Bridge that Gap: Great Central Railway News

I hope the Gap will be closed circa 2050...

 

I do sincerely hope well before then, I don't think I'll make it to 99 years old!

 

Thanks for the info (I too rely on the Bridging the Gap website for updates.....) I'm surprised this wasn't in the issue of Mainline that landed on my doormat last week, I can't be alone in wondering what's next after the MML bridge is completed. Still, next Autumn- that gives them a bit of a breather I suppose to replenish the funds before pressing on.

 

There's still a lot to do with the MML bridge - decking to be added + all the other things that will presumably be needed before it is deemed "finished" - like building the engineers blue brickwork "cladding" around the two concrete piers.
There was some talk in a MainLine earlier this year regarding experimenting with possible embankment construction methods on the section between GCR(N) and the MML bridge, so they might still be thinking of doing that in the meantime.
At least an identifiable structure to restore in the form of the canal bridge gives another target to achieve for a fundraising drive - and, at the end of the day, the whole link is only going to be completed when the money is to hand to complete the job. Would be interesting to know if there is likely to be any further funding from Public/Government bodies towards the whole scheme at some stage in the future.

 

I will definitely have to make the effort to free myself from my job and manager's clutches for a day and visit when its completed. This is incredible work.

 

Has anyone got any updates on whether the bridge decks are now in place? It's gone very quiet both here and on the various GCR Facebook pages

 

traveled under the bridge a couple of times last week no decking fitted yet. work seems to be concentrating on the 2 support structures a cement mixer was in use on top of the north side concrete pillar on tuesday

Colin

 

I caught a quick glance at it tarvelling to/ from Loughborough for the Gala this weekend. Looked as though there were three or four deck panels in place, working from the centre out. I also saw a post on facebook yesterday that two more deck panels were fitted on Saturday night.

 

It does beg the question. For restoring railway routes and lost links, is it cheaper to reinstate existing bridge structures, or replace them with modern ones?

 

not sure I understand the question? to reinstate existing bridge structures Not sure how you reinstate something already existing
maybe refurbish or repair?

Colin

 

I don't see that there can be a general answer - it all depends on what is there and its condition. Every example will be different and must be assessed accordingly.

Andy

 

In this example the bridge over the MML is missing so has to be new but the bridge over the canal is there and going to be refurbished. But as has already been stated every case will be unique.

Sawdust.

 

I'm not a bridge engineer, so maybe speaking out of turn, but I'm surprised that putting the decks in seems to be difficult. I would have thought the bridge would have been trial-assembled at the builders, so once the beams were craned it would have been quick and simple to assemble the rest. Any thoughts?

Andy

 

It's not the actual time to put in the deck it's what it goes over. I am assuming that this can only be done during a possession of the MML which means limited working hours and usually in the middle of the night.

 

According to one of the GCR Facebook groups, they been 'offering up' a section, finding it doesn't fit, and then trying it somewhere else! Maybe they simply forgot to paint numbers 1 to 7 on the decks so it was obvious what order they fit in...............

 

That's a FB post from someone who was thrown out of one of the other GC FB groups so how informed is that comment? (Note, I have no idea, by the way.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

No idea how informed, although I assume he must have been watching to get the photos!

 

Bridges are ridiculously expensive, from what I can gather to refurbish than to replace. It set the Blaenavon boys and the council back between £162K and £323K just to get a mile in distance while retaining as much of the original structures as possible. The site's link the the development pages, explaining this in more detail, are all regrettably gone, but I think for one of them over a disused road to Big Pit... it still has the original deck, aesthetically speaking, but a massive girder was installed underneath, effectively meaning the bridge now has no clearance.

(Baffles me as to why the Inspector thought it needed a 10mph speed restriction - that's as modern as you can get!)

As I say, I think in this day and age, its cheaper to get contractors to just install a new construct... I wonder if GCR had the original bridges, not demolished, but were all derelict from no maintenance, if the project would have cost a million more or so...

 

As people have said up thread, surely each case is different? I'm fairly sure repairing the viaduct at East Grinstead cost the Bluebell a lot less than replacement with a new one would have done.

 

No, I'm talking bridges, not full blown viaducts, god no.