel Fox. It consisted of two sections of adhesion railway connected by

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an inclined section, and took six years to construct at a cost of £2 million. The adhesion railway was constructed to main line standards with a gauge of 5 feet 3 inches (1.6m). Features of the line such as iron lattice bridges and station footbridges (as at Cubatão) were reminiscent of UK practice, while the main Luz station in São Paulo was on a grand scale and is today protected as a historic building. Beyer-Garratt locomotives were employed on the adhesion sections of the line, but cable haulage was used on the inclined section with gradients as steep as 1 in 9.75, using 108 ton capacity cable containing six steel strands. Subsequently rack and pinion was installed on the inclined section and it was also electrified. Two routes of the São Paulo metro system today run on the alignments of the line.

There has been recent development of the urban transit networks both in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, where the current populations are 20 million and 12 million respectively. In Rio suburban rail services are provided through the Supervia network and extensions to the metro network are being undertaken. In São Paulo additional lines are also being added to the metro network, Mott MacDonald having provided technical advice in respect of one route to be opened, where passenger carryings of 700,000 per day are forecast, and another which is one of two in the network under construction as a monorail (Line 17).

The presentation was followed by questions and discussion, following which John Parker gave a vote of thanks to the speaker.

LONDON SECTION For future meetings, please visit the website for the most up to date information.

MANCHESTER & LIVERPOOL SECTION For future meetings, please visit the website for the most up to date information.

MILTON KEYNES SECTION

January 2016

The January meeting had a good attendance of about 26 members and visitor for the talk entitled “Innovation by Network Rail Track Bed Investigation Team” and given by Peter Musgrave. He talked about the development of Micro Piling where a pile was driven into the lower ballast level and into the sub base to stabilise the area. He also talked about sand grips which is a form of sand blanket treatment where the track is not removed but the ballast layer is removed by use of vacuum and new fill material is then put in place. The talk was a little shorter than planned and so the meeting was concluded by 18:00.

There were one or two comments from those who attended the meeting on the question over the meeting location, but not enough to provide a conclusion. Your input if you have attended a meeting is most welcome.

NORTH WALES SECTION

7 January 2016

January’s talk was given by Abi Broadley from Aquarius. Her presentation was on the subject of utilising small vehicles to carry out railway activities; the advantage being that it can be possible to drive from the depot directly onto site.

She gave a brief history of the company - James Platt, the MD, was an agricultural engineer/inventor from Shropshire who moved to Australia. Whilst In Australia he identified a potential opportunity for using small RRVs in the UK and founded his business on this.

The vehicles currently offered by Aquarius can travel at 20mph and also reverse. Their guidance system (rail wheels), are very small and simple with emergency manual override. The vehicles can work adjacent line open (ALO) and also under live OLE. Aquarius also supply the Kawasaki rail mule which is a small/light vehicle that can carry up to 6 people including tools. The ultra-light trailer takes up to 933kg and can be used with 4x4 or rail mules up to 20mph.

The Canters use simple rail guidance when compared to competitors’ machines. They also have a HIAB and can carry up to 7 people plus equipment. It’s possible to inspect track from the cab. They can also be fitted with cable drums if required.

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Aquarius also has a vehicle called a Frost Rover for taking ice off 3rd rail. It is fitted with scrubbing brushes and Killfrost solution. The machine can also be used to apply Sandite in the autumn.

Abi continued to describe the various vehicles available and their diverse uses, including: a vehicle for carrying welders and their equipment to site; trailers that can transport chippers; a new heavy-duty trailer which can carry up to 3000kg on rail; and a vehicle with a trial hole rig attached. She rounded up the talk by providing details of Aquarius’ machines being used to assist with troughing installation whereby 84 troughing segments were laid out in 20 minutes.

Her talk was rounded off with a number of questions and an enthusiastic round of applause.

11 February 2016

February’s meeting was attended by 10 members and 3 visitors with apologies being received from a further 5 members. The speaker for the evening was Bethan Dale, Scheme Project Manager at Network Rail, who kindly stepped in at late notice to give a talk on the reconstruction of Farnworth Tunnel.

Bethan has given this excellent talk to the Milton Keynes section and so minutes will not be reproduced here.

The session ended with a session of question and answers and thanks from the night’s chair, Chris O’Keefe.

NOTTINGHAM & DERBY SECTION For future meetings, please visit the website for the most up to date information.

SHEFFIELD AND DONCASTER SECTION No meetings currently planned. Please keep an eye on the website for information as it becomes available.

SOLENT SECTION No meetings currently planned. Please keep an eye on the website for information as it becomes available.

SOUTH & WEST WALES SECTION

14 March 2016

Technical meeting

Chairman Andy Franklin introduced the speakers for the evening: Tim James and Andrew Scogings from Network Rail Wales gave a presentation on ‘The challenge of providing the infrastructure to deliver the 2043 timetable on Wales Route.

Tim as Head of Strategy and Planning for Wales Route Network Rail introduced his colleague Andrew Scogings and outlined their presentation to the section of looking 10, 20 and 30 years into the future of the Welsh network. The presentation was supported by explanatory diagrams.

Rail transport was seen as being good for the economy of the country. Market studies had been carried out on long distance, regional and urban passenger traffic and also on the changing freight traffic in the route. Predictions were that passenger travel would double in the period 10 to 30 years.

The Welsh Route study had developed these findings into schemes which were under discussion with the (Welsh) Government for funding and thereafter possible authority from government to allow Network Rail to borrow money to develop the projects. Tim and Andy reported that Cardiff passenger rail travel was experiencing 5% annual growth, amongst the highest growth outside of London. Already schemes such as Vale of Glamorgan and Ebbw Vale were proving to be successful projects. Further projection of growth indicated the potential need for 9 passenger trains per hour (tph) through the Severn Tunnel by 2043 and up to 16tph between Cardiff Central and Queen Street by 2023 in addition to freight services.

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Altogether 14 schemes were described to increase service frequency, lengthen trains, improve operations and possibly reopen lines. These schemes sometimes required incremental improvements now to plan for the future due to the life of the assets. Section members listened and suggested solutions to the interaction of track, structures, signalling and electrification in future railway operations.

Finally 2 No. case studies were described:

The first described the challenge of reliable operation between Cardiff to Severn Tunnel Junction with the potential need to accommodate up 17tph between Cardiff and Newport and 9tph to the tunnel by 2043 involving possible track layout alterations coupled with developments offered by the digital railway project and ETCS levels 2 and 3.

The second described the possible Metro-rail developments of the Valley Lines network. Metro operations require high frequency services and the speakers discussed the solutions to the prime pinch point of the junction and track layout at Cardiff Queen Street and the singled lines and sometimes single line status of the branch lines in the valleys. The speakers answered many questions from members during their presentation and further questions were asked at the end when prompted by the chairman who then requested Mike Lloyd to offer a vote of thanks. Mike contrasted the expansion of rail services with previous lean years and his thanks to the speakers were warmly endorsed by the members present.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SECTION No meetings currently planned. Please keep an eye on the website for information as it becomes available.

THAMES VALLEY SECTION

7 October 2015

Swiss S&C Renewals Process, Incorporating Life Extension Methods - Carl Garrud, MD Rhomberg Sersa UK Ltd.

Carl opened by describing his company’s core business activities employed in many European countries, and also in Canada and Australia.

These include:

- Track Technology, Design and Logistics - S&C Maintenance and Renewal - Slab Track Design and Installation - OLE Design and Installation - Rail Milling, Grinding and Welding - Tunnel Refurbishment - Operation of OTP, Machinery and Equipment: >150 Machines

Turning to the Swiss Rail Network, Carl presented the following statistics:

- Track km. 4770 km. Main Lines 2550 km. Secondary Lines Significant km. Narrow Gauge Virtually all OLE - Tunnels 307, total length of 259 km. - Bridges 5873 - Stations 804 - S&C Units 13,643 - Trains per day 3000, or 145 per line 39,500 GT/day/line This network has the highest density of traffic in the world. Around 85% of infrastructure renewal and maintenance is carried out in 6-10 hours track possessions, with the adjacent line open (ALO) in many cases.

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life costs and quality. Targeted components of the process:

- Survey and Design - Materials, prefabrication and haulage - Installation - Maintenance (Preventative, Pro- and Re-Active) - Recycled components

The entire system was surveyed into a single 3D model, with the OLE linked in. OLE stanchions were fitted with survey spigots. A single database now exists were all designs are completed and stored. This data is available to all to download prior to maintenance or renewal. “As produced” data is uploaded immediately upon completion. The Absolute Track Geometry System – PALAS was developed and all work is carried out by reference to the OLE Spigots.

See images A:

Materials such as rail sections have been standardised and S&C design limited to 14 standard designs – there are variations for specific locations such as major station layouts. S&C layouts are prefabricated at a purpose – built manufacturing facility to exacting standards for all components and alignment parameters. Switch gear is fitted and tested to enable “plug and play” on site.

See Image B:

Haulage to site is as prefabricated units on tilting wagons using Euroswitch – a JV of SBB and Sersa and delivered to work sites “as needed”. Recovered S&C is returned to the manufacturing facility for recycling/refurbishment.

See Image C:

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For Installation, a new generation of excavating machines, spoil and new ballast handling systems and high capacity cranes were developed into a unified system to enable the majority of renewals to be carried out in possessions of <8 hours.

See Image D:

Carl described the individual machines and equipment in detail including the performance rates which are carefully matched to enable the component processes to be carried out concurrently. Planning for each job is carried out by SBB, with the contractor producing the methodology and staging diagrams. SBB arrange the logistics based on the staging diagrams. Carl described these processes in details with the aid of many slides.

Work on site is based on optimisation – there is a clear split of responsibilities of the client and the contractor. It works a follows: Client Delivers: - Possession and OLE Isolation Management (taken in 3-5 minutes) - Safety systems - Signalling commissioning - Logistics outside the work site - OLE adjustments - Materials delivery

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See Image E:

Contractor Delivers: - Complete S&C delivery team - Plant and Equipment Suite for all processes. - Welding - Signalling connections

There are two S&C delivery teams to cover the network, delivering some 250 S&C units per annum. Each team consists of 22 operatives, including site supervision and machine operation and daily maintenance. All are multi- skilled and dedicated to the delivery.

See Image F:

Carl then showed slides of typical planning charts for a job, which include not only processes but also each team members’ function and relationship with those of colleagues. The system is now well proven, with the teams following the plan meticulously. In the rare cases of production shortfall or failure, the point in the process that this occurs is clearly defined and allows a recovery plan to be quickly developed and implemented.

Carl then spent time describing SBB’s defined processes for maintenance of S&C, which are part of its life extension strategy. He showed how component deterioration was predicted and then managed in a series of integrated interventions over time, in all cases the aim being to carry out maintenance as a planned activity. Often using recycled and refurbished components, the strategy has been effective in prolonging the life and performance of S&C and thus

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reducing the whole life cost. The strategy will also have the effect of reducing over time the annual complete renewal programme, the standardisation of design allowing major component replacement quickly and easily as part of the maintenance activity.

Finally Carl described how maintenance tamping is carried out by reference to the SBB database at each stage. For each individual site, the same process is followed:

- Site evaluated using 3D grid and TRC records - Results loaded into database and alignment designed. - Pre-tamping work carried out (e.g. ballast drop) - Tamper assigned – crew downloads 3D model of the work required. - Onsite, tamper establishes position by use of OLE spigots and PALAS, then carries out work

See Image A and Image G below:

- Measuring run to establish the “as built”. - Contractor uploads as built data to SBB database.

In this way the design and position status of the track and the OLE, together with the relationship to other infrastructure, is always available in the database.

PWI TV Section Secretary’s report

Malcolm reported on the visit of our members to the Swanage Railway which took place on 17 December. The visit was organised by Jim Wheeler, Chairman of Wessex Section, and included a return trip by heritage DMU from Swanage to Norden and then over the newly-refurbished section towards Worgret Junction. This was a most enjoyable and informative visit, and we are very grateful to Jim for the opportunity to ride the refurbished section of the line ahead of its official opening in June 2016. Together with colleagues from Wessex Section, we enhanced the day even further by travelling on the No.50 open-top bus from Bournemouth to Swanage and back, via the Sandbanks – Studland chain ferry!

6 January 2016

Technical Meeting

The Work of the Railway Heritage Trust, Andy Savage, Executive Director, Railway Heritage Trust.

Andy opened by describing his long career in the UK Railway industry, his association with railways abroad and his work with Heritage railways. He then moved on to his current role as Executive Director of the Railway Heritage Trust, describing its foundation, history, role and projects completed, current and envisaged.

Britain’s Railway Heritage – Arguably the richest railway heritage in the world, which developed in the 1820’s and is still growing with major projects at iconic stations such as Waterloo, St Pancras, King Cross and London Bridge in London, and at Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and others outside London.

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The Golden Age – From the early beginnings in the 1820’s by the end of the 19th Century the UK network comprised 19,000 miles of track, 9,000 stations, 60,000 bridges and 1,000 tunnels, together with a multitude of trackside buildings such as warehouses, engine sheds, signal boxes and railway staff cottages. There were (and are still) some amazing buildings and structures such as Huddersfield Station and Stockport Viaduct.

Today’s Railway – Developed over 185 years to the present system, but much of the original formation and infrastructure exists and continues to function as can be recognised in pictures from that time.

Changes of the Mid-20th Century – After 40 years of not recognising the need for and resisting change, the 1960’s brought realisation of the need to develop. However, historic buildings and structures were seen as old fashioned and in the way of progress, leading for example to keybattles at Euston and St. Pancras, in both of which Sir John Betjeman played important roles which shaped future policy.

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Formation of the Trust – Attitudes to preservation of our heritage changed from the late 1960’s and increasingly railway structures became subject to legal restraint. There are currently 1650 operational listed buildings and structures and 100 ancient monuments in Network Rail’s custody and the network runs through some 17,000 conservation areas.

Following an RSA conference on “The Future of Railway Heritage” in 1984, British Rail announced the formation of the Railway Heritage Trust and this became operational in April 1985. It is an independent registered company, limited by guarantee, supported by Network Rail and Highways England (Historical Railways Estate).

The Remit of the Trust is:

- The conservation and enhancement of railway buildings and structures which are listed or scheduled, and are of special architectural or historical interest. - To act as a catalyst between outside parties and owners on the conservation and alternative use of non-operational property, including the possible transfer of responsibility to local trusts or other interested organisations.

The Scope of the Trust’s Work is:

- Listed buildings and structures - Buildings and structures in conservation areas - Connected with the national railway system (Network Rail and Highways England, Historical Railways Estate) - The Trust does not support projects on railways which are not owned by NR or HRE.

The Extent of the Trust’s Work:

1483 grants have been awarded over the past 30 years, value of the grants total £48 million with a further £63 million of external funding drawn in, enabling £111 million worth of work to be carried out.

Andy then described in detail some specific RHT Projects:

Bridges:

Lambley Viaduct, railway closed in 1976 but by the early 1990’s there were major defects in spandrels, parapets and waterproofing. Funding obtained for repairs from various bodies, following which it was transferred to local Trust and is now a public walk and cycle way. HRE still owns 44 listed viaducts.

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Conwy Bridge – Dating from 1849 and the only survivor of this design, Grade 2 listed and an Ancient Monument. Repairs and painting carried out to this operational structure.

New Bailey Street Bridge, Manchester, full restoration carried out including decorative metal work to bridge and columns.

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Stations: Whitby, cluttered appearance, not looking like a “gateway”. RHT, local authority and the then Regional Railways funded improvements which have transformed the overall appearance and ambience which contribute much to the tourist experience.

Boston, 1848 design by local architect, with five arch portico leading to the booking hall. Much degraded over the years, in the 1990’s RHT and other bodies funded restoration of the arches and surrounding areas.

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Great Malvern, designed by Elmslie and opened in 1860. Very complex cast iron column mouldings. Fully restored by RHT.

Littleborough, L&YR station of 1839, interior restored and all painted in L&YR colours. Aylesford, opened in 1856, Kentish stone with Caen stone dressings. Major restoration including masonry and chimney repairs.

Liverpool Lime Street, 1879 train shed, cluttered frontage with inappropriate retail development. RHT involved in major scheme to open out station front and improve public realm, which has transformed the impressive stepped approach to this major station.

Surbiton, Art décor building refurbished and restored.

Moorthorpe, S&K station of c1879, one of only two remaining. RHT contributed to Town Council funding of major restoration.

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Newcastle on Tyne, Grade 1 listed building, three Dobson train shed curved barrels and a Bell straight barrel. Major restoration work since late 1990’s has transformed this iconic station for passengers and visitors alike.

Sheffield Midland, 12-year project to restore station as a gateway to the city. Much work to canopies in preparation for MML electrification.

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Birmingham Moor Street Station, near derelict but restored to its 1909 construction. Superb, very traditional GW layout and signage but with modern facilities.

Other Infrastructure:

Settle and Carlisle Line, Whole route is a conservation area and RHT have contributed over £1 million to the route, with an on-going involvement. Projects have included Ribblehead Viaduct, Dent Station platform shelter, historic MR- style lighting at Dent and Horton-in-Ribblesdale stations and dry stone walling.

Summit Signing, RHT funding for signs at Druimuachdar and Corrour.

St. Albans Signal Box, Iconic MR box restored as a working museum. Only around 500 still in use on network, all will become redundant over the next 15-20 years.

Memorials, Many exist recalling the history of the railways. RHT focus on those recalling heroism and challenge, including: Britannia Bridge Memorial to those who died during its original construction and during its reconstruction following catastrophic fire damage; War Memorials at Derby, York, King Cross and Stratford-on-Avon; and the Graves of the victims of the Bromsgrove train disaster.

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In conclusion, Andy said that the RHT has spent three decades supporting the restoration of the heritage of our national railway system: - In situ where still needed. - Finding a new future when the railway does not need it operationally. - Bringing money into the railway. The organisation is looking forward to carrying on with this work!

At the conclusion of Andy’s talk, the Chairman conducted a lively Q & A session which further increased our knowledge and understanding of the work of the Trust.

Jeremy brought the session to a close, then asked Mick James to propose the Vote of Thanks to Andy. Mick said that we had all been impressed by the scope of the work undertaken by the Trust which is guaranteeing the preservation of our railway heritage, and which Andy had described in fascinating detail. He said that the diversity of the projects was of particular interest and some surprise, for example the work to restore memorials to railway employees at various locations. Mick then asked everyone present to support his motion to Andy; this was carried with acclamation.

The Chairman then introduced our Speaker for the evening, Paul Dawkins, RfL Technical Assurance Engineer and invited him to present his paper entitled “Crossrail Depot at Old Oak Common for Class 345 Units”

3 February 2016

Crossrail Depot at Old Oak Common for Class 345 Units

Paul first of all gave a brief description of his background, and then of his present role as RfL’s Technical Assurance Engineer.

He said that he would concentrate on the Depot currently being constructed at Old Oak Common for Crossrail to service and maintain the fleet of Class 345 EMUs which will operate on the Crossrail routes to be progressively introduced between mid-2017 and late-2019.

Next Paul listed the contents of his presentation:

Contents Class 345 Timelines The Method of Procurement The Depot as an Element of the System Scope of Works Update on Progress Key Milestones Top Level Risks

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Taking the contents in order, Paul described the Class 345 concept and its main design features and technical specification:

Class 345 EMU

Crossrail Class 345 EMU – Builder - Bombardier - Aventra platform. Build of 66 units of which 59 are required in service every day. Initially there will be a mix of full length 9 car trains (205m long) and reduced length 7 car trains for the services from Liverpool Street high level (166m long). All reduced length vehicles will be lengthened to 9 cars once the central section has been opened.

Class 345 body shell under construction (Source Bombardier Transportation) Next, Paul showed the proposed progressive introduction of the Crossrail routes, culminating with the complete range of services as depicted in the diagram of Stage 5. The OOC Depot is to be opened in stages to coincide with this progressive introduction of services:

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Timelines - Crossrail Class 345 into Service

- Stage 1 GE Services Shenfield to Liverpool Street High Level - from May 2017 - Stage 2 Paddington High Level (existing) to Heathrow April 2018 - Stage 3 Paddington Low Level (Crossrail) to Abbey Wood Dec 2018 - Stage 4 Paddington Low level to Abbey Wood and Shenfield May 2019 - Stage 5 Fully Open Dec 2019

OOC specific Timelines

Very large depot to be built and opened in stages as below

- Commencement date April 2014 - (Ilford Yard) (Feb 2017) - Depot Section A 21 May 2017 - Depot Section B 13 Oct 2017 - Depot Section C 20 May 2018 - Assimilation activity - Contractual Fleet Acceptance date 30 April 2020

Paul then described the Method of Procurement for the EMU fleet, the OOC Depot and its facilities and the stabling, servicing and maintenance of the fleet at the Depot for the 30-year Agreement Term:

Method of Procurement

- An Agreement between RfL (wholly owned subsidiary of TfL) and Bombardier Transportation - BT will supply an initial fleet of 66 Class 345 emus, 59 of which are required in service every day - BT is contracted to design and build a depot to stable, service and maintain the fleet for the term of the Agreement (16th April 2046) - The assets will be handed back to RfL at the end of the Term of the Agreement - It is a functional and performance based Agreement - Technical risk is owned by Bombardier - RfL’s interest is in delivery of the specified functional requirements and hand back condition - Progressive Assurance is the key tool

The new Depot will be an essential element in the day-to-day operation of the Crossrail routes. Paul described its role and the train fleet’s interfaces with the route-wide infrastructure:

The Depot as an Element of the Crossrail System

The Depot is located centrally in the Crossrail system being roughly equidistant from Maidenhead and Shenfield

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- The depot will be unregulated - Will be physically connected to NR infrastructure at Old Oak common - Has interfaces with NR for power supply, operational control communications, GSM-R, Romford

Route Control Centre and Thames Valley Signalling Control Centre

- The Depot has no direct interface with the Central Section of Crossrail

With the aid of many slides Paul then enumerated the scope of works to create the new Depot and its facilities to enable the future servicing and maintenance of the train fleet to be achieved in accordance with the Agreement between Bombardier Transportation and Crossrail:

Bombardier Transportation scope of works

- Up to 12 trains per hour to be signalled into and out of traffic to and from the depot - Overnight stabling for a minimum of 33 trains - Enable all aspects of train cleaning inside and out, to be undertaken - Undertake train maintenance including light overhaul, exchange of bogies, wheel sets, motors and other principal on-train equipment for a full CRL fleet of up to 84 Units - Passive provision being made to extend to accommodate 245m long trains whilst depot is operational

Old Oak Common (Reference Design)

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Depot will be fully signalled with Bombardier Yard safe System

Visualisation of vehicle health and Automated Vehicle Inspection System (AVIS)

- OEM (MRX Technologies’) Vehicle Equipment Measuring System (VEMS) - Inclusive of Brake Pad Measuring System, Brake Disc Measuring System, Wheel Profile Measuring System, Axle End Temperature Measuring System, Pantograph Wear Measuring System, Visual Inspection System and Wheel Damage Inspection System - Bombardier’s Orbita software

Creating a unique interface to the VEMS equipment

Application of decision support software algorithms onto the VEMS event data to raise applicable Maintenance Alerts for system maintenance

- Such alerts can relate to absolute wear limits, trend anomalies or urgent system defects Reporting to facilitate trend analysis and component life cycle analysis Bombardier’s Maximo asset management software

- Linked to Orbita, and generating automated Work Reminders/Work Orders - Provision of environment (mileage) data to the VEMS equipment - Reporting to facilitate trend analysis and component life cycle analysis - Dynamic Planning System (future development requirement) providing a visual overlay of ALL outstanding recorded work for each train

Linked to Maximo for resource and parts allocation allows certain tasks to be ‘dragged and dropped’ such that maintenance planners can rationalise a combination of conventional and CBM generated tasks in maintenance planning.

Update on Progress and Key Milestones

Paul then described how the construction of the Depot was progressing, with detailed explanation regarding the methodology and logistics chosen for the various elements. He discussed some of the design features and the rationale behind them. He said that good progress was being made which should enable the commissioning stages to take place in accordance with the overall Project Programme.

Key Risks There are some key risks to the full completion of the Depot which are currently being evaluated: - ARS (Automatic Route setting) Software Design - Network Rail Enabling Works (de-scoping of 2015) - GSM-R capacity for voice and data - Traction Power capacity (15MW capacity limit) - HS2 Construction of deep level station box

Finally Paul showed a series of pictures illustrating the Depot construction works in progress from May 2014 to December 2016.

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A simulated aerial view of the completed Depot:

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Depot construction works in progress in December 2015: December 2015

At the conclusion of Paul’s talk, the Chairman conducted a lively Q & A session which further increased our knowledge and understanding of the Depot build and future operation.

Jeremy brought the session to a close, and then asked Ray Pocock to propose the Vote of Thanks to Paul. Ray said that many of us present knew the site at OOC, and could therefore appreciate the problems being encountered and overcome. He said that Paul had taken us through the processes and decision making clearly and concisely, and given us an excellent overview of the facilities being provided.

Having known and worked with Paul for many years Ray said that he had anticipated that Paul would provide us with comprehensive detail of the project, and this had indeed proved to be the case. Ray then asked everyone present to support his motion to Paul; this was carried with acclamation.

WESSEX SECTION

5 January 2016

Jim Wheeler, Wessex Chairman, welcomed 23 members and guests to the Rose and Crown at Waterloo for the first meeting of 2016.

After the usual preliminaries Jim welcomed Simon Blanchflower, Major Programme Director, Thameslink, to present the latest news of the Project just 36 hours after the successful completion of the Christmas – New Year blockade. As we all knew there had been no over-run Simon kept the latest part of the story until last, and started by setting out the scheme’s key outputs: Connectivity, Capacity and Frequency. The estimated final cost (in the region of £6.5bn) covers a very wide range of sub-projects that in themselves would be described as mega-projects. The significant infrastructure work, bridges, track, signalling, power supply, etc. is paralleled by new fixed formation trains, new depots, and new stabling sidings spread from Peterborough to Brighton – and the whole lot is being delivered in the evolving world of a refranchising process which will produce the biggest UK franchise of all.

Key output 1 was achieved in 2012 with the completion of the remodelled Blackfriars station and the introduction of 12 car trains over the core section of the route.

Since 2012 the project has been focussed on the last tranche of work needed to permit the achievement of Key Output 2, 24 trains per hour (tph) operation through the core, with 16tph running through London Bridge in the peak, with Automatic Train Operation (ATO) from north of St Pancras to Elephant & Castle and London Bridge. The job requires the full reconstruction of London Bridge station with new track on new alignments (often with large new or significantly modified structures) from Metropolitan Junction in the west to New Cross and New Cross Gate in the east. In the staged resignalling process the whole area from Charing Cross and Cannon Street stations will ultimately be controlled from the new ROC at Three Bridges. So far 3 of the 9 London Bridge panels have been transferred. Given that London Bridge had the 4th largest footfall of all London stations when work started, and the numbers have continued to grow since (currently 56m per year, excluding passengers not boarding or alighting here), it is easy to understand why the occasional crowding problems have exercised the politicians, both local and national! But while there is still a lot of work to be done the summer of 2016 will bring some very visible progress.

The reconstruction of the London Bridge area involves a railway 100% raised on arches and bridges which themselves evolved piecemeal from early construction for the 1836 opening of the London & Greenwich Railway. To open-up access suitable for the current passenger numbers, plus a 35% allowance for growth, a new concourse is being created right through the middle of the viaduct. It will be the biggest in Britain, the size of the pitch at Wembley. The old station had 9 terminus platforms on the south side and 6 through platforms for services to Charing Cross and Cannon Street. With effect from 4th January 2016 the 9 have been reduced to 6 new 12 car terminal platforms (apart from platform 15 which is only 10 car) and the first 3 of (ultimately 9) new through platforms have been constructed, though trains on these tracks currently run through without stopping. The first passenger access to these 3 platforms will come in August when the southern half of the new concourse will be opened to provide the necessary way in and out for the public! This is only possible when the construction access shifts to the north side of the viaduct.

As part of the latest blockade the new viaduct between the station and Metropolitan Junction has been brought into use. When the next stage of the works is completed this will give 4 tracks across the street-level Borough Market and

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these will ultimately be arranged as two tracks for Charing Cross trains, and two for Thameslink services. The new concourse will be quite a cathedral of space. The tracks and platforms are carried over it on individual bridges with a large amount of natural light being channelled down to the street level circulation area. Lifts, escalators and stairs will connect to the 1/3rd and 2/3rd points on the 12 car platforms above. The civils work has a considerable amount of cyclic repetition which has allowed the main contractor, Costain, to find ways of saving time – just as well as the programme assumed they would!

The new arrangements have necessitated the demolition of a significant amount of “heritage” structure and to preserve some of the “feel” of what has been lost two particular initiatives have been taken. Firstly, the south face of the new viaduct, along St Thomas’s Street, is designed as a brick arch façade in the old style. Actually manufactured off-site as precast concrete panels, complete with facing brickwork, the finished result is already getting considerable praise. A second “nod” to a feature of the old station will be seen later in the area to be called the Western Arcade. This is a widening of the old connection to the Underground station where a feature of the existing viaduct is a series of quadripartite arches (sets of arches intersecting at right-angles). Modern in-situ concrete columns and arches will mimic the adjacent heritage ones to create the widening.

A construction site almost as big as the London Bridge station activities is to be found a couple of miles to the east, at Bermondsey. Here large sections of the several parallel viaducts are being modified or replaced to create a 4 track dive-under to grade-separate the Thameslink tracks from the rest, and position them between the lines to Charing Cross and those to Cannon Street. A lot of the demolition material is being reused on site as are some of the arch piers and foundations.

Whilst the dive-under progresses towards a first stage opening at New Year 2017 the 8 tracks running in from here to London Bridge are reduced to 4. Major slues are taking place on a quite regular basis to incrementally achieve the final alignments after repairs and strengthening to bridges and structures have been completed along the way. Normal EMU traffic only requires RA4 but RA8 must be achieved – otherwise there could be no engineer’s trains for future maintenance!

So what happened over the festive (for some of us) season in the London Bridge area? Four major slews over lengths of 250m were reopened at line speed. Metropolitan Junction was removed and 14 point ends commissioned. A large amount of old track was recovered, gantries removed, scrap and old cable cleared away. After re-controlling the Charing Cross signalling to Three Bridges ROC various route proving and driver familiarisation trains were operated under electric power before final signing back into use in time for start of service on 4th January.

Simon concluded his talk with a short description of the new Class 700 trains and in particular the progress on introducing ETCS through the central section. The Class 313 test train has now run through to Blackfriars/Elephant & Castle with ETCS operational and progress is being made towards the ATO testing with the class 700 train. Although colour light signals will be retained simulations show that even running on single yellows it would not be possible to get the 24 trains per hour reliably with the current defensive driving techniques. The ATO is needed to get the trains to perform nearer to their capability and so generate the capacity. Interestingly, to get the headways, a dwell time of just 60 seconds is required and the doors will be only fully opened for 27 seconds!

This, and many other points, provoked some interesting discussions as part of the animated questions raised both during and after the presentation. Inevitably this report skims over many interesting aspects of Simon’s talk but the round of applause following the Vote of Thanks clearly reflected the extent to which we had been impressed.

WEST OF ENGLAND SECTION

20 January 2016

Track Renewals: Network Rail ‘Transforming’ and becoming a more ‘Intelligent Client’

Nick Millington (Project Director Network Rail) gave a high level review of the way Network Rail has to transform to become a more intelligent client. The presentation reviewed working practices and how technology is being introduced into the working practice to drive efficiency into the track renewal process. Nick went on to explain what initiatives are being put in place for conventional plain line renewals and explained what new machinery is being introduce into the UK by the Principal Contractors on modern S&C installation. The process of marginal gains was explained as key to the success by improving/developing old railway practise; as well as the importance of clear communication between Network Rail Operations and the TOCs.

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Other areas of development discussed included higher handback speeds of 80mph to be adopted as the norm, installation of S&C in modular construction, moving away from long possessions for conventional renewals to short possessions. Nick further explained the commercial aspirations of driving down the unit rate cost of delivering renewals nationally and how Network Rail are developing the future renewals with the efficiency integrated into the future renewals programmes.

WEST YORKSHIRE SECTION

16 February 2016

The Borders Railway - Jonathan Hepton

Jonathan was employed as a link between the three councils involved, Edinburgh, Midlothian and Borders, the contractors and Transport Scotland.

The Waverley Route between Carlisle and Edinburgh, closed in 1969 as a result of the Beeching cuts, was of more use as a through route than to generate traffic locally, especially at it southern end. Its hilly and sinuous nature had dictated relatively slow speeds.

In the 1990’s, closure of companies in the Borders caused major job losses leading to the councils forming a working group to investigate the re-establishment of the rail link as a means of economic regeneration. Tweedbank was seen as the optimal terminus with Selkirk and Hawick also being considered. Continuing to Carlisle was seen as non-viable. The initial estimate was £130M.

New Rights of Way would be needed due to new roads or buildings and displacement of post 1969 agricultural transit routes would require considerable accommodation works.

!n 2000 a bill was presented to the Scottish Parliament identifying 600 affected properties and requiring the purchase of 400 plots. Compulsory purchase powers were included but, in the event, these were rarely used. The bill was successful in 2006 and the councils were duly authorised, a right they assigned to Transport Scotland. Network Rail eventually became the lead contractor.

Construction took place 2012-2015 and cost £294M. The Edinburgh bypass was closed for 6 weeks to allow bridge construction. Most of the line is single with two dynamic passing loops. Use has been made of the width of the previous double track formation to ease curves and raise speeds (at the expense of future expansion). However, provision for charter trains has been made.

The new railway opened on 6 Sept.2015 and provides 30 miles of new railway, 7 new stations and a half hour train frequency.

As the line has carried 500,000 in its first 4 months, its annual figure should be comfortably within the consultants’ estimate of 650,000 to 1,000,000.

YORK SECTION

3 December 2015

On Thursday 3rd December 2015 in Network Rail’s George Stephenson House York, PWI Honorary Life Member Gordon Reed gave a presentation on ‘A Railway Life’. Ken Aiston gave a brief introduction stating Gordon had stated his interest in railways started whilst visiting his aunt in Bellingham during the Second World War, admiring the out based LNER Queen Street Museum locomotives in nearby Reedsmouth shed. The talk and slide presentation, using Gordon’s own photos, took the audience through his railway career through BR and then on as a heritage volunteer. Although a Leeds PWI member, Gordon regularly also attends the York section meetings.

Gordon explained that he had initially applied to become a Premium Apprentice at the LNER Darlington locomotive works in 1948. However, his destiny was set when he was appointed as an apprentice Boilermaker. Showing several slides of boiler making within the works Gordon described the boilermaker’s skills. After National Service between 1954 and 1956 in the Royal Engineers Railway Division at Marchwood; and when Darlington Works was about to

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close, Gordon transferred to West Auckland maintenance shed. Gordon met and later married his wife Joyce who worked in the offices at West Auckland shed. In 1964 towards the end of steam traction Gordon transferred to the BR(ER) Civil Engineers Rail Welding depot at Dinsdale, near Darlington. Gordon progressed through various related welding supervisory posts at the ACE Leeds and RCE York offices; ending his BR career as the BR(ER) Regional Welding Manager. He then described working for a short time as a Consultant, producing a handbook on rail welding for the London Underground.

Over the years he managed to keep up his boilersmith’s skills and becoming a volunteer to the K&WVR, NRM and other heritage railways. In 2014 Gordon was awarded a National Lifetime Award for 25 years voluntary service after a nomination by the National Railway Museum, York. He worked on riveting a new cab for the restored Flying Scotsman loco. This was an interesting talk and slide show which described one man’s career over an ever changing British railway. A Vote of Thanks was given by Chairman Ian Kitching.

14 January 2016

On a wintery evening on the 14th January 2016 25 York members and guests assembled for a technical paper by Network Rail’s Clare Brint and George Drum, entitled ‘Repairing the Unstone Landslip’ at Chesterfield. Clare presented the geotechnical investigation and remedial works; followed by George explained the track monitoring and track repair works, plus traffic diversion requirements. This project had previously featured as a technical paper in the Oct 2014 PWI Journal. The following is a synopsis and update to the paper.

The site had not given concern for over thirty years but investigation of records identified the slope had been the site for tipping material stripped from an adjacent problem bank slope in the past. Clare suggested the title on old plans, ‘Spring Wood’, gives some indication of what was lubricating the slip area. The adjoining landowner was found to have been tipping some material at the top of the slip area: he was gaining access across a buried bank top high pressure gas main.

Poor ride was initially reported by train drivers. Track cross-level and visual monitoring was carried out. Deteriorating track condition from the New Measurement Train traces were noted. Emergency track speed restrictions were gradually imposed. Additional remote monitoring equipment, Track MATE, was installed. When ground heave and excessive cant variations were detected the Up Line it was closed to traffic. The Down Line remained available during all the Up side remedial work.

Within six weeks a rock fill shear key, or cut-off-trench, was installed across the toe of the slip area and the Up Line was HOBC re-ballasted and recanted to enable it to be opened to traffic. Additional shear keys and counterfort drains have been installed across the site. No subsequent ground movement have been found above the initial rock shear key installed adjacent to the Up Cess; however ground movement has been detected further up the slope, above each of the other two new rock shear keys. Clare stated this movement maybe caused by the settling in of the additional rock shear keys. George stated the old Up Line track is programmed for a deep dig and new ballast with track relaying in 2017. Monitoring continues. The remedial earthworks, without the trackwork element, have cost over £2m. After several interesting questions and comments from the audience the Chairman, Ian Kitching, proposed a Vote of Thanks. This was a very well presented technical paper, which attracted younger engineers. Clare ended the meeting with a few recent photographs of the current Newcastle –Carlisle route washouts and bank slips. (16M+2VM+1V)

A request to the Canal and River Trust for a York PWI presentation resulted in the Director (North) David Crane presenting ‘Maintaining the Northern Canals’ on the 4th February 2016. David introduced himself and explained his career progress over the last twenty five years within the waterways organisation, from a civil engineering Bridge Engineer to Director (North). This was a well-illustrated presentation on the historical background, organisation, financing and civil engineering maintenance of the northern canals. David ended his presentation with a round-up of the flood damage and resulting repairs caused by the recent Boxing Day 2015 floods.

The company’s Trust status dates from 2010. The previously company’s origins are from the 1948 creation of the British Transport Board, which took over as one of its core businesses the management of the private railway owned canal systems. The previous company British Waterways Board was formed in 1963. The Trust serves as the navigation authority for the majority of operational canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland and Wales. David explained that commercial traffic has all but disappeared, being replaced exclusively by leisure craft. Currently there are over 34,000 licensed boats. Total annual business turnover is £180m. The CRT takes care of 2,000 miles of historic canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs in England and Wales. They have 1,583 locks; 55 tunnels; 2963 bridges; 336 aqueducts and 75 reservoirs. The CRT has more listed buildings than any other organisation, excepting the National Trust and the Church of England.

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David gave a brief history describing how Canal Mania between 1761 and 1830, resulted in over 4250 miles of canal being built, prior to the railway age and decline. Between 1960 and 1990 an upsurge in interest in canal heritage helped stop wholesale canal closure and several restoration projects. Thousands of volunteer hours have been recorded on restoration projects.. Health and Safety legislation, insurance and resulting liabilities restricts what volunteers can now do on the operational canals. Most of the basic infrastructure is from an initial build from over 200 years ago. David stated the Trust tries to use traditional materials for repairs, sympathetic to the original construction, and avoids concrete structures were possible. He stated that canal heritage was like ‘a living, working, breathing operational museum.’ He stated ‘the engineering tends to be to a mend and make do specification’. Towpath improvements by local authorities has created new linear recreational corridors but increased the conflict between cyclists, walkers and fishermen. Kier Construction are the current call-off civils contractor. David described the inspection and asset monitoring processes. Also, the ranking system to give work priorities; and the approval process: very similar but different to rail systems. Pre-work consultation now includes all parties, not just the Engineer and the Contractor.

High risk assets are leaking reservoirs, embankments and culverts. Periodic length inspection is the basic reporting process. Public complaints about lock gate condition etc. are reported through Customer Services. He briefly explained the ultra sound depth measuring system used to determine where dredging was required. New income is being generated by leasing access for hydro- electricity water powered generators at weirs. The CRT has a 5year planned priority list for projects. Unplanned stoppage works also occur and the December 2015 north of England flood damage was described in detail. This northern flood damage is currently estimated at £15m. After questions a Vote of Thanks was given by the Section Secretary in the absence of the Section Chairman. This was an interesting presentation about an alternate heritage transport system.

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