Bluebell Northern Extension - so what's occurring then?

More tracklaying - the track is now well and truly into the cutting; also the layers of matting that are being used to stabilise the cutting sides are being laid.

Photo from John Sandys showing both features here: Line laid under Hill Place Bridge and into the Cutting | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (this is from the northern bridge, looking south, to help orientation).

Full set here: NEP Photo Update, Friday, 09/11/12 - a set on Flickr

Tom

 

Very nice to see the progress. I just wondered, if the track now actually projects further south than the temporary track which was built and removed later, even though that was on a different alignment, i.e. further to the west, and on a different level, i.e. some metres below the final trackbed.

Kind regards

Christoph

 

Don't know officially but at a guess I'd say not quite as far. The "old" siding was long enough for four clear wagons under the bridge, so probably about 90 metres - almost 300 feet. I suspect, given the rate that they have been laying track, that this permanent track probably extends about half that amount. Though that statement will probably be out of date within a few days...


Tom

 

The latest pictures from John Sandys seem to show almost the breakthrough between the two sections

South from Hill Place Bridge, track panel arriving | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Almost breaking through North of Imberhorne Lane | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

It can't be long now!

 

Another update on Robert Philpot's site - Bluebell Railway Northern Extension - Latest Pictures

The final breakthrough appears to be tantalisingly close. This week, perhaps? It wouldn't surprise me if they connected the track up in the next 2-3 weeks, considering how fast they seem to be able to lay it. I guess it depends on how much work to stabilise the cutting sides is required.

It will then be interesting to see if there is sufficient clay capping left over to be removed by rail to Horsted Keynes.

 

Another John Sandys update here:

NEP Photo Update, Tuesday, 13/11/12 - a set on Flickr

As for final breakthrough: The land bridge will need to remain to stay in place for a little while, because it is the easiest way to transport clay from the west side of the cutting (where it is stored) to the east side (where a lot is needed). But, latest timetable I have heard is that, if the weather holds, it could be broken through in about a week.

Tom

 

The chaps who have been doing the trackwork to north and south of the cutting - are they volunteers, outside contractors, Full time Bluebell staff a mixture of all these? They appear to be professional in their manner even if they aren't being paid!

 

A mixture. The Bluebell's infrastructure manager is paid staff. The guys driving the big machines are contractors. The rest are volunteers, notably Chris White, who has project managed the whole shebang, and Charlie Hudson, who is responsible for the signalling system. Someone remarked on the Bluebell yahoo group that the NEP would be a crowning achievement if you had managed it in your professional career, but Chris White has done it as an "amateur" (not meant in a pejorative sense) while also holding down a responsible job elsewhere. Oh, and also being a volunteer loco driver....

Tom

 

WEBSITE ANNOUNCEMENT

Because of the overwhelming (literally) interest in my pictures and videos I have been forced to open a dedicated site. Therefore all updates of my pictures and blog about the Bluebell Railway Northern Extension can now be found at THE WEBSITE FOR STEAM AND VINTAGE RAILWAY ENTHUSIASTS .

Please if you can pass this address on to whoever might be interested as Google won't be scanning it for a little while. I would also point out that I am at present unable to update or alter the old philpot.me site which means I am not able to put in an automatic redirect.

One good side is that Google are now putting more relevant advertising on the new site - I just learned of a new rail trip from my own site! Still ads for the older ladies looking for a man though! ;-)

Rob.
THE WEBSITE FOR STEAM AND VINTAGE RAILWAY ENTHUSIASTS

 

I put the actual address which has been altered by the software it's railwaytrains dot co dot uk! A very few ISPs may not have it yet but it should be everywhere by this evening.

 

Sorry for posting in capitals I was using a tablet which is none too clear. Apologies.

 

John Sandys' latest update: NEP Photo Update, Thursday, 15/11/12 - a set on Flickr

In this photo: South of Hill Place Bridge, rails stacked up ready for laying into the Cutting. | Flickr - Photo Sharing! there is a pile of track panels ready for laying. With the track already laid, they will extend the track 550 feet from the bridge (about 183 yards) against an overall length of the cutting of 484 yards between bridges.

The following image was supplied by a volunteer on the NEP and shows the scale (n.b.. this is his rough sketch, not the official Bluebell view, and thus cannot be vouched as 100% accurate - but it should be close and certainly illustrative).



The purple line shows the extent of the track once the spare track panels shown in John Sandys' photo have been laid - i.e. the track projecting approximately 550 feet into the cutting.

The brown line shows the approximate position of the land bridge. It isn't necessarily immediately obvious when you only see photos from each end, but it is considerably closer to the south end (the left of the image) than the north end of the cutting.

Tom

 

A few updates taken on a super sunny Sunday at Imberhorne.

THE WEBSITE FOR STEAM AND VINTAGE RAILWAY ENTHUSIASTS and YouTube.

Hard to photograph because of the sun but the way is still blocked by detritus so the breakthrough is still awaited!

Rob.

 

Latest "official" update from Chris White, from the regular Bluebell Newsletter:

(n.b. - I think this must have been written about a week or so ago, as the track is already more than 50 metres into the cutting).

Tom

 

Video update today, by way of a change. Again from John Sandys; I put it in because it shows manufacture of the staples that will hold the geotex membrane in place. Also the fact that the ballast is getting ever closer to the land bridge (see diagram in post 512 above).

And the piccies, if anyone is getting withdrawal symptoms...

[YOUTUBE]8fsZBdv9XUM[/YOUTUBE]

Tom

 

Latest photo collection, from John Sandys, of work in and around the cutting - another 240 feet of track has been laid, bringing the railhead much closer to the "land bridge".

The buffer stops are temporary, pending arrival of a ballast train from the mainline.

NEP Photo Update, Friday, 23/11/12 - a set on Flickr

Tom

 

I've posted this here because it seems to go hand in hand with this thread. Reading Rail Magazine which came out today. The Bluebell Railway have now dropped the idea of having a turning triangle because there isn't enough material within Imberhorne cutting to construct the triangle and the track curvature would be to tight for large loco to use the triangle. According to Rail Magazine a turntable could be installed at Horsted Keynes.

 

I think this has already been covered earlier in this thread http://railways.national-preservati...on-so-whats-occurring-then-47.html#post511648 Whether this is Rail Magazine's source I do not know.

They don't happen to say where a turntable could be obtained from and at what cost do they?

 

Was indeed discussed here, as Seawright mentions, several weeks ago and was also on the Bluebell website, which I suspect would probably be considered a more reputable source for Rail Magazine!

As things stand at the moment, there is nothing beyond what was discussed on this thread, i.e. no specific turntable identified and no specific location formally identified.

Creation of a turntable is now a specific objective in the draft Long Term Plan currently being consulted on within the railway. (It is not mentioned in the current plan). The significance of that fact is simply that it makes it easier to move quickly on that project in the future if a tactical opportunity arises, since in effect the project becomes "pre-approved" as a Society objective, and therefore it is easier to justify work and expense towards making it happen. That said, the way our plan is structured, there is no real timescale or running order of which order objectives get delivered in, so I'm not holding my breath that we will have a turntable in the immediate future.

Meanwhile, back at the tip - a ballast train came in from Network Rail yesterday using the connection at East Grinstead, and dropped off apparently 30 wagon loads of ballast, which will be used for the top ballasting of the track - if you look at the photos that have been laid, you'll see that the track is essentially resting on the ballast sub-base, but the final top layer of ballast around the sleepers still needs to be put in place. Bringing ballast in by rail is far cheaper (and better for the environment!) than delivering by road, which is a big advantage of having the mainline connection.

Tom

 

Big update on the Bluebell website: Bluebell Railway - East Grinstead Extension Progress

Worth looking at the two photos at the bottom of the update, showing the Hill Place Farm bridge now, and 20 months ago (when the temporary siding for spoil removal was in place). Shows just how much the formation level has been raised. Good job when originally built, the bridge was several metres higher than it needed to be! :smile:

Tom