Five go to Didbrook

Thursday 8^th October

Five of the team headed to Didbrook today. However, this was not an epic adventure as we were not that surprised at what we found. Nor did we have lashings of ginger beer!

First port of call was Toddington. The drainage system here is very complex. As well as the cess drain, which is in the six foot between the platforms, there are inlets from the car park, the loco shed area and the land on the down (Cotswold) side. As carriage washing takes place in the platforms, the cess drain never dries out even in a dry and hot summer. All these inputs meet up in chambers by the signal box. So this is where Martin (S), Dave and Andrew started inspecting. On previous inspections we had noted traces of foul air in some chambers; so this time we used our gas monitor for confirmation. Good news – the measurements of hydrogen sulphide, carbon monoxide and explosive gases were all zero. Not quite so good news is that one length of the down side cess appears to have an obstruction so will require rodding out. Martin (J) and Peter cleared the vegetation from the chambers at the rear of the signal box and then opened them up for inspection.

From the signal box, the drain is piped close to the boundary fence at the toe of the embankment. Approximately 120 yards further on, the pipe ends and the drain is then in an open ditch which flows to the inlet of cross drain 14A. On previous occasions we have encountered foul water here; so we take extra precautions when clearing around this exit. This includes wearing a FFP2 face mask and eye goggles as well as the forestry visor and helmet; disposable gloves and a plastic apron which are binned afterwards, and finally use of a disinfectant spray afterwards; particularity on our boots. This does make brush cutting hard! It was Andrew’s turn this year; with Martin (S) assisting with the disinfectant spray. They found a pool of water at the exit of the pipe, and a slight rotting vegetation smell.

Pooling water at the exit of the pipe from behind Toddington signal box.

 Meanwhile, about 100 yards further on, Martin (J), Dave and Peter were clearing the inlet of 14A. Here, there was a trickle of water running in from the low mileage ditch, and no foul smell. The outlet of 14A is outside of railway land on the far (Malvern) side beyond the narrow gauge railway.

14A inlet - a tall stack of concrete rings in the toe ditch.

Next the team tackled culvert 14B – one of the more challenging structures. One challenge is the steep slope down on both sides. Another challenge is that there is a deep pond on the outlet side, thus weed clearance is restricted to use of rakes from the bank. After the hot and dry summer; the water level was low. This enabled us to clearly see the deteriorating wing wall on the outlet; and to get a good view into the bore from the down (Cotswold) side inlet. Sorting this structure out is certainly going to be most challenging!

Dave, Martin (J) and Martin (S) examining the outlet of 14B.

Looking into the bore of 14B from the inlet side - usually water is too deep to take this shot.

As we packed up after lunch, the Broadway bound class 122 single unit DMU pass by.

3850 heads a down train past the14B marker posts.

 

After lunch, the team again split into two groups. Martin (J), Dave and Peter took on the clearance of culvert 15A – another one with steep climbs down the embankment sides. An additional constraint here is that there is insufficient width on the vacant up side trackbed to safely park a vehicle the required 3m away from the nearest running rail. Hence we take the equipment to this site in one vehicle, which then goes forward to a safe spot; and use a second vehicle to collect the gear.

Andrew and Martin (S) went forward in one of the vehicles to Didbrook No2 bridge to clear a safe parking space by mile post 10¼. Whilst there they also cleared and inspected culvert 16C. This is one of the smallest culverts on the line, and the one with the inlet closest to the running line. Today this stream that runs through it was bone dry. It was flowing slowly last autumn, so this shows that the drought this summer has had a greater effect.

16C inlet.

Wildlife report: The strangest sight today was a plague of flies which settled on the bonnet and cab of the white Transit van at Didbrook. They also seemed to be attracted to other white surfaces – like some parts of our brush cutters. Didbrook No1 bridge seems to be a good spot for bird watching. Over lunch we spotted buzzards, crows, robins, long tail tits, blue tits and a couple of unidentified little brown jobs. On the vegetational front; we found more wild hops on the up side by culvert 14B, whilst there is an extensive patch of wild mint around milepost 10. Growing in the centre of the vacant tracked at a number of places were some plants with small white start shaped flowers. Without our horticultural expert, our best attempt at identification is a variety of of Solanum (or nightshade). But is it black (nigrum) or red (villosum) or divine (nigrescens)?

Black, red, or divine nightshade - or something else?

Tidying up

Thursday 1^st October

Whilst we often undertake tasks that are not specifically drainage, a whole day when all of the team attending worked on a non-drainage task is a little unusual. However, today was one of those.

The task was to start what is likely to be a multi-department project to improve the visual appearance of the main entrance to Toddington Station. Specifically the initial task was to tidy up the old garden centre site, as the public access route passes through it. The objective is to increase custom from passing traffic, particularity to the Cotswold Halt on non-operating days.

Stu, Nigel, Phil, Dee, Dave, Martin (S), John and Peter spent the day on an initial tidy up of the area under and around the old greenhouse. Stu, Dave and Nigel tackled the growth of weeds and saplings with brush cutters, not only banishing the overgrown look but also enabling access for other teams to remove their items. Dee and Phil began sorting out the unwanted items. Scrap metal went to the metal skip by the steam shed; off cuts of wood went to the steam loco fire lighting stack; general rubbish was placed in a skip; and the vegetation cuttings bagged up for removal or burning on a non-opening day. A few items made their way back to Winchcombe – some (such as heras fencing) to join similar items stored there and some for our stock of useful bits.  

Nigel weeding between the stacks of concrete sleepers.

Dave attacks the samplings between the rails.

Phil, Dee and John sorting out debris.

Dee and Phil loading scrap metal for the short trip to the metal recycling skip

 

Stu and Phil unloading the scrap metal.

Peter initially spent some time helping Roger in his first responder capacity moving some of the items from the first aid hut to temporary storage where the roof does not leak

Wheelchairs are an unusual load for us!

Even after just one day, the improvement was noticeable. 

For clarification, we were not demolishing the old greenhouse. The rumour that we were was a conspiracy theory, or at best fake news!

Wildlife report: As expected the local resident robins were the first to take interest in our activities. We noted plenty of pheasants on the way to Toddington and back, two suicidal males were bickering in the middle of the main road. Not surprising most of the saplings that had sprouted in the garden centre site were ash. By the steam loco shed access gate is a splendid patch of Hardy Cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium). Hopefully by next year, the station approach will have some similar floral displays.

Cyclamen by the steam shed.

A day at Stanton

Thursday 24^th September

For a change, all seven of the team attending today headed to the same location, Stanton Yard. However on arrival we did split into two groups.

Dave, Nigel and Jonathan headed south to clear culvert 11A, cross drain 11B and culvert 11C, plus the access paths to them. First of all they cleared the vehicle parking and turning point on the low mileage side of bridge 11; this enables two vehicles to be safely parked and turned.

The down (Cotswold) side entry to culvert 11A running under bridge 11 with a feed from the low mileage toe ditch which also takes the cess drain outlet.

The inlet chamber of 11B - cleared of animal bedding.

 

After attending to some overhanging brambles on the yard approach, the other four (Phil, Dee, John and Andrew) headed north to syphon culvert 7A which is just on the low mileage side of the B4632 main road bridge. Again the first task was to clear a vehicle parking space away from the running line and avoiding the cess drain chambers. Then it was clearing and inspecting the syphon entrance and exit. After another period of no rain, there was only a dribble flowing through, but a ‘tide mark’ on the exit chamber revealed some more recent stronger flows.

Just a dribble entering the 7A inlet from the bore which runs under the B4632.

On the way back to Stanton yard, the group stopped by the site of a lineside fire on the down (Cotswold) side near the aqueduct. This was to inspect the damage to the fence – four of the original GWR wooden posts will need replacing; but the more recent replacements although scorched were still sound.

John investigates the fire damage to the fence near Stanton aqueduct.

The two groups met up for lunch at bridge 11 – the vehicle parking spot makes a great picnic spot on a warm sunny day. After lunch, all of the team finished off the clearance of 11A, 11B and 11C and undertook the visual inspections. That completes all the culvert and cross drain inspections on the Broadway to Toddington section. However we will need to return to finish off clearing around the cess chambers and a couple of odd chambers on the down side crest.

Dave and Dee take a breather after clearing and inspecting the inlet of 11C. The access path here is probably the steepest we have.

Wildlife report: The area just to the north of Stanway viaduct and around culvert 11C once was a badger hotspot. But soil mesh seems to have encouraged them to move on – we found no sign of any active setts. However, at cross drain 11B, the dry inlet chamber on the down side was full of bedding. It looks like this cross drain has been dry all summer. A few brambles are still bearing blackberries, but very small and way past their best. The sloes on the blackthorn bushes (Prunus spinosa) are starting to ripen – but are not very palatable!

Stanton Sloes

Also not edible are the rock hard pears on the Stanton pear tress by bridge 11 – not surprisingly since these are perry pears. They will still be rock hard at the end of October.

One of the Stanton Perry Pear trees.

Probably the lack of soft and ripe fruit has lead to a significant reduction in the number of wasps we have spotted this autumn. But a couple did investigate one team member's lunch box today. Chiffchaffs and crows were the most visible birds today. The crows were in flocks on the adjoining fields, but fortunately they do not appear to be nesting underneath bridges 8 and 10 as in previous years.

No mists and very little mellow fruitfulness

Thursday 17^th September

Once again we were able to from two groups, one to progress this year’s programme of culvert and cross drain inspection and clearance, and one to undertake some of our other tasks.

Andrew, Roger, Peter, Nigel and Martin(J) formed the inspection and clearance group. Initially Nigel and Andrew tackled culvert 5C, adjacent to the first foot-crossing north of Laverton Meadow Lane bridge. Roger, Martin(J) and Peter cleared the vegetation around the five toe drain manholes on the up (Malvern) side that run from cross drain 5D north to culvert 5C. They opened each manhole to check for no obstructions.

The headwall on the inlet (down or Cotswold) side of 5C.

After coffee break, Nigel and Andrew moved south to cross drain 6A near milepost 7. This is one of our smaller structures, with both inlet and outlet chambers close to the trackbed and without a great height difference. They then moved south to the foot crossing near milepost 7¼; clearing a parking spot so the other three could bring the rest of the tools in one of the vehicles.

Up train with Black 5 45110 in charge approaching 6A.

The first afternoon job for the group was to deal with culvert 6B. This is one of our larger culverts, with a 3foot by 5foot brick arch. It carries a substantial stream that flows down from the hills above Stanton, and was running steadily. Surprisingly, the amount of vegetation requiring removal was a lot less than we expected. Finally, the group dealt with syphon cross drain 6C, just on the low mileage side of Stanton Fields Bridge 7. This one very rarely flows – the inlet and outlet pits are shallow and easy to clean out. The main item of regular maintenance is the clearing of the access paths down the embankment sides.

Nigel starts clearing the access to the outlet of 6B.

Result - headwall clearly visible.

Martin (left) and Nigel at syphon cross drain 6C.

Roger clearing the down side access at 6C. The syphon cross drain runs under both of the cess drains, the chamber on one visible at the bottom.

Green diesel in a green landscape. D6948 with an afternoon down train approaching Stanton Fields bridge (7). 

Dee and Jonathan were the other group. They first headed to Chipping Camden to pick up some bridge markers we have been given. Then on to Pecked Lane foot crossing at Bishops Cleeve to sort out some issues with the pedestrian gates. That took quite some effort as adjusting one of the gates required freeing some very rusty nuts and bolts. Finally they attended to a small fence repair near Two Hedges Road.

The replaced nuts on the crossing gate at Pecked Lane. [Photo by Jonathan]

Wildlife report: Red kites are now such a common sight along the line we may well stop reporting sightings. However, they are a magnificent sight, particularity when coming to roost on a tree less that 50 yards away at Laverton. Another sign of autumn we spotted was a flock of finches. Unlike other lineside apple trees, that by the crossing near culvert 5C bore quite a large crop of fruit. However, they were all very small. Most of the blackberry bushes look like they are now past their best. Hence, so far, this autumn is definitely not one of mellow fruitfulness; and no sign of any morning mists either. Maybe things will change with the autumn equinox occurring this coming week and thus astronomical summer coming to an end.

Just half a dozen

Thursday 10^th September

Another week with more team members away than attending, but a different set and for different reasons. However, we were able to progress both the rebuilding at 31A and the programme of clearance and inspections.

Polly and Peter continued with the rebuild of the up side exit headwall of cross drain 31A. This is almost complete – just one more course of coping bricks to finish.

The new headwall of 31A outlet almost complete. Note the use of steel bar to support the final courses. [Photo by Peter]

Jonathan, Martin (J) and Andrew headed to Little Buckland to continue this year’s round of culvert and cross drain clearance and inspection. After attending to some H&S issues, Roger joined them later.

The first tasks at Little Buckland were to clear a space on the embankment to enable us to park vehicles on the vacant trackbed (the former down line here) at least 3m away from the nearest rail of the running line. Also attended to were the roadside gullies underneath the bridge – this was mainly removal of grass rather than silt as the dry summer has meant very little run off from the road in the past three months.

One of the roadside gullies under bridge 5 (Little Buckland) prior to removals of the vegetation. [Photo by Jonathan]

The group then cleared and inspected cross drains 5A, 5B and 5D. Not surprisingly because of the dry summer, none of these were flowing. However, there was considerable growth, particularly in the exit ditch of 5A and in the toe ditch on the down side of the line by Archer Farm.

The 5A exit ditch on the up side high mileage of bridge 5 forms the boundary of the railway land but is outside of the fence line. All cleared after sterling work by Martin(J). [Photo by Jonathan]

Roger and Martin(J) pause work as 2807 passes over bridge 5 with the 11.35 down train from Broadway.

Bone dry - the inlet end of the bore of 5B.

The final task of the day was the clearing of the access at Laverton Meadow Lane bridge (6). We omitted tackling culvert 5C as there is nowhere safe to park a vehicle near it. Hopefully with a larger group we will include that next week.

Wildlife report: A sign that the summer is definitely over was a group of swallows congregating on electric wires at Little Buckland prior to starting their migration south. Still lots of ripe blackberries in the hedges. The dry summer seems to have had not effect on the growth of brambles, nettles and old-man’s beard.

Nine miles apart

Thursday 3^rd September

Even with several members of the team absent for various reasons, we were able to form two groups working at locations over nine miles apart.

John, Polly and Peter formed the construction group. Their location was cross drain 31A at 14m 30c. They commenced the rebuild of the outlet headwall on the up (Malvern) side of the line. As the level of the water in the outlet ditch had dropped since last week, they were able to complete the excavation for the concrete footings and cast them. The chosen option for the rebuild is to use brick, a mixture of reused solid imperials reclaimed from the old headwall and new metric perforated blues. This choice considerably eases the delivery of materials to the site, which is at the bottom of a steep embankment. Additionally the width of the vacant up side trackbed at this location precludes parking the road vehicles above the cross drain; unless we have a line block or a possession.

The first few courses of the rebuild headwall for 31A outlet. [Photo by Peter]

The other group headed in the opposite direction, initially to Peasebrook Fram, cross drain 3A at 5m 50c. Nigel, Dave, Stuart, Martin (J) and Andrew formed this group; later joined by Jonathan after he completed some vehicle maintenance which involved a trip to Cheltenham. The group cleared and inspected cross drain 3A and culverts 3B and 4A. They also cleared overhanging brambles, rose, elder and hawthorn from the vehicle access at Little Buckland bridge and the old farm gate near Peasebrook Bridge. This allows turning of vehicles, thus avoiding a ¾mile reverse. Also undertaken was some clearance of the up (Malvern) side toe ditch alongside the Severn Trent works at Pry Lane. And finally near the Peasbrook Farm accommodation bridge they filled in a hole in the vacant trackbed, probably caused by badger activity. The Peasbrook area is well known for badger activity; the group spotted evidence of their activity at 3A and in the down (Cotswold) side cess drain north of 4A.

Dave, Stuart and Martin [J] (at foot of ladder) completing the clearance of the outlet headwall of 3B.

The effect of the comparatively wet past week following the very dry summer is very interesting. None of the cess drains are yet running; the input to 3A was just damp, but 200 yards away the stream flowing through 3B was running well. The big surprise was at 4A, this was bone dry. Looking at the inlet stream, we noticed a void in the adjoining land, but even upstream of that there was no trace of water.

3A input - just damp

3B inlet - flowing

4A inlet - bone dry

Wildlife report: The construction group at 31A spotted two muntjac deer. Whilst at Peasebrook the calls and antics of several buzzards were most noticeable. Also a sizeable flock of wood pigeons, no doubt interested in pickings from the adjoining farm fields. Being nocturnal animals, we did not spot any live badgers. Plenty of ripening blackberries, sloes and rose hips in the hedges. The consensus of the clearance group was that the blackberries at Little Buckland Bridge were the sweetest.

Wet, but still warm

Thursday 27^th August

The long dry spell finally came to an end with some torrential rain overnight Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning. Fortunately the very heavy rain receded northwards before we left Winchcombe yard; by lunchtime it had stopped completely. As it was still warm, we had some very misty conditions – and not very pleasant working conditions.

Phil, Martin (S) and Jonathan headed to Pecked Lane at Bishops Cleeve. Their task there was to fit a second bung into the pipe connecting culvert 39A to the down cess drain. So now with both ends of this pipe sealed, we should not get a build up of silt in the cess drain.

The bung fitted to the cess chamber end of the pipe from 39A. (Note the raindrops!) [Photo by Jonathan]

Prestcott Road bridge (32) was the destination for Roger, Dave and Martin (J). Thy cleared the vegetation from the track access steps and around the exit of culvert 31B.

The access steps at Prescott Road Bridge. (Note the wet road and low cloud). [Photo by Dave]

The partially cleared exit chamber of culvert 31B. [Photo by Dave]

Peter, Dee and Andrew began the demolition phase of the rebuilt of cross drain 31A. They removed the remains of the old headwall on the up (Malvern) side exit. This exposed the end of the bore, which is encased in concrete. As this is in good condition, the plans for the rebuilt were modified. Instead of extending the bore with another length of SGP pipe which would involve removal of some of the old concrete, we will build a new headwall, the lower portion of which formed with concrete blocks. Martin (S) joined the group – so by lunchtime the excavations around the bore for the new foundations were complete.

The exposed outlet end of the bore of 31A.

Excavations for the ends of the new headwall.

After lunch, Andrew and Jonathan explored potential access routes for the machinery we need to use on the 31A inlet chamber. They then completed the first two internal visual inspections of drainage structure for this year – obviously these being cross drain 31A and culvert 31B.

Wildlife report: Not surprisingly on a very wet and cloudy morning, we saw little animal and bird activity. Once the rain had stopped, we noted a large flock of crows near Prestcott Road, and both a robin and a pheasant came to inspect our excavations at cross drain 31A.