Bicester update 29th November 2014

I apologize  for the lack of recent updates.  No opportunity to visit the area unfortunately.  However I was passing nearby and got a few pictures of the work at Gavray Drive.  Work seems to have stepped up a gear now with lorries entering and leaving the site at short intervals.  The new foot bridge taking the public footpath over the new chord has been installed.  The new foot bridge will be great for photographing later on.  You would wonder why these embankment works were not carried out during the summer months with the benefit of the better weather.

Here is the aforementioned foot bridge.  Same colours as the Tubbs Lane crossing but much simpler in design.

I could not gain access to the footpath that will cross the bridge when it opens.  It was flooded at the entrance and my footwear did not allow me to  get through.  Here we can see one of the lorries returning after dropping its load.

Another lorry drops its load.  It appears that the chord is a lot longer and more gradual than I first imagined.

 Moving around to the right, you can see the white geo textile matting as the chord rises tro meet the Chiltern line.

 Same area taken from a different angle.  The flooding that prevented access to the field can be seen in the foreground.  The following two pictures are grab shots so the quality is not great.

 Heading south from Bicester on the A41, the Chiltern line crosses the road on this bridge.  Very well maintained and signage in good condition.  However the same cannot be said of the former Great Central main line bridge just to the north of Aylesbury Vale Parkway station.

 It has a very neglected look to it with rusting steelwork and faded signage.  Although it has been a freight only line since the closure of the Great Central, it is surely false economy to neglect it in this way.  However it appears that work is now being carried out with scaffolding erected to the left and quite a bit of activity on the embankment.  This could be the start of preliminary works to upgrade the line to passenger carrying standard.