Barl Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I'm not sure if this has been posted before but I received this link from a colleague who worked on the renovations of the Drogheda Viaduct and it shows some nice drone captured footage. http://www.irishtimes.com/dramatic-drone-footage-of-the-refurbished-drogheda-viaduct-1.2458554 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 It's turned very green. Did they rebuild it in copper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junctionmad Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 That lighting has all the taste of a seaside arcade By the way , is the track work still gaunt, or now conventional Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Still gauntletted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junctionmad Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 It looked more like a check rail , then gauntlet track work. That's why I asked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 That's what I thought too, junctionmad. But I checked with someone in IE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 (edited) That's what I thought too, junctionmad. But I checked with someone in IE. I thought the track arrangement was simplified a few years back, no? Single track with a a 'Y' point at either end... Edit: Photo taken last year shows it's single track with check rails - Edited December 18, 2015 by Garfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 I thought the track arrangement was simplified a few years back, no? Single track with a a 'Y' point at either end... Edit: Photo taken last year shows it's single track with check rails - I think you are correct on that one. The interlaced track was removed, apparently over a decade ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Blarney Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Having viewed this video repeatedly, I am of the opinion:- 1) The innermost two rails have no sheen on them. 2) The two outermost rails have a sheen on them. These two facts suggest the outermost rails are the running rails and the innermost two are check rails. There are no other rails to protect a train in case of a derailment whilst traversing this structure. This being the case, the innermost two sets of rails are therefore - check rails! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 News to me, if it is, and if so my source (within ironroad Éireann) isn't up to date either! I'll make definitive enquiries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Also, the part of the film which shows the train exiting from the viaduct pans back to show it approaching a "Y" point.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Maybe it is single track, then.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike258747 Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 I think that the interlaced, or gauntlet, track was removed about 15 years ago. I remember reading about it at the time but I am not sure of the exact date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josefstadt Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 News to me, if it is, and if so my source (within ironroad Éireann) isn't up to date either! I'll make definitive enquiries. The interlaced track across the Boyne Viaduct was taken out of use on the night of the 2nd/3rd March 1997, following the passing of the 20:15 Dublin-Belfast service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenderg Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josefstadt Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 That's the situation prior to the 1997 work. As part of the re-modelling the start of the interlaced track was replaced by a turnout and the rails of the former Up line across the viaduct were removed. Also, the facing crossover (closer to the camera) was removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 In that case, I stand corrected! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burnthebox Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 (edited) Thanks Barl for posting that, enjoyed it btw mind telling me who counted the rivets !! all 14,000 ! Edited December 19, 2015 by burnthebox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike258747 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Any other examples of interlaced track in Ireland? It is common on tramway systems on mainland Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiveController Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 (edited) Nice shot, Richie!! It looks like this has an interlaced up and down line with check rails on the inside also. What would the advantage of an interlaced track (versus merging into a single road) have been? Absence of a facing point at the exit to the bridge in each direction? Edited December 19, 2015 by DiveController Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I'm unaware of any in Ireland, bar the instances discussed on another board about 5ft 3 track being interwoven (as dual gauge) with 3ft gauge, as at places like Larne Harbour... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junctionmad Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Nice shot, Richie!! It looks like this has an interlaced up and down line with check rails on the inside also. What would the advantage of an interlaced track (versus merging into a single road) have been? Absence of a facing point at the exit to the bridge in each direction? Yes that's exactly the advantage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maitland Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I got out my private helicopter (kindly supplied by Google Maps) and took a flight over Drogheda just now. There are points either end of the viaduct, so it's ordinary single track. I don't know the technical term for the safety rails, they aren't check rails as such which are set just inside the back-to-back gauge. You see them on a lot of bridges though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonybonneyba Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I got out my private helicopter (kindly supplied by Google Maps) and took a flight over Drogheda just now. There are points either end of the viaduct, so it's ordinary single track. I don't know the technical term for the safety rails, they aren't check rails as such which are set just inside the back-to-back gauge. You see them on a lot of bridges though. Guide Rails are the technical term Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josefstadt Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Guide Rails are the technical term They are 'Guard Rails'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiveController Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Yes that's exactly the advantage So I wonder why they needed interlaced track then but in this age of health and safety and high viz vests and …. Well, why go with to a facing "Y" point now? Are modern points more reliable with regard to absence of potential derailing, someone decided it had been unnecessary in the first place on safety grounds, or what? The bridge is no lower now and I presume if the bridge itself was not going to 'hold' a derailing loco then it would not do any better job now. We did have a discussion about facing points and modern stiffer track on another thread here in the last year or so but I'm not sure if any of that factors into this? Was the interlaced track controlled by a token/key as there were separate up down lines but these would normally overlap/interlace as here? Were the tracks interlaced because bridge was too narrow or could not support the weight of two trains on the bridge simultaneously? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junctionmad Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 They are 'Guard Rails'. The term guard rails and check rails are interchangeable , with " guard" rail being primarily US rail terminology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junctionmad Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 So I wonder why they needed interlaced track then but in this age of health and safety and high viz vests and …. Well, why go with to a facing "Y" point now? Are modern points more reliable with regard to absence of potential derailing, someone decided it had been unnecessary in the first place on safety grounds, or what? The bridge is no lower now and I presume if the bridge itself was not going to 'hold' a derailing loco then it would not do any better job now. We did have a discussion about facing points and modern stiffer track on another thread here in the last year or so but I'm not sure if any of that factors into this? Was the interlaced track controlled by a token/key as there were separate up down lines but these would normally overlap/interlace as here? Were the tracks interlaced because bridge was too narrow or could not support the weight of two trains on the bridge simultaneously? Complex track work is an anathema to modern rail companies and especially IE. Modern tamping machines. Etc also dictate the use of simple track work and modern turnouts are pre fabricated virtually like hornby set track. The bridge was singled in the 1920s when the centre arch was replaced. I presume that the signalling merely treated guantletted track as n a similar way to the current arrangement, with a one train in section approach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhu Varren Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Were the tracks interlaced because bridge was too narrow or could not support the weight of two trains on the bridge simultaneously? The original bridge had had double track, but was worked as a single line to avoid having two trains on the bridge at the same time. When the bridge was replaced in the early 1930s, the line was temporarily singled for the duration of the work, and the new bridge was built inside the old one. This then meant that the new bridge was too narrow for double track, but since there had a restriction on having two trains on the bridge at the same time for many years, the provision of gauntleted double track was not a problem. On completion of the new bridge, the old bridge was then dismantled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maitland Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Are modern points more reliable with regard to absence of potential derailing Generally they are - if they are looked after. See "Grayrigg" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayrigg_derailment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiveController Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Thanks, David & Maitland. I remember Grayrigg now that you mentioned it. Completely preventable, 5 years for the furore to die down, a paltry slap on the wrist (no, £4m isn't really that much (and better spent on track maintenance, I know)), and a knighthood to boot. Spectacular! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broithe Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 August 2016. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Beautiful photo, Broithe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broithe Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Beautiful photo, Broithe. Not mine - pinched from Twitter - see the link... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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