A Plug for Brunel

What a treat we had at our meeting today, something very different from the norm. Colin Brading’s presentation was all about his time working as a consultant on the Great Western during electrification. Colin’s speciality was bridgesand this proved fascinating, in how to keep some Brunel’s iconic features, whist creating modifications to cope with an electrified fast-running railway.

We started with the first overhead electrification on the LBSR as far back as 1909 with some huge ugly  pantographs. Then in 1931 the Weir report suggested to government a rolling programme of electrification across the network, 36,000 miles, costing then just £260m. We looked at the first two major OHL projects, The Woodhead route followed shortly afterwards by the London Tilbury and Southend Rly.

We moved on to the GWR primarily on the Reading to Swindon section. With government financial restrictions and other issues, it was decided only to electrify the main line, excluding the sections to Bath, Oxford and Swansea. Instead to building the new Class 800’s into bi-mode trains, this when the train build was well under way, a re-design very late on. Then on to how to raise certain bridges, some road, some footpaths and an aquaduct. We saw how some bridges were lifted or rebuilt so that their abutments could be raised and the road base then put back. Colin spent some time on one particular bridge of which we also had a time-lapse film of the work, where three 16 plus axle-jacks were used to lift the road bed whist raising the abutments and then lowering the road bed back into position. Because of the jacks design they could stand on boards covering the track for ease of manoeuvrability. Other items requiring attention were level crossings and railway over bridges, all of this along with problems of species like newts and bats.

A brilliant afternoon on something so very interesting and different, whilst keeping most of Brunel’s iconic heritage intact and as much of the railway running as possible,

Dave Elsdon

Branch Secretary