The race is on to have all the huge amount of works being carried out on our infrastructure in a fit state to run trains at Easter. I was asked yesterday by a visitor in Goathland about the engines we would be using this year on the NYMR and I had to say that I only look after holes and pretty big ones at that!

The first big hole is at Goathland Bridge 27 which is heading towards being ready for the track to be laid on it provided we can get to it with the amount of clutter and spoil that always seem to be generated in construction projects.

The old main girders from bridge 27 were each cut in half and taken to New Bridge where, as seen above, they were loaded up to road for transport to the great melting pot at Scunthorpe. In the meantime the deck was concreted with ready-mix concrete brought in 9 large lorry loads to the site on the south side of over bridge 26 and then pumped to the deck with the end result seen below.

After a few days to sure, the end shutters were removed, and the precast concrete end ballast walls and corner pieces were placed using the smaller Kirov which is locked in on the south side of the bridge. This work is in progress as Mr Bruce, our very helpful Station Master is watching seen below while sorting out some train movement.

The south side precast concrete ballast wall is seen being lowered into position over the steel reinforcing bars already secured into the existing stone abutment.

It was a very skilful job to position these bars so that they would fit into the precast 75mm diameter holes already cast into the ballast walls and is a great credit to Cleveland Bridge’s setting out.  

In the meantime Roger is seen inspecting the steelwork repairs that had to be carried out to the two remaining main girders of the Siding span. It was necessary for the Kirov crane to run over this span to lift in the Northern precast concrete units. Roger had calculated that these works were necessary to carry the 106 tonnes of the crane and supports. The Siding span is having a number of steelwork repairs carried out which will be painted later and should provide a reasonable life with restricted use in the future.  Perhaps not the 120 year design life of the new Running Line span, but sufficient!

When all these various precast units were in place to Roger’s satisfaction they could be sealed together to enable the deck to be waterproofed using Wolfin and various other specialised layers with the black Wolfin being shown below.

The track formation to the South of bridge 27 is seen below resembling a battleground.

Elsewhere Martyn and the P-Way gang have completed the re-railing at Lyke Wake Walk and North of Summit with the rail joints welded by Haigh Rail and are now tipping ballast ready for tamping just before Easter with the train shown in the distance yesterday.

Bridge 8 is now almost ready for track laying as the construction joints have been concreted and it will then be ready for the Wolfin treatment on Thursday.

In the view above the Kirov is seen about to lift in one of the recast concrete deck units last week. The works have carried on very quickly such that today the completed new bridge deck is seen below with two of Cleveland Bridges’ people fitting the traditional “gas” pipe and metal stanchion hand railing.

This work has only been possible due to the tremendous amount of work done by our S&T with Ed and David leading many volunteers on what seems like a 24/7 operation.

Elsewhere we have a new occupant in New Bridge as seen above and unfortunately it isn’t the latest acquisition of the York Area Group like everything else in the view!

In New Bridge we have the first of the new turnouts for the YMJ Carriage Stable Project, seen above, with the new Rosehill level crossing panels partly fitted.

And last but not least the digging out of 5 Points in Pickering ready for  ballasting and tamping. This very hard work is being done by Darren and the P-Way volunteers.

That’s all for now, as I said at the start, the race is on. Your support for all these works is very welcome.

With best wishes
Nigel Trotter, NYMR Civil Engineer.

Previous Entry