Crossrail and Pudding Mill Lane
Crossrail is also getting in on the act, just to the south-west of the Olympic site. It will emerge by the Pudding Mill Lane station on the DLR. These are some pictures I took yesterday.
Unfortunately, the angles from the station doesn’t allow any decent pictures of the construction of the Crossrail portal to be taken.
A High Speed Diesel Train at Castle Cary
I took this video of a High Speed Diesel Train at Castle Cary station some time ago.
I think though, that it sums up the grace and pace of probably the best diesel train ever built. It’s certainly the fastest in regular service and has proved that good engineering is timeless.
The railway industry and press is now saying that these trains will still be running to Devon and Cornwall from London in 2035, which will make them about sixty-five years old. I don’t believe that all will be retired even then, especially as they have other uses like the Flying Banana. But with another refurbishment to include coach rewiring, power doors and better toilets, they would make superb trains to take leisure passengers to the far-flung parts of the UK.
From Stratford to Stratford International on the DLR
I took this video on the Docklands Light Railway today.
I wasn’t sitting in the cab, as this is a driverless train. But I would have been if it wasn’t! The DLR must be the only train, where passengers get a windscreen wiper.
As the train slows into Stratford International, you can see the Olympic Village on your left.
London’s Station Above the Thames
Blackfriars station is being rebuilt to give extra capacity to Thameslink and entrances on both banks of the River Thames.
It is going to be an impressive station, when it is completed next year.
What Do You Do With Six Million Tonnes Of Earth?
Crossrail will produce six million tonnes of earth and spoil, from where they are digging the tunnels, shafts and stations in London. Three-quarters of this are being used to create a new wetland habitat for the RSPB at Wallasea Island, north of Southend in Essex. Read all about it here.
Crossrail’s Tunneling Machines
The BBC has been showing a story with video about Crossrail‘s giant tunneling machines which will start work in the near future.
Crossrail has more on the boring of 42 km. of tunnels under London using eight tunnel boring machines here.
They also have more on the Tunneling and Underground Construction Academy, which will be a unique legacy of Crossrail and will continue to provide trained staff for tunnel projects all over the world.
We really are entering the Golden Age of Tunneling.
How To Recycle A Tunnel
Crossrail is Europe’s largest construction project and they are really upping their publicity this year, as the work begins in earnest.
I found this story with a video about the reusing of the Connaught Tunnel on the BBC’s web site. I wrote about this earlier.
It’s a fine piece of engineering and the associated project management.
The New Farringdon Station
The new longer 12-coach Thameslink trains are now running through the tunnels from St.Pancras to south of the river and Farringdon Station has been upgraded and lengthened to cope.
In a few years time, it will be the major interchange between Thameslink and Crossrail and one of the busiest stations in London.
The information on what they are doing is good to.
Note that the station used to be called Farringdon and High Holborn.
The Flying Banana
As I was waiting for my train, an unusual yellow one passed through.
It looks like a High Speed Diesel Train, and it is actually a modified one called the New Measurement Train, which travels all over the network, checking track and electrification systems. Inspection is based on a thirteen week cycle. There is a detailed article on the train here in Construction News. And a video here.
You can see why it got its nickname.
In some ways it is a unique train, not only in the UK, but worldwide.
The Japanese and the French have similar trains for their high speed lines, but these are electrically powered, whereas the New Meaurement Train has two powerful diesel power cars. So as the British train is completely self contained, it can check any line in the UK, whether it is electrified or not. Where I saw it at Basingstoke, it was on a section of track, that uses third rail electrification.
As it is a High Speed Train, it can also be used at 200 kph on the East and West Coast Main Lines, thus testing them at their operational speeds.
Note that as the lines through the Channel Tunnel to London, are effectively built using French electrification standards, the French train is used to monitor those lines every two months. But it has to be diesel hauled through the tunnel.
It all goes to show that the High Speed Diesel Train will be laughing at us for a few decades yet.
Welcome To Basingstoke
I have a cartoon on my wall, which shows rolling English countryside, with in the distance a mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion rising into the sky. In the foreground, a man is saying to his friend.
“The Russians can’t be all bad. They’ve made Basingstoke a first strike target.”
I have other reasons to dislike the place, as an old accountant of mine suggested, I put some money into a property development there. I lost several millions and could have lost a lot more, but I had better friends in high places. It was an expensive lesson and now I don’t trust financial advisors, especially when they have nothing to lose from recommending a bad investment.
So for only the second time in my life, I went to the place to a funeral of an old friend.
I had plenty of time, so I hoped I’d be able to get a bus to the crematorium. I knew I could take a taxi, but I object to doing that, as they are expensive and often rip-off merchants.
I found the bus station, which is quite an unfriendly walk from the train station and they told me there was no bus to anywhere near the crematorium. What would cash-strapped pensioners have done? Walked.
I should say, that the web page for the crematorium doesn’t have any instructions about how to get there on public transport. How arrogant!
It should be the law that certain places in a town or city like the hospital, crematorium, tourist office, main shops and council offices are easily reached by bus from the station. On my travels around the country, I found a lot of places, where these rules were broken.
I shall not be going to Basingstoke again unless it is to change trains to somewhere more welcoming.
The Anonymous Widower 