York Scarborough railway bridge emergency weight limation

Whilst waiting for the Royal train today at Colton junction, I had it confirmed by three different sources that an emergency weight restriction has been placed upon the railway bridge over the River Ouse on the Scarborough line for the foreseeable future due to an issue with the foundations. This limit will preclude any engine with an axle limit higher than a Black 5 from crossing, ruling out all of the Pacific locos on the mainline. This must be seriously bad news for RTC and other tour operators and will mean we are in for a fairly predictable Summer on the Spa express if true. Has anyone else heard this? I'm surprised it has not come to light as the Duchess is due on the 21st April?
Cheers
Duncan

 

Shocking spelling I mean of course limitation

 

I wondered about that too.......showing still going ahead on UKSteam...........

 

It mentioned in another thread Re: RTC trips from Crewe, that 60009 is not allowed across this bridge, but 46233 and 70013 are still allowed.

 

WCRC's James Shuttleworth has posted in the 60009 thread that "Network Rail have dealt with this matter, via the Network Change procedure; they also advised, specifically, which locomotives can and cannot be used, until repairs are effected" - thankfully it appears only certain engine's are affected, and with 46233 approved there's no obviously blanket ban on larger locomotives.

Chris

 

I asked the question about the Duchess previously and Ben from Vintage Trains seemed informed that 46233 was going to be fine.

Would than mean an A4's axleloading is higher than a Duchess ?, just seems suprising on the face of it.

 

Latest Railway Herald suggests that 60163, 71000 and A4's cannot cross the bridge, but all others should be ok.

It also says that there is a trip planned for 60163 to Scarborough later in the year and that is still intended to go ahead and information will be gathered during its crossing to decide on any future movements for these loco's in question.

 

Well that's a relief about the Duchess, but a real shame for Bittern

 

Duchess 362,000 total weight
A4 370,000 total weight

Is this a weight factor or not?

 

Maximum bridge loads are normally based on the Route Availability, which depends both on axle loads AND the distribution of the load. As I recall, the Duchess is RA8 and A4 is RA9. I suspect the difference may be due to the tender on the A4 which is very heavy.

David

 

It's only part of the story - the major issue is axle loading

 

I just looked up the stats for the axle loading and the Duchess has a heavier axle loading than the a4.
A4 49,500 pounds (22.5t?)
Duchess 52,500 pounds (24t)

Since I don't completely understand these axle loading numbers, Is there reason to be concerned?
Does anyone have different info for axle loadings and weight?

 

See my previous post. It depends on the load on each axle and how far apart the axles are, not just the maximum axle load !

David