Huyton and Roby Thursday

At Huyton Junction this afternoon a whole line of road-railers were working on the new line:

and another one was near the station:

Meanwhile, at Roby I could see the new signal is in position and lit:

Does anyone know the number?

Huyton Wednesday

I wasn't intending to do a post every day, but there's so much progress to report!

I visited Huyton this morning to find another new signal erected, on the Up Slow a little east of platform four.  It has a position 4 feather for trains heading to the Chat Moss lines (It's the far one in this picture.)

Frustratingly, the plate with the number on hasn't been applied yet, so I can't update my diagram at http://charlwoodhouse.co.uk/rail/livesig/3.

More importantly, and just about visible in the picture above, the overhead for the fourth line is in place.  To the untrained eye it looks complete - catenary and contact wire, and I couldn't spot any temporary pulleys etc.

I'd forgotten how much more copper-coloured and shiny new overhead is, it was obvious from some distance away that some had been put up, as soon as I could see the line.

Update:  Lo and behold, a few hours after I wrote the above, the signal's plate has been fitted!  LL5580.  Coincidence, or is someone reading this blog?

Huyton Tuesday

Actually, we'll start on Monday evening:  At 19:30 a tamping machine was standing on the Up Fast just east of Huyton station.  By 22:00 it was hard at work on the new Up Slow.

On Tuesday morning the improvement was clearly apparent, with the fourth line nicely fettled into the distance:

As you can see, the orange army were busy tidying up the details.  I could see that the new pointwork at Huyton Junction was apparently complete.  No signs of any overhead yet, but I'm told some wires are up at Roby.

While I was there, a rail-mounted digger arrived from the west:

Huyton Monday

Nothing much of photographic interest this morning but I did note the following:

• The fourth track is pretty much fully in place between Huyton and Huyton Junction, although in need of aligning and tamping.  The electrification masts blocking the fourth line have all gone.
• The fixed red LL9591 at the west end of platform three, no longer required, has been removed.  (This and the next item were done yesterday.)
• A new fixed red LL9593 at the west end of platform four is in place and lit.
• A 50mph TSR sign was being erected on the Up Fast (I think) immediately east of Huyton station.
• On platform four the tarmac has been re-instated and all the barriers blocking the platform since 2014 have been removed.

Huyton Day Two

LL3586 is back as expected, without its feather:

Some more track panels seem to have been delivered, if you compare this picture with yesterday's.  Or perhaps they've just been moved from elsewhere on the site.

At Huyton Junction, spoil from the line of the fourth track was being loaded into a train worked by 56113:

If you look just above the loco you can see a strap supporting the catenary for the Up Fast, because the mast in the way of the new line has been removed.  (See picture in my post last week.)
On the other end of the spoil train was 70811: