NYMR Winter PW Works 2018 - 2019

Rerailing work at Goathland is now viewable on the Station webcam.
Or more correctly cropping of dipped rail ends and move of the joint to a new bed.
I think the total amount of rails to be moved are about 26 lengths on this site.
Br 31 - 32 site already completed.

https://www.nymr.co.uk/goathland-webcam

 

How much do you usually cut from the ends of the rails?

Also how deep do you remake the ballast under where the dips were?

( Dipped joints and how you can best retrieve them have long been a particular interest of mine.)

 

Currently to extend the life, by approx 5 years, of a BH Rail Concrete sleeper section, we have installed 2 pairs of lightly worn BH rail with both sets of bolt holes cut off Trimming the rail end to fall mid bay.
The intention is in about 5 years to do a Reballast / Relay in Concrete FB Rail with approx 150mm ballast.
The displaced rail is then moved down, both ends have a bay cut off, leaving them at approx 57ft.
All original fishplates, other than in the new rails, are reused in their original rail positions to match existing lift plated rails.
This has the effect of moving the old joint beds a significant distance away from the original position and removes ballast memory.
By about the 5th length the joint will move about half a rail length.

Closures will be installed with more lightly worn rail recovered from a previous renewal site on Levisham straight.
No reballasting is being done other than a possible light stone tip to fill up beds before a pass with the tamper.
I believe we have just completed the work extending for approx 950yds over 2 work sites.

 

That sounds like a hard way of doing it. Wouldn't you be better just straightening the joints and Kangoing with fresh granite chipping to get rid of the ballast memory? Ballast memory is more usually associated with trying to tamp jointed track which never works well.

 

Straightening joints is possible but does not last.
Dipped joints are really bent rail ends and trying to unbend rail can and does result in the risk of breaking the rail.
Tamping will not cure it and neither will jacking and packing as a lasting treatment, maybe short term.
The only real cure is to move the joint away from the dipped area, repacking the dropped sleepers.
BR used to have Rail End Straightening machines but they broke more joints than they straightened, you do not see the machines around anymore does that tell you something.

 

The latest issue of Nigel's News has appeared.
https://www.nymr.co.uk/blog/civil-engineering-diary-november-2018

 

Rail end straightening is still carried out, that is why NR made a video of how it should be done in 2017. If it is done properly there is no reason why you should break rails. You cannot do it if you only have one machine and the limit is 4mm because you have to add the rail flex to that, the joint should be ultrasonically tested no longer than 14 days prior to the job and all holes drilled in rails should be cold bolt expanded before brought into use.
I don't understand why you would want to move the joint to a different area just because the bed had become voided, that is easily rectified with MSP and if that had been done regularly the joint probably wouldn't have dipped in the first place. Non of this is cheap that is why CWR is more economic than expensive jointed track and allows the use of tamping machines.

 

As I said earlier this is a life extension measure to get another 5 years or so out of the existing track before a CWR Reballast / Relay.
The joints are significantly dipped, but we have found that this measure does work for us.
Tampers are already in use on the line whether it be old jointed track or new CWR.
A tamper is planned to work on these 2 sites this sunday to repack the voids.

This winters relay is of a site in the same material, BH rail on Concrete sleepers with short lengths down to 39ft.
600 G44 sleepers and CEN60 rail being installed on about half the site and FB 113A / F27 for the remainder.

Nigel Trotter , the Civil Engineer for the NYMR decides what he wants and how. He may or may not explain why in his notes which I post up when they appear.

I just pass along detail that may interest others.

 

It's probably the tamper that caused the problem in the first place, or at least made it worse.

 

I think the original relay back in the 80,s may not have provided any ballast depth on top of worn ash.
Tampers have been on this section but not as a regular working.

 

Latest update from Nigel.
https://www.nymr.co.uk/blog/civil-engineering-diary-late-november-2018

 

Prep work in progress at Green End for the upcoming relay.

Total length 1265yd - 1165m into CWR on FB113/ F27 / cen 60 G44sleepers
To be completed in 3 phases.
Jan - Feb Conc PW Hut to near Br 37
Feb - Mar To Deviation.
Lastly a 12 length stretch between the Hut and Br 33 to have the sleepers respaced from 24 to 26 / per 60ft.

 

State of play Sat 5th Jan
Looks like approx 12 lengths of BH rail tipped out and loaded to BORAIL for transport to Newbridge.
About 2 lengths worth of Conc BH sleepers uplifted and stacked for loading later.
Digger to start profiling the bed ready for relay of G44 concrete sleepers and new FB 113A rails.
Part of the relay will be using deeper CEN60 rail which will need transition rails and a slightly deeper dig.






Transition rail note the step in the foot.

 

Well done! CEN60 rail and G44 sleepers is full mainline standards and with careful maintenance will last for many years. (There is a place for 2nd hand sleepers old bull head rail and ash ballast but Green End with a severe gradient and curved formation is not that palce.)
I know some purists will grumble it is not prototypical, but buying the best is a good investment for a working railway with more movements and heavier axle loadings than quite a few Network Rail lines.

Cheers, Neil

 

It is not the first use of CEN60 on the NYMR.
Some was installed on Beck Hole straight a couple of years back.

 

Always pleased to read of long term measures to improve the long term viability of the railway such as this. Anybody who cannot see the benefits of such improvements is more than a few pennies short of a shilling.

Brian

 

A bumper double issue today after a bit of a delay for Christmas
https://www.nymr.co.uk/blog/civil-engineering-diary-19-december-2018

https://www.nymr.co.uk/blog/civil-engineering-diary-10-january-2019

 

Latest update from Nigel.
https://www.nymr.co.uk/blog/civil-engineering-diary-18-january-2019

 

Latest update.
https://www.nymr.co.uk/blog/civil-engineering-diary-14-february-2018

 

New update from Nigel.

https://www.nymr.co.uk/blog/civil-engineering-diary-1-march-2019