(above) 375901 working 13:45 Charing Cross - Hastings passes 375618 on 12.31 Hastings - Charing Cross on 18th December. To the right can be seen a temporary connection off the old Up Passenger loop onto the new alignment through what will be platforms 8 and 9. The temporary track allowed various works trains in to lay track and ballast the new viaduct over Borough Market. Also visible hooded over is a signal which will be on the Down Charing Cross line and controlled from Three Bridges after the New Year. Three Bridges will take over from Charing Cross down to this signal which will be where the new signalling fringes (for the time being at least) with London Bridge box.
(below) On 23rd December, 375907 and 375911 depart Waterloo East working 13:15 Charing Cross - Hastings. The old London Bridge signalling is still in situ for another day (the last train out was 19:45 Charing Cross - Hastings on Christmas Eve) with the new signalling waiting to be commissioned. The new gantry the train is passing also has Three Bridges signals on. These were observed illuminated on 29th December, while some of the new signalling on the Borough Market viaduct was illuminated by 22nd December.
All the Christmas/New Year civil engineering and permanent way work is due to be finished by early on 2nd January, when various test trains are scheduled to start running testing the new signalling in and out of Charing Cross.
2015 has seen a huge upheaval with more to come in 2016! |