Major stoppage South Oxford Canal

[Hudds Lad]

34 minutes ago, Tonka said:

No need to worry any more. That bridge now has what looks like cotton wool stuffed behind the rendering on the side in the bottom photo. On the other side it has had Kingspan put in with some more of the cotton wool stuff and corrugated plastic pipe sticking out.

 

You will be fine

That's actual wool that they stuff in all the crevices after a bat survey to ensure the little lovelies don't take up residence between the survey and demolition.

[Tonka]

3 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

That's actual wool that they stuff in all the crevices after a bat survey to ensure the little lovelies don't take up residence between the survey and demolition.

I have had 3 bat surveys and will need to get a bat licence,  but have never heard about using wool to stop the bats.

 

Come to think of it I have never seen a bat on a sheep so it must work

[Hudds Lad]

2 minutes ago, Tonka said:

I have had 3 bat surveys and will need to get a bat licence,  but have never heard about using wool to stop the bats.

It was detailed in the previous stoppage notice, the newer one doesn't mention the wool though  

 

I've seen it on another bridge on either the Oxford or Coventry and wondered why they'd stuffed the cracks with wool, so i now assume it's for a similar reason prior to repair. A bit more environmentally friendly than just blasting it all with expanding foam i guess. 🤷‍♂️

[Tonka]

1 minute ago, Hudds Lad said:

It was detailed in the previous stoppage notice, the newer one doesn't mention the wool though  

 

I've seen it on another bridge on either the Oxford or Coventry and wondered why they'd stuffed the cracks with wool, so i now assume it's for a similar reason prior to repair. A bit more environmentally friendly than just blasting it all with expanding foam i guess. 🤷‍♂️

But it had Kingspan foam sheet put in as well 

[Hudds Lad]

Just now, Tonka said:

But it had Kingspan foam sheet put in as well 

crevices too big for the wool they had and some kingspan on hand? I dunno, i'm guessing now  

[Stroudwater1]

A picture can paint a thousand words but in this case maybe not? 
 

 

The plastic pipes are intriguing? 

[Paul C]

On 06/09/2024 at 07:32, LadyG said:

It was obvious from Day 1 that the whole venture would be an expensive project which might benefit a few people travelling from London to Birmingham but that it would be outrageously expensive and create chaos, disrupt lives, etc etc.

There is little doubt that the rail network needs upgrading, but the approach chosen is so wrong that it defies logic.

 

 

Do you mean HS2 or keeping the Oxford Canal navigable to the well-off on boating holidays?

[BCN Challenge]

On 06/09/2024 at 08:38, matty40s said:

Which is why it is such a stupid decision to run the HS2 trains on the West Coast mainline north of Birmingham.

Along with the fact that the stations are not disabled access friendly so the carriages will have to be redesigned with extra steps....another £100m

It was always intended that HS2 trains would run on the northern sections of both East Coast and West Coast main lines. That was always going to be challenging and something I don’t think the DfT fully understood. 

 

The change is that now all trains will have to be equipped for running on conventional lines rather just a proportion of them. The geographical scope actually remains the same because HS2 would have utilised the WCML beyond Handsacre is an interim solution and in perturbation in the original scope.

 

Unfortunately Handsacre is a really poor location for the permanent end of HS2 but it just happened to be politically expedient decision.

 

But alas, there will be a saving from not having to straighten out Newcastle Central and York stations because no HS2 train is ever likely to run on the ECML.

[Tonka]

9 minutes ago, BCN Challenge said:

It was always intended that HS2 trains would run on the northern sections of both East Coast and West Coast main lines. That was always going to be challenging and something I don’t think the DfT fully understood. 

 

The change is that now all trains will have to be equipped for running on conventional lines rather just a proportion of them. The geographical scope actually remains the same because HS2 would have utilised the WCML beyond Handsacre is an interim solution and in perturbation in the original scope.

 

Unfortunately Handsacre is a really poor location for the permanent end of HS2 but it just happened to be politically expedient decision.

 

But alas, there will be a saving from not having to straighten out Newcastle Central and York stations because no HS2 train is ever likely to run on the ECML.

never say never

[BCN Challenge]

5 minutes ago, Tonka said:

never say never

 I didn’t!

[ditchcrawler]

5 hours ago, Tonka said:

I have had 3 bat surveys and will need to get a bat licence,  but have never heard about using wool to stop the bats.

 

Come to think of it I have never seen a bat on a sheep so it must work

Quite common on canal structures, if they trap a bat in there it will push the wool out, but it can't pull it out to get in

[Tonka]

20 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Quite common on canal structures, if they trap a bat in there it will push the wool out, but it can't pull it out to get in

i was nearly going to have a slate roof taken off, then they were going to remove the breathable membrane to replace with non breathable membrane and then put the slates back on. Because apparently Bats have little hooks on their wings which gets stuck into the beathable membrane. We are going to have to board it so as the bats can't get near the membrane

[GUMPY]

Bats in a Goth nightclub

 

 

[Grassman]

15 hours ago, BCN Challenge said:

It was always intended that HS2 trains would run on the northern sections of both East Coast and West Coast main lines. That was always going to be challenging and something I don’t think the DfT fully understood. 

 

The change is that now all trains will have to be equipped for running on conventional lines rather just a proportion of them. The geographical scope actually remains the same because HS2 would have utilised the WCML beyond Handsacre is an interim solution and in perturbation in the original scope.

 

Unfortunately Handsacre is a really poor location for the permanent end of HS2 but it just happened to be politically expedient decision.

 

But alas, there will be a saving from not having to straighten out Newcastle Central and York stations because no HS2 train is ever likely to run on the ECML.

 

 

There's a chance the Handsacre Link idea might be abandoned now. Shugborough Tunnel is already a bottleneck and it's felt that the extra trains would just add to the problem. There are now 3 options being considered.

 

An 'Opportunity Through Connectivity' report on a Midlands-North West Rail link replacement for the cancelled HS2 route for the Greater Manchester and West Midlands Mayors considers three options.

 

A. upgrading existing infrastructure which would include a flyover at Colwich junction and Shugborough Tunnel widening.

 

B. a mix of upgrades and bypasses which would reinstate the HS2 route around Stafford from Fradley to Norton Bridge, but saving cost with a lower line speed, smaller loading gauge, and ballasted track.

 

C. an entirely new railway which would follow the HS2 route to Crewe, with a later connection to NPR and Manchester.

 

The report recommends C, funded partly with private capital, and urges the Government to reinstate safeguarding, and retain the land bought for the Phase 2a route. The government has indicated that it is considering the report. A lower maximum speed will ease the noise problem of the Trent & Mersey Canal crossing at Great Haywood Marina, and Concept B seems the least destructive, most effective, and most affordable way forward. 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2024 by Grassman

[BCN Challenge]

9 hours ago, Grassman said:

 

 

There's a chance the Handsacre Link idea might be abandoned now. Shugborough Tunnel is already a bottleneck and it's felt that the extra trains would just add to the problem. There are now 3 options being considered.

 

An 'Opportunity Through Connectivity' report on a Midlands-North West Rail link replacement for the cancelled HS2 route for the Greater Manchester and West Midlands Mayors considers three options.

 

A. upgrading existing infrastructure which would include a flyover at Colwich junction and Shugborough Tunnel widening.

 

B. a mix of upgrades and bypasses which would reinstate the HS2 route around Stafford from Fradley to Norton Bridge, but saving cost with a lower line speed, smaller loading gauge, and ballasted track.

 

C. an entirely new railway which would follow the HS2 route to Crewe, with a later connection to NPR and Manchester.

 

The report recommends C, funded partly with private capital, and urges the Government to reinstate safeguarding, and retain the land bought for the Phase 2a route. The government has indicated that it is considering the report. A lower maximum speed will ease the noise problem of the Trent & Mersey Canal crossing at Great Haywood Marina, and Concept B seems the least destructive, most effective, and most affordable way forward. 

 

 

Not sure any of the options proposed by the ‘mayors’ would result in Handsacre not being built since it’s designed, contracted and in progress. They would by-pass it in operational practice though and that’s the issue. Unfortunately I won’t hold my breath that any of those will get built.

 

It’s also not just the capacity issue between Colwich and Stafford. HS2 trains to Manchester will have to slow from 205mph to 45 mph approaching Handsacre and Colwich and those toward Stafford and beyond progressively to 75mph at Queensville curve approaching Stafford station.

 

Its amusing to me as someone with past roles in stewardship of the WCML who worked with and alongside both the WCML upgrade of 20-25 years ago and HS2 as well as roles in rail infrastructure strategy and development to see people present their simplistic view of what is wrong with HS2. Of course there are alternatives; but there is also very sound logic behind the conceptual design of HS2.
 

I could write pages on it but ultimately this is a canal forum.

 

A key point to take on board is that the construction phase will be very much more intrusive than the finished article.

 

Edited October 22, 2024 by BCN Challenge