Bluebell Northern Extension - so what's occurring then?

Yes Tom, and I am sure the engineers in charge know what they are doing. They have the expertise.

If the geotex areas get treated with "hydraseed" or whatever it is called, we might be surprised just how quickly it all grasses over come the warmer weather.

 

Looks like 23rd of March is a go for the first trains to East Grinstead

EAST GRINSTEAD CONFIRMED - Special Events

 

Just found out. Excellent news and I can't wait to ride the full line. Will do my upmost to go as much as I can over the 2 week Festival but sadly the week days will mostly have to be spent at work within a few hundred yards of the railway although our shutdown week might be then so might be able to do a weekday.

Haven't been to the Bluebell's East Grinstead station yet or the section to Imberhorne North yet.

 

Honestly, I go away for the evening, talked to a relevant person-in-the-know to find out "yes, it is on", thought I had a nice little scoop and come back to find the world and his lobster already knew!

There should be more detailed info this evening when the regular newsletter comes out.

Was on the Evening Golden Arrow yesterday - all the signalling at Kingscote is now commissioned. After years of getting down to change the points at the north end of the loop, felt strange (but in a good way!) to roll in to Kingscote with the starter showing "red", wait for the green and then just set off up the line past the loop points and wait in the cab for them to magically change all on their very own! (I believe a signalman may have been involved pulling levers and things, but we'll gloss over that...) Another 'tick in the box' of the thousand and one tasks that need to happen between now and March 23rd. Training sessions for loco crew have been scheduled at various times over the next month; I'm sure other operational safety-critical grades have similar sessions in place.

Tom

 

News and updates from the Bluebell weekly email:

Firstly, all bookings for the first and other special trains will open at 10 a.m. on 8 Feb. For more information and tickets, call the Sales and Information Office at 01825 720800.

Then the Chris White update:

On the fundraising front, Roger Kelly reports about £100k is still needed. The much delayed track trek (scheduled for February 24th) should hopefully make a dent in that figure: donations can be made here: Bluebell Railway 50th Anniversary Appeal - Donate

With impending opening of the East Grinstead extension, the last "Fiver for the Finish Certificate" will be sold on 17 March.

£51,500 has been collected via this scheme since it started just under a year ago, and the hope is to make it to £55,000.

Sunday the 17th will not only be the last chance to purchase one of these historic certificates, it will be the end of collecting on the trains--at least for a while.

The FftF scheme replaced the old "tenner for the tip" scheme, which I believe raised about £230k: that's a lot of generosity from our passengers.

With regard the class 33/1, it is scheduled to arrive this week.

Tom

 

The weather forecast for the south east for the whole of this week looks to be largely dry sunny and breezy, so we will no doubt see dramatic progress.

Fingers as ever, crossed!

 

The regular John Sandys' photo update, showing work at both ends of the cutting and work repairing the occupation (north end) bridge.

NEP Photo Update, Tues, 05/02/13 - a set on Flickr

Meanwhile, at East Grinstead, NEP followers will be pleased to know that at close of play this afternoon - the team working there finished the last of the 30ft track panels that will get the railway all the way throught the cutting. We now have 30 panels made up, ready to be transferred to near the railhead - probably tomorrow. EG station will then look like a platform once again and less like a workshop! As before, the panels are made up in 30 feet lengths which makes transporting them easier (rather than, say, as individual sleepers to be made up "in situ). The 30ft panels are laid first, and then the 30 foot rails are replaced with 60 foot lengths once the sleepers are in situ. (I assume the sleeper spacing of the 30 foot panels is adjusted to be correct for their final form, i.e. in relation to any variation at rail ends).

Tom

 

Out of curiosity, why weren't the repairs to the bridge done as it was exposed rather than scaffold it now? Surely the exposed part of the bridge above the tip could have been repaired and thus save on scaffolding costs?

 

I suspect because there wouldn't have been a very stable footing at the time it was part exposed. Also, you would have needed some scaffolding anyway, because once the whole bridge was exposed so that an examination could be made, the high points would be 20 or so feet above ground level anyway.

Tom

 

If the sleepers are being laid at say 28 per length that means an interval of 650mm between centres.
As long as the sleepers are laid out at this at EG then the spacing should remain the same when they are laid in position.

 

Thanks Bryan. The basic plan seems to be create a temporary 30 foot length at East Grinstead but with properly adjusted sleeper spacings. That is then moved in-situ to the cutting where it is laid, then the rails are removed and replaced with 60 foot length. Doing that seems to be an easier way of moving perhaps 12 sleepers at once (rather than taking them down individually) and also the relatively clean and mud-free environment at EG no doubt helps with the task of careful arrangement. There is a photo of the newly created panels waiting to be laid here: Track Panels brought down from East Grinstead where they were assembled.North of the Occupation Bridgr | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (Not my photo - John Sandys as usual).

The rest of John Sandys' photos are here: NEP Photo Update, Weds, 06/02/13 - a set on Flickr. The hump of residual waste is very nearly gone.

Elsewhere, the work on the Water Tower continues, but I'm not 100% certain if it will be finished ready for the opening. I'll post some details about the opening fortnight in the Gala thread.

Tom

 

Tom, what is actually happening to the remaining spoil in the base of the cutting? It is difficult to see from the images. You can see the diggers sort of moving it about, but where is it actually going, is it being lifted out to the top of the cutting sides, or "plastered" on the cutting walls? It must be going somewhere, because the amount left is ever smaller each day!

( not like one of those wartime "escape tunnel" films where the chaps put it down their trousers and distribute it covertly elswhere over the site with the shake of a trouser leg....)

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Not plastered on the walls - now the geotex has been laid, that is it AFAIK; we just have to wait for vegetation to grow up through.

The remaining waste is going to the top of the cuutting, where it will be covered with clay.

Tom

 

It's going to be a pretty action-packed 6 weeks or so leading up to the opening. The latest John Sandys pictures are taken with such a big zoom that it's hard to see just how much waste is left, but even so, it really can't be very much. From now on, I'm sure it's worth the Bluebell publicity people making the most of every subsequent development - last waste removed, trackbed & drainage all prepared, then the big ones: all track laid (and London connected by rail to Sheffield Park for the first time since 1964), all track ballasted, all signalling ready, everything signed off with the official bodies, first test train, etc. All adds to the sense of anticipation. I'm so impressed with those in charge of the project over the past year - what with all the weather problems and the resultant need to revise strategies, it must have been a nightmare working out if and how the extension can be opened on time. OK, it won't look very pretty in and around the cutting when the first trains run, and the latest communication talks of a three-week midweek shutdown three weeks after the first trains have run, which may disappoint a few people who turn up at EG during this period, but the reopening itself will be such an achievement. All those involved should feel very proud of themselves when the big day comes.

 

Looking at the Philpott video today here

Latest Pictures of thousands showing the Bluebell Railway Extension

It seemed to me that indeed the diggers were just moving waste from one part of the cutting to another, as though they were just shifting the stuff about on a 'you're paid per shovelfull' basis! There must be a reason for it but I could not imagine it.

Tom, have you insight as I think we would all love to know what the idea is, thanks if you can shed light.

 

My understanding is that there is a gap in the west cutting side (which is not visible to the photographers on the bridges, due to the curvature of the cutting), where the "earth bridge" was, which allows the diggers to pass waste up from the cutting floor, to another digger in the gap, which then lifts the waste to the top of the western cutting. I'm not sure that the waste will stay on top of the cutting for good, as I imagine that eventually it will have to be profiled back to its original height (but that is just my guess). If this is the case, I'm sure there is room at the northern end of the cutting to re-bury some waste. Finally, I believe that excess clay from the top of the cutting will be removed by rail, to be utilised elsewhere along the railway (which the 33 (due to arrive tomorrow) will no doubt be helping with).

 

message resited in thread

 

if the webmaster in question was Richard Salmon, please be aware that he has a very demanding paid job and may not always have the time for regular updates. His contributions to the Bluebell's website help it be one of the outstanding heritage railway websites in the country.


As a comparison, the attitude of West Coast Railways over loco news (such as their newly-restored Jubilee Class Galatea) is secretive, why is a mystery. Although it has been reported that David Smith's attitude there is that "it's nobody's business but ours!" The same man who once described rail enthusiasts as "a bloody nuisance"....... He doesn't seem to appreciate the value of free publicity.......

 

Yes Tom, now you have explained it, it fits with the pictures and videos provided by the bridge magnets. Thanks to them too, a grand bunch (or at least Mssrs Sandys and Philpott).

 

PortRoadFan: As far as I can see no-one has mentioned Richard or the Bluebell website in recent times on this thread, nor is there any implied criticism, so not sure what has prompted your remarks above.

This topic is not the place to discuss WCRC and Mr Smith, whatever your views.

Regards

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