Well, well, well - a story of 3 holes in the ground.......

Passing Calder Park this morning it looks like most of the workers have an RDO however one striking new development for you Lockie

Track has now been laid in the Up direction past the new Up end main line points towards the substation and as part of this new work there is now a set of points from this new track which splits the single track into 2 (if heading in the Up direction) just before the substation. As it stands the straight road leads directly towards the substation, track bed and stanchions in place but no track while the diverge points to a track heading around the outside of the substation away from the main.

That is where the road ends for now so we can only speculate why you would need 2 tracks beyond the entrance / exit to the stabling yard but I will be watching with interest over the next few weeks as more track is laid.

Not sure if mentioned previously in this thread but this link: https://railprojects.vic.gov.au/sunburylineupgrade has a some information about the Sunbury Line upgrade project.
Of note is the Sydenham page (which is the most detailed page) has a document (https://railprojects.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/416941/Works-around-Watergardens-Station-fact-sheet.pdf) which seems to have  quite a fair bit of detail on the works that are occurring over there including track realignments to "expand the stabling sidings to fit three new trains" and details about the said realignments to name a few.

Details about what is currently happening at Sydenham (along with other points along the line) have already been covered by @BrentonGolding I just thought I would like to share what has been put up by the government.

Finally, I would like to note that from what I can see from Marcus Wong's photos, there seems to be new overhead stanchion bases going in at Albion with some more also being present in both the up and down direction of Sunshine station. There seems to be some more going in between as well as next to the ones that were put in place as part of the Regional Rail Link. The interesting part is that there are some bases going right in front of the relatively new stanchions that were installed during RRL so it seems they are apparently replacing those for some reason (this photo: https://railgallery.wongm.com/sunbury-line-upgrade/F140_1649.jpg.html shows what I mean; obviously the old one immediately at the up end of the platform is going). This appears to be unlike at West Footscray where as I mentioned in an earlier post, they retained most of the ones installed during RRL and only removed (as well as added) the ones needed so they could add the third platform.

Not sure if mentioned previously in this thread but this link: https://railprojects.vic.gov.au/sunburylineupgrade has some information about the Sunbury Line upgrade project.
Of note is the Sydenham page (which is the most detailed page) has a document (https://railprojects.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/416941/Works-around-Watergardens-Station-fact-sheet.pdf) which seems to have  quite a fair bit of detail on the works that are occurring over there including track realignments to "expand the stabling sidings to fit three new trains" and details about the said realignments to name a few.

Details about what is currently happening at Sydenham (along with other points along the line) have already been covered by @BrentonGolding I just thought I would like to share what has been put up by the government.

Finally, I would like to note that from what I can see from Marcus Wong's photos, there seems to be new overhead stanchion bases going in at Albion with some more also being present in both the up and down direction of Sunshine station. There seems to be some more going in between as well as next to the ones that were put in place as part of the Regional Rail Link. The interesting part is that there are some bases going right in front of the relatively new stanchions that were installed during RRL so it seems they are apparently replacing those for some reason (this photo: https://railgallery.wongm.com/sunbury-line-upgrade/F140_1649.jpg.html shows what I mean; obviously the old one immediately at the up end of the platform is going). This appears to be unlike at West Footscray where as I mentioned in an earlier post, they retained most of the ones installed during RRL and only removed (as well as added) the ones needed so they could add the third platform.

Not sure if mentioned previously in this thread but this link: https://railprojects.vic.gov.au/sunburylineupgrade has some information about the Sunbury Line upgrade project.
Of note is the Sydenham page (which is the most detailed page) has a document (https://railprojects.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/416941/Works-around-Watergardens-Station-fact-sheet.pdf) which seems to have  quite a fair bit of detail on the works that are occurring over there including track realignments to "expand the stabling sidings to fit three new trains" and details about the said realignments to name a few.

Details about what is currently happening at Sydenham (along with other points along the line) have already been covered by @BrentonGolding I just thought I would like to share what has been put up by the government.

Finally, I would like to note that from what I can see from Marcus Wong's photos, there seems to be new overhead stanchion bases going in at Albion with some more also being present in both the up and down direction of Sunshine station. There seems to be some more going in between as well as next to the ones that were put in place as part of the Regional Rail Link. The interesting part is that there are some bases going right in front of the relatively new stanchions that were installed during RRL so it seems they are apparently replacing those for some reason (this photo: https://railgallery.wongm.com/sunbury-line-upgrade/F140_1649.jpg.html shows what I mean; obviously the old one immediately at the up end of the platform is going). This appears to be unlike at West Footscray where as I mentioned in an earlier post, they retained most of the ones installed during RRL and only removed (as well as added) the ones needed so they could add the third platform.

Looks like the old gantry is in the way of the platform extenstion.

Looks like the old gantry is in the way of the platform extension.

Agreed with that, however what I thought first was that is long overdue for a replacement considering its age (as are many stanchions around the Melbourne Suburban Railway Network). What surprises me is that they did not replace it during the construction of Regional Rail Link (as well as the one located just past the down end of the station next to the signal box) considering all stanchions in the general vicinity of Sunshine station were replaced in both directions. Perhaps another part of the cut costing from that project?

Marcus Wong has posted photos of the upgrades in the area around Sunshine station (see: https://railgallery.wongm.com/sunbury-line-upgrade/) which have shown the really old stanchion at the up end of Sunshine station has been removed and replaced with a new cantilevered stanchion (the one at the down end is going to be replaced soon I believe if it has not already been). Also, additional stanchions have appeared very close to the "new" stanchions installed during the construction of RRL. it is not immediately clear if the RRL ones are being replaced or they are only stringing up the traction feeder wires on these new stanchions and leaving the contact and catenary wire attached to the old stanchion (like what they have done for the majority of the line between Flinders Street Station and Malvern Station where they just added new stanchions to support the traction feeder wires and not the main overhead; the stanchions in that section are also far older). Also, work is continuing of the platforms (most notably the up platform in the up direction). New stanchion bases have also been installed (with several in Marcus' pictures showing that they occur when trains are still running) around Tottenham and Albion in photos by other people.

Marcus Wong has posted photos of the upgrades in the area around Sunshine station (see: https://railgallery.wongm.com/sunbury-line-upgrade/) which have shown the really old stanchion at the up end of Sunshine station has been removed and replaced with a new cantilevered stanchion (the one at the down end is going to be replaced soon I believe if it has not already been). Also, additional stanchions have appeared very close to the "new" stanchions installed during the construction of RRL. it is not immediately clear if the RRL ones are being replaced or they are only stringing up the traction feeder wires on these new stanchions and leaving the contact and catenary wire attached to the old stanchion (like what they have done for the majority of the line between Flinders Street Station and Malvern Station where they just added new stanchions to support the traction feeder wires and not the main overhead; the stanchions in that section are also far older). Also, work is continuing of the platforms (most notably the up platform in the up direction). New stanchion bases have also been installed (with several in Marcus' pictures showing that they occur when trains are still running) around Tottenham and Albion in photos by other people.

Marcus Wong has posted photos of the upgrades in the area around Sunshine station (see: https://railgallery.wongm.com/sunbury-line-upgrade/) which have shown the really old stanchion at the up end of Sunshine station has been removed and replaced with a new cantilevered stanchion (the one at the down end is going to be replaced soon I believe if it has not already been). Also, additional stanchions have appeared very close to the "new" stanchions installed during the construction of RRL. it is not immediately clear if the RRL ones are being replaced or they are only stringing up the traction feeder wires on these new stanchions and leaving the contact and catenary wire attached to the old stanchion (like what they have done for the majority of the line between Flinders Street Station and Malvern Station where they just added new stanchions to support the traction feeder wires and not the main overhead; the stanchions in that section are also far older). Also, work is continuing of the platforms (most notably the up platform in the up direction). New stanchion bases have also been installed (with several in Marcus' pictures showing that they occur when trains are still running) around Tottenham and Albion in photos by other people.

New concrete stanchion bases now in place around Albion station as well. I was rather surprised to see that instead of ripping up the old sidings around the flour mill they have simply cut out 1 > 1.5m sections of both rails and plonked the base in the middle of the old track bed. Cheap and nasty stuff just to save, what, the cost of taking some old rail away?

On to Calder Park and not much to report, there is still plenty of activity going on leading up to next week's shutdown but nothing really noticeable stands out. Except the MOUNTAINS of new materials that have arrived on site over the last week piled up on the new rock mound behind the substation. Can't wait to see what it looks like in a couple of weeks

Marcus Wong has posted photos of the upgrades in the area around Sunshine station (see: https://railgallery.wongm.com/sunbury-line-upgrade/) which have shown the really old stanchion at the up end of Sunshine station has been removed and replaced with a new cantilevered stanchion (the one at the down end is going to be replaced soon I believe if it has not already been). Also, additional stanchions have appeared very close to the "new" stanchions installed during the construction of RRL. it is not immediately clear if the RRL ones are being replaced or they are only stringing up the traction feeder wires on these new stanchions and leaving the contact and catenary wire attached to the old stanchion (like what they have done for the majority of the line between Flinders Street Station and Malvern Station where they just added new stanchions to support the traction feeder wires and not the main overhead; the stanchions in that section are also far older). Also, work is continuing of the platforms (most notably the up platform in the up direction). New stanchion bases have also been installed (with several in Marcus' pictures showing that they occur when trains are still running) around Tottenham and Albion in photos by other people.

New concrete stanchion bases now in place around Albion station as well. I was rather surprised to see that instead of ripping up the old sidings around the flour mill they have simply cut out 1 > 1.5m sections of both rails and plonked the base in the middle of the old track bed. Cheap and nasty stuff just to save, what, the cost of taking some old rail away?

And will probably all need to re-done again with the airport rail project in a few years time when the Bendigo RRL alignment gets extended to the other side of Ballarat Rd.

Marcus Wong has posted photos of the upgrades in the area around Sunshine station (see: https://railgallery.wongm.com/sunbury-line-upgrade/) which have shown the really old stanchion at the up end of Sunshine station has been removed and replaced with a new cantilevered stanchion (the one at the down end is going to be replaced soon I believe if it has not already been). Also, additional stanchions have appeared very close to the "new" stanchions installed during the construction of RRL. it is not immediately clear if the RRL ones are being replaced or they are only stringing up the traction feeder wires on these new stanchions and leaving the contact and catenary wire attached to the old stanchion (like what they have done for the majority of the line between Flinders Street Station and Malvern Station where they just added new stanchions to support the traction feeder wires and not the main overhead; the stanchions in that section are also far older). Also, work is continuing of the platforms (most notably the up platform in the up direction). New stanchion bases have also been installed (with several in Marcus' pictures showing that they occur when trains are still running) around Tottenham and Albion in photos by other people.

New concrete stanchion bases now in place around Albion station as well. I was rather surprised to see that instead of ripping up the old sidings around the flour mill they have simply cut out 1 > 1.5m sections of both rails and plonked the base in the middle of the old track bed. Cheap and nasty stuff just to save, what, the cost of taking some old rail away?

And will probably all need to re-done again with the airport rail project in a few years time when the Bendigo RRL alignment gets extended to the other side of Ballarat Rd.

IF it gets extended to the other side of Ballarat Road !!

Another week dawns and so it's time for my last trip on the AM Down Swan Hil before the 2 week shutdown which starts this coming Friday.

Not much going on this morning due to the extra long weekend however the new slewed track on the Down side of Watergardens is now ballasted and looks pretty much done bar connection to or sliewing of the existing Down Main which ever it will be

Of interest is a new and quite large works depot which has appeared on a little hill adjacent the Down track halfway between the end of the slew and Calder Park. This is quite a large fenced off area with a long white tent type arrangement taking up around a third of it. Very hard to see due to the aforementioned hill but it is quite a large undertaking.

I assume it is for people working during the shutdown but the position has me a bit baffled, it is in no mans land in an area where there are no existing works. It could just be that they need people out of the way of WG where they are planning some major works, who knows, I am sure all will be revealed after November 21st!

Yesterday evening was my last V/Line train trip for a fortnight as the shutdown kicked in.

A truly staggering amount of materials, plant and equipment scattered along the line from Calder Park right through to Footscray and a lot of activity had already started as workers prepped for the off.

Noted multiple examples of yellow dozer / excavators on wooden ramps adjacent the line ready to go, giant mounds of ballast scattered about and a lot of rail and concrete ties ready at Sydenham which is clearly in for a big transformation over the next 2 weeks.

Will be very interesting to see how it looks on Monday 23rd assuming I'll be lucky enough to be back on the AM Down Swanners that day

Yesterday evening was my last V/Line train trip for a fortnight as the shutdown kicked in.

A truly staggering amount of materials, plant and equipment scattered along the line from Calder Park right through to Footscray and a lot of activity had already started as workers prepped for the off.

Noted multiple examples of yellow dozer / excavators on wooden ramps adjacent the line ready to go, giant mounds of ballast scattered about and a lot of rail and concrete ties ready at Sydenham which is clearly in for a big transformation over the next 2 weeks.

Will be very interesting to see how it looks on Monday 23rd assuming I'll be lucky enough to be back on the AM Down Swanners that day

I was thinking the same thing when I travelled through on Friday at about 1945. I counted about 20 high rail cherry pickers in the Tottenham Yard, along with two empty spoil trains, a dozen excavators and dump trucks that were not there earlier in the morning. Overhead equipment was scattered around Tottenham ready for installation over the coming weeks.

Large amounts of conduit and pits are also scattered along the line from West Footscray through to Sunshine, suggesting a new cable route is being installed during the shut down.

At Albion, another dozen or so excavators near the old substation ready to start works on the new substation.

Foundation pilling for OLE is contenting though to Watergardens, but no gantries have yet been delivered.

As BG mentioned another large collection of construction machinery appeared at Watergardens during the course of the day. 20 or so excavators with rock breaker attachments on the UP side of Melton Highway, large piles of ballast and more conduit as well.

The site compound in the middle of no mans land has come to life with trucks parked next to a now lit up marquee.

At Calder Park, more and more construction machinery ready to start works to presumably connect the mix match of new track into the exisiting network. Hopefully come the end of November the rather strange layout will make sense.

At Diggers Rest Platform 1 has been marked out for the raised boarding hump.

At Sunbury the new construction compound off Horne Street has come to life with a small amount of workers and new site sheds being installed. A concrete foundation has been laid next to the historic blue stone culvert 50 or so meters from the level crossing. This is being extending to allow the current third track to be extended DOWN of the current level crossing.
One must assume that V/Line trains will have dedicated use of this track, bypassing Sunbury Station at 160Km/h once the SLU is complete and HCMTS call Sunbury home.

Service proving works are also underway for the Gap Road LX removal in Sunbury with this being brought forward to line up with the current works schedule, much smarter than doing it in a couple of years. This will be road under.

I must say, those building and selling construction machinery must be earning a bit of coin from the government. Just in this works package alone hundreds of pieces of machinery are in use along the corridor.

On to busses for the next few weeks now.

Lockie

I must say, those building and selling construction machinery must be earning a bit of coin from the government. Just in this works package alone hundreds of pieces of machinery are in use along the corridor.

On to busses for the next few weeks now.

Lockie

Well done mate, I thought you were still "off the rails" and I was thinking after my trip that I should have taken notes  but you have done a fantastic job there, a great read.

At Sunbury the new construction compound off Horne Street has come to life with a small amount of workers and new site sheds being installed. A concrete foundation has been laid next to the historic blue stone culvert 50 or so meters from the level crossing. This is being extending to allow the current third track to be extended DOWN of the current level crossing.
One must assume that V/Line trains will have dedicated use of this track, bypassing Sunbury Station at 160Km/h once the SLU is complete and HCMTS call Sunbury home.

Service proving works are also underway for the Gap Road LX removal in Sunbury with this being brought forward to line up with the current works schedule, much smarter than doing it in a couple of years. This will be road under.

Could these two be related - a third track across the crossing so trains can run for longer into the shutdown while excavation works happen?

Edit - rereading your post I am a little confused - you are saying that the third track will only be extended down of the level crossing - that wouldn't be much of an extension and wouldn't require changes to the track on the up?

At Sunbury the new construction compound off Horne Street has come to life with a small amount of workers and new site sheds being installed. A concrete foundation has been laid next to the historic blue stone culvert 50 or so meters from the level crossing. This is being extending to allow the current third track to be extended DOWN of the current level crossing.
One must assume that V/Line trains will have dedicated use of this track, bypassing Sunbury Station at 160Km/h once the SLU is complete and HCMTS call Sunbury home.

Service proving works are also underway for the Gap Road LX removal in Sunbury with this being brought forward to line up with the current works schedule, much smarter than doing it in a couple of years. This will be road under.Could these two be related - a third track across the crossing so trains can run for longer into the shutdown while excavation works happen?

Edit - rereading your post I am a little confused - you are saying that the third track will only be extended down of the level crossing - that wouldn't be much of an extension and wouldn't require changes to the track on the up?

It wont be extended in this current works package and is unrelated to the LX removal.
The current UP track or west track forms the centre track that runs through Sunbury Station, with Platform 2 and westside stabling roads accessible by a stub track. The current point work for this is just UP from the level crossing in the station area.

During the peak, V/line trains express Sunbury Via this centre or '3rd track' Most notably is the AM & PM Bendigo Flagship that passes through Sunbury at 130 Km/h.

When Sunbury was Sparked in 2012, point work was added into the track on Platform two and a small amount of track built between the platform and the level crossing. I assume this is the track that will be extended towards the city.

The culvert that is being widened is about 100m from the level crossing, I'm not sure how far towards the city they will extend the track. Theoretically it could be extend all the way to Diggers Rest, this being pointless as the pinch point for V/Line services is between Sunshine and Watergardens.

Im not sure what benefit extending the 3rd track towards the city will have, besides moving the current point work out of the station area and down of the level crossing.

I have heard a rumour that the platforms at Sunbury will need to be moved towards the level crossing to allow the stabling roads to be extend to accommodate the future 10 car 200m HCMTS. If this happens as part of this upgrade or if they come back in 10 years time is yet to be known.

@BG, I am back on track so to speak. Been heading into the city for about a week now.

Lockie

I have heard a rumour that the platforms at Sunbury will need to be moved towards the level crossing to allow the stabling roads to be extend to accommodate the future 10 car 200m HCMTS. If this happens as part of this upgrade or if they come back in 10 years time is yet to be known.

That would appear correct as the stabling isn't long enough for 10-car trains. The platforms would also need to be extended over the current crossing.

The alternative of course is to close or relocate the sidings.

The alternative of course is to close or relocate the sidings.

Isn't that the reason why a large stabling facility was built at Calder Park ?

LX Crossing removal at Gap Rd has been brought forward to 2022/23.  Road under rail which makes sense (the only option really):

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/removing-gap-road-crossing-and-upgrading-sunbury-line

The alternative of course is to close or relocate the sidings.

Isn't that the reason why a large stabling facility was built at Calder Park ?

I thought the same thing for the sidings at Watergardens but those remain...

The alternative of course is to close or relocate the sidings.

Isn't that the reason why a large stabling facility was built at Calder Park ?

I thought the same thing for the sidings at Watergardens but those remain...

It's all a little strange, with Calder Park to have 20 roads, I'm not sure what benefit RPV sees in keeping Watergardens and Sunbury as these are constrained and will be expensive to modify when 10 cars are introduced. Calder Park is wide open space, with full length roads being constructed now.

It will not be too hard to run a handful of empty services to Sunbury to start the day. Sunbury only has five roads, with some PM peak services running empty to Watergardens too stable at CP now.

Trains resume between Sunshine and the City on Tuesday, will provide an update of what RPV has been up to. Sunshine - Sunbury have another week of the replacement busses. Oh yay.


Locke

The alternative of course is to close or relocate the sidings.

Isn't that the reason why a large stabling facility was built at Calder Park ?

I thought the same thing for the sidings at Watergardens but those remain...

It's all a little strange, with Calder Park to have 20 roads, I'm not sure what benefit RPV sees in keeping Watergardens and Sunbury as these are constrained and will be expensive to modify when 10 cars are introduced. Calder Park is wide open space, with full length roads being constructed now.

It will not be too hard to run a handful of empty services to Sunbury to start the day. Sunbury only has five roads, with some PM peak services running empty to Watergardens too stable at CP now.

Trains resume between Sunshine and the City on Tuesday, will provide an update of what RPV has been up to. Sunshine - Sunbury have another week of the replacement busses. Oh yay.


Locke

I agree and would have thought that Calder Park having a substantial amount of stabling roads would allow for the closure of Watergardens stabling yard, with the land possibly to be sold for more suitable purposes such as residental/commercial development, given the location next to Watergardens Shopping Centre. Maybe this is somewhere in the development plans or long term planning.

Yet another week dawns and we're back on the rails after the most recent shutdown. Still plenty of work to do on the overhead with fresh concrete pads on the Down side of Albion and bits and pieces of stanchions laying about ready to erect. There is an evening shutdown scheduled for Fri / Sat and who knows how many more before the job is done.

I don't know if it is just my imagination but as we drift into Water Gardens the trip so far has felt smoother than it did previously.

Heading out of WG and the first thing you notice is the new slewed track on the Down which has been connected and activated during the last couple of weeks. There are long delineation fences well past the Melton Hwy bridge for the extended stabling tracks but these have not been laid yet and the rail sits in the wide gap between the tracks.

On to Calder Park and although the new points for the stabling yard which are further in the Up direction than old ones have been connected the work is by no means finished with plenty of new track bed laid with sleepers but rail still missing near the substation so I still struggle to work out how it is all going to work down there and what the little stub track that appears to be for a diverge around the subbie is actually going to be.

Oh well, at least there will still be plenty to keep me interested over the coming weeks / months!