Re: Kensington bridge collapse

["Stephen Devenish" <JohnnyR@bigpond.com>]

Stuart

The total occupation last week was for resleepering, the 30kmph speed
restriction is on the condition of the points.  Due to the then Federal
government being tight and only getting 170 million  for the gauge
conversion of the Melbourne to Adelaide track we ended up with a crappy Dual
gauge line between Tottenham and Newport, when we (When I worked for Connell
Wagner and Kinhill) we had to try and use available track work and mix in
with the existing trackwork the result, Victoria Gauge Splitting turnouts
and South Australia Dual Gauge turnouts.  The AN turnouts are all 47kg and
the points are not head hardened, hence the problems with the serviceability
of the points, as you go through a AN turnout you have both the broad gauge
and standard gauge blades these have to be spot on at line speed and so any
wear must be treated with caution.  It would have been better in the long
run to have tried to put a standard gauge line in from totty to Newport, but
it was about 100 years too late and someone built houses and roads on the
land near the tracks.

Retimbering wouldn't have fixed the problem, and we where employed by
Bayside not ABB. to do the resleepering.

Cheers



Stephen Devenish
JOHN HOLLAND


Stuart Thyer wrote in message <7vqk3n$di8$1@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au>...
>
>----------
>In article <8E7466875telstraNews@vic.news.telstra.net>, Michael
><mk@netstra.com.au> wrote:
>
>
>>Hi,
>>
>>Reports I have are that the bridge has not collapsed, rather a safety
>>railing and probably what it was attached to, has fallen down onto the
>>road.
>>
>>My guess is, that the bridge is closed while they determine the cause,
>>while the road is closed so nothing else falls onto the many cars that
>>pass under there every day.
>>
>Michael has got it pretty much spot on.  I come through that way every day
>on the way to work.  A deck railing, which in turn is supported by timber
>decking beams, has collapsed in one section on the goods line bridge over
>Lloyd Street.  This would have allowed ballast to fall through onto the
>road.  The pass lines bridge is intact, although I guess it is possible
that
>debris may fall onto passing trains due to the height difference of the two
>bridges.  I actually noticed the collapsed railing when i came through on
>wednesday, but didn't think much of it until I couldn't get through last
>night due to police turning me back.
>The only thing one has to wonder is the overall condition of all the
decking
>beams on the bridge.
>
>The scariest thing is how long it might take to get fixed, just look at
some
>of the WON's and check out the started dates of some of the speed
>restrictions due to faults.  Spotswood on the down line has had a 30 km
>restriction since Dec 98 due to points condition.  They had a total
>occupation on just 3 weeks ago, retimbered between footscray and newport,
>but didn't fix the points!!   They  had all the track machines stored in
the
>siding at Spotswood.  I thought. wow, Spotswwod box must have reopened to
>let them in & out but no, they disconnected the point rodding and barred
>over the points.
>
>So cheap.
>
>"Nothing to see here, move along"  Officer Barbrady, South Park
>
>Stuart Thyer
>Photographer
>University of Melbourne